GenAI and Data-Driven Learning: Teaching Collocations in English for Healthcare

Data-driven learning (DDL) refers to using “language corpus data, tools, and techniques for pedagogical purposes” (Crosthwaite & Boulton, in press). However, with recent developments in the field of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI), there has been a need to merge the two approaches in order bridge the existing gaps and transcend the limitations of DDL (Crosthwaite & Baisa, 2023; Mizumoto, 2023).

The insights gained from disciplinary corpora help us upgrade course materials, create “exemplar texts containing a high degree of ‘focus-on-form’…[and] meaningfully contextualise the language forms and meanings under investigation within the dentistry domain” (Crosthwaite & Cheung, 2019).

Relying on our own findings from dental research abstracts, we aim to showcase how teachers of English for Healthcare can benefit from merging GenAI and DDL in order to improve their students’ (prospective healthcare practitioners, PhD students, OET candidates, medical researchers) collocational competence.

This research-based session will offer practical suggestions for incorporating GenAI and DDL for designing activities and lesson plans aimed at enhancing teaching of medical and academic collocations.

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Irena is an Assistant Professor at the School of Dental Medicine, University of Belgrade, teaching English for Medicine and Dentistry. Her fields of interest also include Multimodal Discourse Analysis (MDA), Multimodal Pedagogy, and use of software for linguistic research. She is an active member of the European Commission’s Digital Education Hub.

Ana holds a BA and an MA degree in English language, literature, and culture. Presently, she is pursuing her PhD while being employed at the School of Dental Medicine, University of Belgrade, as a Teaching Associate interested in applying the discourse of healthcare communication in her teaching.

Join us for this one-day event dedicated to discussions on the role of AI in healthcare communication and education.