Using corpus linguistics and grounded theory to explore EMI stakeholders' discourse

Typically, interview data thematic analyses employ common-sense approaches to thematic analysis (King et al., 2018). Such an approach necessitates that the researcher identifies distinctive themes and observes some degree of repetition of themes. As the process involves multiple stages of description, interpretation and synthesis and requires that analyses consider themes within and across a number of texts, there is a value in investigating the affordances of corpus linguistic approaches to interview analysis, given that corpus linguistics shares these considerations.

This chapter shows how corpus linguistics methodology can offer a nuanced approach to thematic coding when used in synchrony with frameworks, such as critical grounded theory (Hadley, 2017) and the ROAD-MAPPING framework (Dafouz & Smit, 2020). We argue that the use of keyword analysis to generate initial field codes for thematic analysis can reveal specific points in interviews and focus groups in which important themes are discursively constructed. We draw on a number of prior studies (e.g. Curry & Pérez-Paredes, 2021; Pérez-Paredes & Curry, forthcoming) with a view to demonstrating the reflexivity and value of this approach as a way to make sense of complex data, inform the use of existing analytical and theoretical approaches on EMI (Dafouz & Smit, 2020) and teacher identity (Martel & Wang, 2014). Overall, we reinforce the view that corpus linguistics research methods can inform a systemic view of mixed methods research (Hashemi, 2019), arguing that the use of advanced techniques of data analysis can favour a dynamic interpretation of thematic analyses (King et al., 2018).