We introduce a method for generating error-correction rules for grammar pattern errors in a given annotated learner corpus. In our approach, annotated edits in the learner corpus are converted into edit rules for correcting common writing errors. The method involves automatic extraction of grammar patterns, and automatic alignment of the erroneous patterns and correct patterns. At run-time, grammar patterns are extracted from the grammatically correct sentences, and correction rules are retrieved by aligning the extracted grammar patterns with the erroneous patterns. Using the proposed method, we generate 1,499 high-quality correction rules related to 232 headwords. The method can be used to assist ESL students in avoiding grammatical errors, and aid teachers in correcting students’ essays. Additionally, the method can be used in the compilation of collocation error dictionaries and the construction of grammar error correction systems.

We introduce a method for assisting English as Second Language (ESL) learners by providing translations of Collins COBUILD grammar patterns(GP) for a given word. In our approach, bilingual parallel corpus is transformed into bilingual GP pairs aimed at providing native language support for learning word usage through GPs. The method involves automatically parsing sentences to extract GPs, automatically generating translation GP pairs from bilingual sentences, and automatically extracting common bilingual GPs. At run-time, the target word is used for lookup GPs and translations, and the retrieved common GPs and their example sentences are shown to the user. We present a prototype phrase search engine, Linggle GPTrans, that implements the methods to assist ESL learners. Preliminary evaluation on a set of more than 300 GP-translation pairs shows that the methods achieve 91% accuracy.