CLiC Creative Writing Resources
CLiC-assisted research has revealed recurring textual features of narrative fiction that are easily overlooked with more conventional textual analysis methods. Through CLiC, we can help make these features visible. Our latest project #CLiCCreative demonstrates how our app can serve as both a creative resource and innovative research tool for writers.
The following handouts are available to download:
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Citing CLiC
When you use CLiC in your work, please cite this article:
- Mahlberg, M., Stockwell, P., de Joode, J., Smith, C., & O’Donnell, M. B. (2016). CLiC Dickens: Novel uses of concordances for the integration of corpus stylistics and cognitive poetics. Corpora, 11(3), 433–463.
If possible, please also include a link to clic.bham.ac.uk.
The CLiC Activity Book (Version 1, November 2017)
This book has been written for teachers and the exploration of literature in the classroom. Language and literature can be taught as separate subjects, but recent developments of language and literature specifications illustrate how both can and need to be integrated. The CLiC Activity Book makes suggestions for this integration. It provides examples of activities that teachers can adapt to or incorporate into their classes. It also includes activities that can inspire ideas for student projects for the NEA.
The CLiC Activity Book (Version 1, November 2017) is available in two formats:
Please feel free to use the CLiC Activity Book according to the permissions of its license:
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Pedagogical resources / CPD materials
- The CLiC Activity Book (download the files at the top of this page)
- Activity handout "Finding links between the structure and themes of A Christmas Carol" (by Michaela Mahlberg & Viola Wiegand)
- Activity handouts by Lorraine Adriano (see her blog post for further explanation)
- Activity handout on dialogues as models for ELT teaching, created by Chris Jones and David Oakey (see Chris Jones's blog post for further explanation)
CLiC web app documentation and resources
Publications from the CLiC Dickens project
- Mahlberg, M., Wiegand, V., Stockwell, P., & Hennessey, A. (2019). Speech-bundles in the 19th-century English novel. Language and Literature, 28(4), 326–353. [open access]
- Mahlberg, M., Wiegand, V., Hobday, S., & Child, F. (2019). Digital methods for the English classroom. Impact: Journal of the Chartered College of Teaching, 7.
- Mahlberg, M., & Wiegand V. (in press). Literary stylistics. In S. Adolphs & D. Knight (Eds.), Routledge Handbook of English Language and Digital Humanities. London: Routledge.
- Mahlberg, M., & Wiegand, V. (in press). Stylistics and the digital humanities. In S. Conrad, A. Hartig, & L. Santelmann (Eds.), The Cambridge Introduction to Applied Linguistics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Mahlberg, M., Wiegand, V., Hobday, S., & Child, F. (in press). Digital methods for the English classroom. Impact: Journal of the Chartered College of Teaching, 7.
- Mahlberg, M. and Wiegand V. (2018). Corpus stylistics, norms and comparisons: Studying speech in Great Expectations, in R. Page, B. Busse, N. Norgaard (eds.) Rethinking Language, Text and Context. Interdisciplinary Research in Stylistics in Honour of Michael Toolan (pp. 123-143). New York & London: Routledge. [PDF, 1024 KB]
- Wiegand, V., Mahlberg, M., & Stockwell, P. (2017, September 18). Corpus linguistics in action: The fireplace pose in 19th century fiction. The Programming Historian [Blog post].
- Mahlberg, M., Stockwell, P., de Joode, J., Smith, C., & O’Donnell, M. B. (2016). CLiC Dickens: Novel uses of concordances for the integration of corpus stylistics and cognitive poetics. Corpora, 11(3), 433–463. [open access]
- Mahlberg, M. & Stockwell, P. (2016). Point and CLiC: Teaching literature with corpus stylistic tools, in M. Burke et al. (eds.) Scientific Approaches to Literature in Learning Environments (pp. 251-267). Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
- Mahlberg, M. (2016). Corpus Stylistics. In V. Sotirova (ed.) The Bloomsbury Companion to Stylistics (pp. 139-156). London & New York: Bloomsbury.
- Mahlberg, M. (2015). Corpus Linguistics. In M. Giovanelli, A. Macrae, F. Titjen and I. Cushing (eds.) English Language and Literature: A/AS Level for AQA Student Book (pp. 284-286). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Stockwell, P & Mahlberg, M. (2015). Mind-modelling with corpus stylistics in David Copperfield, Language and Literature, 24(2), 129-147.
Examples of how CLiC has been used
The following publications illustrate possible uses of the CLiC web app. Please let us know about any references that you'd like to be added.
- Byrne, S., & Jones, C. (2019). The realism of conversation in literature. In C. Jones (Ed.), Literature, Spoken Language and Speaking Skills in Second Language Learning (pp. 9–37). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Falchi, S. (2017). Little Dorrit and adaptation. Journal of Adaptation in Film & Performance, 10(1), 43–53.
- Friginal, E. (2018). Corpus Linguistics for English Teachers: Tools, Online Resources, and Classroom Activities. London: Routledge.
- Giovanelli, M., & Mason, J. (2018). The Language of Literature: An Introduction to Stylistics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Howe, S. (2018). Emphatic “yes” and “no” in Eastern English: jearse and dow. In L. Wright (Ed.), Southern English Varieties Then and Now (pp. 148–187). Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton.
- Lugea, J. (2017). The year’s work in stylistics 2016. Language and Literature, 26(4), 340–360.
- Jones, C., & Oakey, D. (2019). Literary dialogues as models of conversation in English language teaching. Journal of Second Language Teaching and Research, 7(1), 108-135.
- Mullan, J. (2018). Dickens’s Tricks. Essays in Criticism, 68(2), 145–166.
- Ruano San Segundo, P. (2017). CLiC and corpus literary translation studies: An analysis of suspensions in one Spanish translation of Charles Dickens’s Hard Times. Onomázein, 38, 88–106.
- Ruano San Segundo, P. (2018). A corpus-based approach to Charles Dickens’s use of direct thought presentation. Corpora, 13(3), 319–345. [open access]
- Szudarski, P. (2017). Corpus Linguistics for Vocabulary: A Guide for Research. London: Routledge.
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Taketazu, S. (2015). 'Psych-passives + at or by' in Dickens’ English: in the case of the psych-verbs synonymous to surprise. The Journal of the University of Nagasaki, 48(4), 53–84.
Further examples of research using CLiC are presented in the guest posts on our CLiC Dickens Blog. If you would like to write a guest post about your own work with CLiC, we are happy to consider this – please get in touch.
Conference talks, workshops and invited talks
2019
- Mahlberg, M., &Wiegand, V.(2019, October). Patterns of body language in Dickens’s novels. Paper presented at the 33rd Dickens Day, London.
- Mahlberg, M., &Wiegand, V.(2019, October). Workshop for teachers at Nishkam High School, Birmingham.
- Mahlberg, M. (2019, July). CLiC 2 – Digital humanities and the corpus linguistic study of fiction, Workshop at the Summer School of Computational Humanities. University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg.
- Wiegand, V. (2019). Doing corpus stylistics with the CLiC web app. Workshop held for CARE visitors at the Centre for Corpus Research, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, 20 March 2019.
- Mahlberg, M. (2019). Keynote paper presented at the PhraseoRom Conference, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg , Erlangen, Germany, 13 – 15 March 2019.
- Mahlberg, M., & Wiegand, V. (2019). CLiC – digital skills for reading literature. Workshop for teachers at researchEd Birmingham, Erdington Academy, 2 March 2019.
- Mahlberg, M., & Wiegand, V. (2019). CLiC – digital skills for reading literature. Presentation for the University of Birmingham Library Services, 20 February 2019.
- Mahlberg, M., & Wiegand, V. (2019). CLiC – digital skills for reading literature. Teacher training workshop for student teachers of the PGDipEd, University of Birmingham, 15 January 2019.
- Mahlberg, M. (2018). Corpus linguistics and the study of fiction – methodological and theoretical challenges. Keynote paper presented at the Fourth Asia Pacific Corpus Linguistics Conference (APCLC 2018), Takamatsu, Japan, 17 September 2018.
- Mahlberg, M., Stockwell, P., Wiegand, V., & Hennessey, A. (2018). The body in Dickens – comparing the semantics of narration with fictional speech. Paper presented at the Dickens & Language conference, University of Tübingen, August 2018.
- Mahlberg, M., Wiegand, V., Hennessey, A., & Stockwell, P. (2018). Fictional speech and authentic spoken language. Paper presented at the PALA2018 conference, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, 27 July 2018.
- Mahlberg, M., Wiegand, V., Cermakova, A. (2018). CLiC for 19th century scholars. Workshop held at the Centre for Corpus Research, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, 5 July 2018.
- Mahlberg, M. (2018). CLiC – studying fiction in the digital age. Keynote paper presented at the Bridging Gaps, Creating Links Conference, Padua, Italy, 7-9 June 2018.
- Wiegand, V., Hennessey, A. & Mahlberg, M. (2018). Corpus statistics and co-occurrence comparisons. Workshop held at the Statistics Summer School, University of Birmingham, UK, 5 June 2018.
- Mahlberg, M. (2018). Keynote paper presented at the 4th Corpus Linguistics in China Conference (CLIC2018), Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China, 1–3 June 2018.
- Mahlberg, M. (2018). Exploring the fuzzy boundaries of language and literature with CLiC. Keynote paper presented at X International Conference on Corpus Linguistics (CILC2018), University of Extremadura, Spain, 9–11 May 2018.
- Mahlberg, M., Wiegand, V., Cermakova, A. (2018). CLiC Workshop for Bishop Walsh Catholic School, Year 8, University of Birmingham, 28 March 2018.
- Wiegand, V. (2017). Introduction to the new CLiC release: A corpus tool for literary texts. Workshop held at the Centre for Corpus Research, University of Birmingham, UK, 22 November 2017.
- Mahlberg, M., & Wiegand, V. (2017). Teaching Language and Literature with the CLiC Web App. Workshop held at the Integrating English 2017 Conference, Aston University, Birmingham, UK, 3 November 2017.
- Mahlberg, M., Stockwell, P., & Wiegand, V. (2017). Textual patterns of dreaming and the unconscious mind in Dickens. Paper presented at the 31st Dickens Day, Senate House, London, 14 October 2017.
- Wiegand, V., Hennessey, A., Tench, C. R., & Mahlberg, M. (2017). A cookbook of co-occurrence comparison techniques and how they relate to the subtleties in your research question. Paper presented at the 9th International Corpus Linguistics Conference, University of Birmingham, UK, 24–28 July 2017.
- Mahlberg, M., & Wiegand, V. (2017). Speech in fiction and real spoken language. Paper presented at the 'Styling: Big and small data in corpus stylistics' pre-conference workshop, 9th International Corpus Linguistics Conference, University of Birmingham, UK, 24 July 2017.
- Wiegand, V. (2017). CLiC Part 2: Corpus stylistics with CLiC. Workshop held at the Corpus Linguistics Summer School 2017, University of Birmingham, UK, 17–21 July 2017.
- Mahlberg, M. (2017). CLiC Part 1: Concordancing in context. Workshop held at the Corpus Linguistics Summer School 2017, University of Birmingham, UK, 17–21 July 2017.
- Mahlberg, M. (2017). Keynote paper presented at Journées Internationales de la Linguistique de Corpus, Grenoble, France, 3–6 July 2017.
- Mahlberg, M., Stockwell, P., & Wiegand, V. (2017). Corpus stylistics for the English classroom. Teacher workshop held at the University of Birmingham, 16 June 2017. [For a report of this workshop please see the CLiC Dickens Blog]
- Wiegand, V., Hennessey, A., Tench, C. R., & Mahlberg, M. (2017). Comparing co-occurrences between corpora. Paper presented at the 38th ICAME conference, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic, 24–28 May 2017.
- Mahlberg, M. (2017). Collocation – new directions and opportunities for interdisciplinarity. Keynote paper presented at the 38th ICAME conference, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic, 24–28 May 2017.
2016
- Mahlberg, M. (2016). Corpus linguistics and the cline of close and distant reading of literary texts. Keynote paper presented at the American Association of Corpus Linguistics Conference 2016, Iowa State University, Ames, USA, 16–18 September 2016.
- Mahlberg, M. (2016). Introducing corpus linguistics for the study of literature. Workshop held at the University of Kent, 4 July 2016.
- Mahlberg, M. (2016). Concordancing in context. Workshop held at the Corpus Linguistics Summer School 2016, University of Birmingham, 20–24 June 2016.
- Mahlberg, M. (2016). Corpus linguistics and the challenges of close and distant reading. Sinclair Lecture 2016, University of Birmingham, 20 June 2016.
- Mahlberg, M., Conklin, Kathy, & Carrol, G. (2016). Exploring corpus-attested patterns in Dickens’s fiction – methodological challenges of using eye-tracking techniques. Paper presented at the CASS Psycholinguistics Seminar on Corpus Data and Psycholinguistics, University of Lancaster, 19 May 2016.
- Mahlberg, M., Stockwell, P., & de Joode, J. (2016). Corpus stylistics for the English classroom. Workshop held at the University of Nottingham, 14 March 2016.
2015
- Mahlberg, M., Stockwell, P., & de Joode, J. (2015). Corpus Stylistics for A-level Teachers – workshop hosted at University of Birmingham, jointly organised with the AQA, 16 November 2015 – a review on the AQA Blog ‘The Definite Article’
- Mahlberg, M. (2015). Exploring the interface of language and literature from a corpus linguistic point of view. Keynote paper presented at the Corpus Linguistics 2015 Conference, University of Lancaster, 20 – 24 July 2015.
- Mahlberg, M., Stockwell, P., & de Joode, J. (2015). Reading voices in Dickens’s fiction. Paper presented at the PALA 2015 conference, University of Kent, 15–18 July 2015.
- de Joode, J., Mahlberg, M., & Stockwell, P. (2015). CLiC Dickens – A cognitive corpus stylistic approach to body language presentation in fiction. Poster presented at the 36th ICAME conference, University of Trier, Germany, 27–31 May 2015.
Videos
The CLiC Web App
Research at the interface of corpus stylistics and cognitive poetics
Introduction to KWICGrouper
Studying texts with corpus software - Michaela Mahlberg
Hay Levels – ENGLISH LANG - Michaela Mahlberg - Corpus Linguistics
The Dickens Society Spotlight: Michaela Mahlberg on the CLiC Dickens Project
Università di Padova: Michaela Mahlberg – CLiC: studying fiction in the digital age
Michaela Mahlberg on corpus linguistics