Corpus linguistics is a methodology that relies on structured collections of written, spoken, or multimodal corpora to analyse and draw conclusions about linguistic phenomena and variation. In both linguistics and its allied disciplines, corpus-based tools play a significant role by providing empirical data for analysing language use, variation, and change. In dialectology and the study of linguistic varieties, research has evolved from traditional methods, such as questionnaires, to more advanced technological tools, including dialectology corpora. These corpora are now recognized as valuable educational resources in various fields, particularly linguistics, language teaching, and cultural studies.

This paper provides an overview of the development of dialectological research, highlighting historical milestones and contemporary challenges in creating dialect corpora, particularly for smaller or less-studied dialects. It also discusses key guidelines for constructing a dialectal corpus, including considerations of corpus size, textual diversity, and representativeness. Furthermore, this paper outlines the practical applications of dialect-based corpora in language teaching, incorporating a case study of the Freiburg English Dialect Corpus (FRED). The case study demonstrates how corpora can be used to analyse morphosyntactic variations, such as pronoun usage and the Northern Subject Rule in British dialects. Finally, the paper explores future perspectives on the expansion of dialect corpora and the integration of emerging technologies in dialectological research.

Keywords: Corpus linguistics, dialectology, dialect corpora, language teaching, linguistic varieties, morphosyntactic variations.