Communicative PracticeCorrective Feedback in the Conversation Class

Presented by Rachel GamarraArlington ReadsCity of Arlington Public Library

English Conversation CirclesAt the Literacy House in Arlington, TX.www.arlingtonlibrary.org/calendarLiteracy/Tutoring

Frequently Asked Questions

Should learners' errors be corrected?

When should learners' errors be corrected?

Which errors should be corrected?

How should errors be corrected?

Who should do the correcting?

*Questions originally framed by J.M. Hendrickson in 1978.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Should learners' errors be corrected?

• Nativists – students’ errors should never be

corrected, because it is damaging to their self-

esteem

• Behaviorists – students’ errors should always be

corrected in order for students to attain full

proficiency.

Frequently Asked Questions

2. When should learners' errors be corrected?

• Should the error be corrected immediately?

• Should the error be corrected at the end of class?

3. Which errors should be corrected?

• Grammar?

• Vocabulary?

• Pronunciation?

• All errors?

Frequently Asked Questions

4. How should errors be corrected?

• What type of corrective feedback do you give to

the student?

5. Who should do the correcting?

• The teacher?

• Peers?

• The student who makes the error?

Theoretical Rationale for Corrective Feedback

Output Hypothesis (Swain): “[Output opportunities] can help learners to make and test hypotheses about linguistic correctness and to develop metalinguistic knowledge of how the L2 works.”

Noticing Hypothesis (Schmidt): “Noticing is a prerequisite of learning…conscious attention must be paid to input in order for L2 learning to proceed.”

Explicit vs. Implicit Feedback

“Corrective feedback differs in terms of how implicit or explicit it is. In the case of implicit feedback, there is no overt indicator that an error has been committed, whereas in explicit feedback types, there is.” (Ellis, et. al.)

Types of Corrective Feedback

1.Explicit Correction

2.Recasts

3.Clarification Requests

4.Metalinguistic Feedback

5.Elicitation

6.Repetition

Explicit Correction

Giving the correct form to learners and telling them what they said was incorrect.

Example:

STUDENT: I hurted my foot.

TEACHER: No, not hurted – hurt.

Recasts

Teacher rephrases the student’s utterances to eliminate errors.

Example:

STUDENT: You can count with me!

TEACHER: You can count on me!

Clarification Requests

Teacher indicates to the student that they didn’t understand what the student said.

Example:

STUDENT: I go my yob.

TEACHER: Pardon?

Metalinguistic Feedback

Commenting or asking questions about the form of the student’s utterances without explicitly correcting it.

Example 1:

STUDENT: He like to eat Pizza.TEACHER: Do we say “he like?”

Example 2:

STUDENT: My favorite movie is ‘Rebél without a Cause.’

TEACHER: Is it “Rebél” or “Rébel?”

Elicitation

Techniques used to get the student to produce the correct form, either by completing the teacher’s own restatement, asking the student questions about how something should be said, or asking students to repeat utterances in a reformulated version.

Example 1:TEACHER: My name _____....STUDENT: is.

Example 2:TEACHER: How do we use the verb ‘to be’ in the present tense, 3rd person singular?

Repetition

Teacher repeats back the incorrect utterance with rising intonation or emphasis so that student knows which part is in need of repair.

Example:

STUDENT: I half three childrens.

TEACHER: I half three childrens?

Effective Forms of Feedback

Metalinguistic

Elicitation

Clarification Requests

Teacher Repetition of Errors

These types of feedback encourage students to be cognizant of their error(s) and self-correct.

Ineffective Forms of Feedback

Recasts

Lyster and Ranta report that recasting was ineffective in getting students to repair their own speech, since students may find recasts as ambiguous or they may not know if the teacher is responding to the content or the form of what they said.

Intensive recasts may be beneficial for more advanced ESL learners engaged in conversational exchanges.

Feedback Type All Repairs (n = 184) Student-Generated Repairs (n = 100)

Recast (n = 375) 66 (36%) 0

Elicitation (n = 94) 43 (23%) 43 (43%)

Clarification request (n = 73)

20 (11%) 20 (20%)

Metalinguistic feedback (n = 58)

26 (14%) 26 (26%)

Explicit correction (n = 50) 18 (10%) 0

Repetition (n = 36) 11 (6%) 11 (11%)

TABLE 1. NUMBER AND PERCENTAGE OF REPAIRS ATTRIBUTED TO EACH FEEDBACK TYPE

(Lyster & Ranta, 1997)

The Conversation ClassHow to Integrate Effective Feedback

Content vs. Form

Content – meaning or message.

Form – correct usage of grammar.

Content vs. Form

Questions to ask yourself:

1. Is it an activity or is it an exercise?

• Focus on content for activities.

• Focus on form for exercises.

2. What is the objective?

• “What if” scenarios?

• Grammar practice?

Feedback Strategies

1. Condition your students for the type of feedback they will receive.

2. The type of feedback should match or complement the activity.

3. Feedback should be appropriate to the student’s level of proficiency.

4. Self-correction, peer-correction, teacher-correction.

5. Learner-centered approach.

Feedback Strategies (Tedick, Gortari)

“Practice a variety of feedback techniques. Good teachers understand that one size does not fit all. Individual learners may well differ in terms of the particular error correction technique most appropriate for their unique language development needs.”

“Choosing to learn and use a few different types of feedback that seem to produce student-generated repairs increases your chance of reaching more students.”

Feedback Strategies (Tedick, Gortari)

“Consider the context in which student language use and errors occur.”

“Students in the early stages of cognitive development and language acquisition need to be encouraged to produce language that communicates meaning.”

“Error correction techniques that require student reflection on language structures or vocabulary are not appropriate for learners in those early stages.”

Feedback Strategies (Tedick, Gortari)

“Focus on the learner—it's important to let the learner self-correct. Remember that your students may…be more capable than you think!”

“If we allow time and provide appropriate cues for the learner to self-repair, more often than not the student will come through.”

“The least effective technique for correcting a student's incorrect language…is to simply give them the answer.”

FAQ Revisited

1. Should learners' errors be corrected?

• Yes! Don’t allow mistakes to become fossilized.

2. When should learners' errors be corrected?

• Constant interruptions will raise the student’s

affective filter. Revisit common errors if

necessary and focus on form.

FAQ Revisited

3. Which errors should be corrected?

• Beginners – errors of content (meaning).

• Advanced – errors of form (grammar).

4. How should errors be corrected?

• Practice a variety of different feedback techniques.

There is not a “one-size fits all” answer.

5. Who should do the correcting?

• Student Peer Teacher.

Works Cited

Ellis, Rod, Shawn Loewen, and Rosemary Erlam. "IMPLICIT AND EXPLICIT CORRECTIVE FEEDBACK AND THE ACQUISITION OF L2 GRAMMAR." Studies in Second Language Acquisition 28.2 (2006): 339-68.

Omaggio Hadley, Alice. "Developing Oral Proficiency." Teaching Language in Context. 3rd ed. Boston: Heinle & Heinle, 2001. 263+. Print.

Rezaei, Saeed, Farzaneh Mozaffari, and Ali Hatef. "Corrective Feedback in SLA: Classroom Practice and Future Directions." International Journal of English Linguistics 1.1 (2011): 21.

Tedick, D. and Gortari, B. (1998). Research on Error Correction and Implications for Classroom Teaching. The Bridge, ACIE Newsletter. Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition, University of Minnesota, v1. [Online] http://www.carla.umn.edu/immersion/acie/vol1/May1998.pdf

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