What role do individual differences play in the way L2 learners respond to corrective feedback?

1. What role do individual differences play in the way L2 learners respond to corrective feedback? Rod Ellis University of Auckland

2. What is corrective feedback? Corrective feedback takes the form of responses to learner utterances containing an error. The responses can consist of (1) an indication that an error has been committed, or (2) provision of the correct target language form or (3) metalinguistic information about the nature of the error, or any combination of these.

3. Lyster and Ranta’s (1997) taxonomy Lyster & Ranta (1997) distinguish the following types of corrective feedback occurring in French immersion classrooms in Canada: • Explicit correction – this refers to the explicit provision of the correct form together with an explicit indication that what the learner said was incorrect. • Recasts – a reformulation of all or part of a learner’s utterance, minus the error. • Clarification requests – an indication that the learner’s utterance has been misunderstood (e.g. ‘pardon?’) • Metalinguistic feedback – comments, information or questions related to the well-formedness of the learner’s utterance without explicitly providing the correct form. • Elicitation – an attempt to directly elicit the correct form from the learner (e.g. prompts involving partial repetition of the learner’s utterance with a blank for the learner to complete). • Repetition – repetition of the learner’s utterance with or without highlighting the error.

4. Uptake Uptake refers to the learner’s utterance that imemdiately follows the teacher’s feedback and that constitutes a reaction in some way to the teacher’s intention to draw to some aspect of the learner’s initial utterance. Uptake can take the form of ‘needs repair’ (unsuccessful) or ‘repair’ (successful). Successful uptake is indicative of ‘noticing’. However, uptake cannot be viewed as a measure of acquisition.

5. Key Issues (1) What role does corrective feedback play in L2 acquiisition? • Negative evidence - this arises when the feedback signals that the learner’s utterance contains an error • Positive evidence - this arises when the feedback shows the learner what the correct form of his/her error is.

6. Key Issues (2) What type of corrective feedback works best for language acquisition? • Implicit feedback • Explicit feedback

7. Key Issues (3) What role do individual differences play in the effect that corrective feedback has on acquisition? • Cognitive factors (e.g. language aptitude/ working memory) • Affective factors (e.g. motivation/ anxiety/ personality)