Reshaping Classroom Corrective Feedback 

Written By Kelsey Ulrich-Verslycken & Eva Kartchava 

 

As L2 teachers, we know that learners expect us to provide them with corrective feedback (CF) – that is, adjustments or corrections on their errors – to help them improve their second language (L2) production. There is, however, quite a bit of evidence that the ways in which teachers provide these corrections aren’t always seen as effective by our L2 learners.   

To understand how L2 teachers go about providing CF and why, in this study, we closely examined CF practices of one language teacher (i.e., the first author) to determine how the teacher used CF, whether their learners were actually attending to the provided CF, and how the teacher could have created more relevant opportunities for CF provision and learner engagement with it. To that end, the teacher spent twenty weeks reflecting on their CF practices through regular journaling while simultaneously attending a graduate-level CF course (taught by the second author of the study). The teacher also documented her general thinking on the topic of CF before, during, and after the data collection period.  

 

What does the research say? 
An examination of the journals revealed CF behaviours that the teacher displayed across the 20-week study as well as those that underwent change due to the CF course. The three behaviours that remained unchanged included the teacher:  

1. not providing CF as frequently as she expected;  

1. not wanting to interrupt the learners, preferring to delay feedback; 

1. utilizing a particular CF technique – recasts (when learners produced an error, she would just say the correct target form) – more than the others.  

 

However, when it came to learner engagement and lesson planning, the teacher appeared to adjust her approach specifically for clearer CF provision.  To increase learner engagement with CF, the teacher started to give learners more time to think about, and whenever appropriate, respond to, the correction before moving on with the lesson. She also made an effort to be clearer about which error she was correcting.  

 

As for lesson planning, the teacher, realizing that some tasks were more conducive to CF than others, began to create opportunities for tasks that would highlight certain linguistic forms, ensuring opportunities for CF.  

 

The TESL Classroom Connection 
Corrective feedback is more than simply getting learners to use grammar correctly. It’s about understanding what the learners are trying to say and supporting them with CF techniques that they are likely to actually notice and act upon. Every learner and every class is a little different, so what works for one context might not work for another. By taking the time to consider our CF practices directly, we can identify patterns in what works or not in our specific contexts and adjust our practices to best meet our learners’ needs.    

 

Try this! 
If you want to better understand how your CF practices impact your class, perhaps try:  

1. Keeping a journal. Journaling may be helpful in finding patterns in terms of how you provide CF and adjusting those practices to better fit your learners’ needs. Even taking just five minutes after class to reflect will help you make connections you might not be aware of otherwise.   

1. Planning for feedback – not just content. Considering task types as opportunities for CF will help you choose tasks and activities that help support your learners’ linguistic needs. While topic selection is still important, the task types that we choose can support other linguistic components (specifically, accuracy of grammar and/or pronunciation). By identifying what works in your own classroom, you can streamline your lesson planning to better accommodate learners’ needs.  

If you’d like to read our full article, please click here.