Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-rdxmf Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-22T04:50:30.689Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

ONE SIZE FITS ALL?: Recasts, Prompts, and L2 Learning

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 October 2006

Ahlem Ammar  and
Nina Spada
Ahlem Ammar
Affiliation:
Université de Montréal
Nina Spada
Affiliation:
University of Toronto
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This quasi-experimental study investigated the potential benefits of two corrective feedback techniques (recasts and prompts) for learners of different proficiency levels. Sixty-four students in three intact grade 6 intensive English as a second language classes in the Montreal area were assigned to the two experimental conditions—one received corrective feedback in the form of recasts and the other in the form of prompts—and a control group. The instructional intervention, which was spread over a period of 4 weeks, targeted third-person possessive determiners his and her, a difficult aspect of English grammar for these Francophone learners of English. Participants' knowledge of the target structure was tested immediately before the experimental intervention, once immediately after it ended, and again 4 weeks later through written and oral tasks. All three groups benefited from the instructional intervention, with both experimental groups benefiting the most. Results also indicated that, overall, prompts were more effective than recasts and that the effectiveness of recasts depended on the learners' proficiency. In particular, high-proficiency learners benefited equally from both prompts and recasts, whereas low-proficiency learners benefited significantly more from prompts than recasts.This study is based on the first author's Ph.D. research (Ammar, 2003). We gratefully acknowledge the cooperation of the participating teachers and students. We thank Patsy Lightbown, Roy Lyster, Pavel Trofimovich, and the anonymous SSLA reviewers for their valuable input and feedback on earlier versions of this paper.

Type
Research Article
Information
Studies in Second Language Acquisition , Volume 28 , Issue 4 , December 2006 , pp. 543 - 574
Copyright
© 2006 Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Ammar, A. (2003). Corrective feedback and L2 learning: Elicitation and recasts. Unpublished doctoral thesis, McGill University, Montreal.
Baker, N. & Nelson, R. (1984). Recasting and related conversational devices for triggering syntactic development in children. First Language, 5, 3–22.Google Scholar
Braidi, S.M. (2002). Reexamining the role of recasts in native-speaker/nonnative-speaker interactions. Language Learning, 52, 1–42.Google Scholar
Carroll, S. & Swain, M. (1993). Explicit and implicit negative feedback: An empirical study of the learning of linguistic generalizations. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 15, 357–386.Google Scholar
Chaudron, C. (1977). A descriptive model of discourse in the corrective treatment of learners' errors. Language Learning, 27, 29–46.Google Scholar
Collins, L., Halter, R., Lightbown, P.M., & Spada, N. (1999). Time and the distribution of time in second language instruction. TESOL Quarterly, 33, 665–680.Google Scholar
DeKeyser, R.M. (1995). Learning second language grammar rules: An experiment with a miniature linguistic system. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 19, 249–297.Google Scholar
Doughty, C.J. (1994). Finetuning of feedback by competent speakers to language learners. In J. E. Alatis (Ed.), Georgetown University round table on languages and linguistics 1993 (pp. 96–108). Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press.
Doughty, C.J. (2001). Cognitive underpinnings of focus on form. In P. Robinson (Ed.), Cognition and second language instruction (pp. 206–257). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Doughty, C.J. (2003). Instructed SLA: Constraints, compensation, and enhancement. In C. J. Doughty & M. H. Long (Eds.), The handbook of second language acquisition (pp. 313–348). Oxford: Blackwell.
Doughty, C.J. & Varela, E. (1998). Communicative focus on form. In C. J. Doughty & J. Williams (Eds.), Focus on form in classroom second language acquisition (pp. 114–138). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Doughty, C.J. & Williams, J. (1998). Pedagogical choices in focus on form. In C. J. Doughty & J. Williams (Eds.), Focus on form in classroom second language acquisition (pp. 197–262). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Duff, P. (2005, July). The life and afterlife of second-language classroom research: Epistemological, methodological, ethical, and sociopolitical issues. Paper presented at the 14th World Congress of Applied Linguistics (AILA), Madison, WI.
Ellis, R., Basturkmen, H., & Loewen, S. (2001). Learner uptake in communicative ESL lessons. Language Learning, 51, 281–318.Google Scholar
Fanselow, J. (1977). The treatment of error in oral work. Foreign Language Annals, 10, 583–593.Google Scholar
Farrar, M.J. (1990). Discourse and the acquisition of grammatical morphemes. Journal of Child Language, 17, 607–624.Google Scholar
Farrar, M.J. (1992). Negative evidence and grammatical morpheme acquisition. Developmental Psychology, 28, 90–98.Google Scholar
Gass, S.M. (1997). Input, interaction and the second language learner. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Gass, S.M. (2003). Input and interaction. In C. J. Doughty & M. H. Long (Eds.), Handbook of second language acquisition (pp. 224–255). Oxford: Blackwell.
Gass, S.M. & Varonis, E.M. (1994). Input, interaction, and second language production. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 16, 283–302.Google Scholar
Harley, B. & Swain, M. (1984). The interlanguage of immersion students and its implications for second language teaching. In A. Davies, C. Criper, & A. Howatt (Eds.), Interlanguage (pp. 291–311). Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
Havranek, G. (1999). The effectiveness of corrective feedback: Preliminary results of an empirical study. Acquisition et Interaction en Langue Ėtrangère, 2, 189–206.Google Scholar
Johnston, L. (1978). Do they ever grow up? 101 cartoons about the terrible twos and beyond. Toronto: Stodart.
Judge, A. & Healy, F.G. (1983). A reference grammar of modern French. London: Edward Arnold.
Krashen, S. (1981). Second language acquisition and second language learning. Oxford: Pergamon.
Leeman, J. (2003). Recasts and second language development: Beyond negative evidence. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 25, 37–63.Google Scholar
Lightbown, P.M. (1998). The importance of timing in focus on form. In C. J. Doughty & J. Williams (Eds.), Focus on form in classroom second language acquisition (pp. 177–196). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Lightbown, P.M., Halter, R.H., White, J.L., & Horst, M. (2002). Comprehension-based learning: The limits of “do it yourself.” Canadian Modern Language Review, 58, 427–464.Google Scholar
Lightbown, P.M. & Spada, N. (1990). Focus-on-form and corrective feedback in communicative language teaching: Effects on second language learning. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 12, 429–448.Google Scholar
Lightbown, P.M. & Spada, N. (1994). An innovative program for primary ESL in Quebec. TESOL Quarterly, 28, 563–573.Google Scholar
Lightbown, P.M. & Spada, N. (1997). Learning English as a second language in a special school in Quebec. Canadian Modern Language Review, 28, 563–579.Google Scholar
Lochtman, K. (2000, August). The role of negative feedback in experimental vs. analytic foreign language teaching. Paper presented at the Conference on Instructed Second Language Learning, Brussels.
Long, M.H. (1991). Focus on form: A design feature in language teaching methodology. In K. de Bot, R. Ginsberg, & C. Krasch (Eds.), Foreign language research in cross-cultural perspective (pp. 39–52). Amsterdam: Benjamins.
Long, M.H. (1996). The role of the linguistic environment in second language acquisition. In W. C. Ritchie & T. K. Bhatia (Eds.), Handbook of language acquisition: Vol. 2. Second language acquisition (pp. 413–468). San Diego: Academic Press.
Long, M.H., Inagaki, S., & Ortega, L. (1998). The role of implicit negative feedback in SLA: Models and recasts in Japanese and Spanish. Modern Language Journal, 82, 357–371.Google Scholar
Long, M.H. & Robinson, P. (1998). Focus on form: Theory, research and practice. In C. J. Doughty & J. Williams (Eds.), Focus on form in classroom second language acquisition (pp. 15–41). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Lyster, R. (1998). Recasts, repetition, and ambiguity in L2 classroom discourse. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 20, 51–81.Google Scholar
Lyster, R. (2004). Differential effects of prompts and recasts in form-focused instruction. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 26, 399–432.Google Scholar
Lyster, R. & Ranta, L. (1997). Corrective feedback and learner uptake: Negotiation of form in communicative classrooms. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 19, 37–66.Google Scholar
Mackey, A. & Oliver, R. (2002). Interactional feedback and children's L2 development. System, 30, 459–477.Google Scholar
Mackey, A. & Philp, J. (1998). Conversational interaction and second language development: Recasts, responses and red herrings? Modern Language Journal, 82, 338–356.Google Scholar
Martens, M. (1988). Recognition and production of pronouns by francophone learners of English as a second language. Unpublished master's thesis, Concordia University, Montreal.
Meara, P. (1992). EFL vocabulary test. Swansea, UK: University College, Centre for Applied Language Studies.
Morris, F. (2002). Negotiation and recasts in relation to error types and learner repair. Foreign Language Annals, 35, 395–404.Google Scholar
Netten, J. (1991). Towards a more language oriented second language classroom. In L. Malav & G. Duquette (Eds.), Language, culture and cognition (pp. 284–304). Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters.
Nicholas, H., Lightbown, P.M., & Spada, N. (2001). Recasts as feedback to language learners. Language Learning, 51, 719–758.Google Scholar
Nobuyoshi, J. & Ellis, R. (1993). Focused communication tasks and second language acquisition. ELT Journal, 47, 203–210.Google Scholar
Norris, J. & Ortega, L. (2000). Effectiveness of L2 instruction: A research synthesis and quantitative meta-analysis. Language Learning, 50, 417–528.Google Scholar
Ohta, A. (2000). Rethinking recasts: A learner-centered examination of corrective feedback in the Japanese classroom. In J. K. Hall & L. Verplaeste (Eds.), The construction of second and foreign language learning through classroom interaction (pp. 47–71). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Oliver, R. (1995). Negative feedback in child NS-NNS conversations. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 17, 459–481.Google Scholar
Oliver, R. (2000). Age differences in negotiation and feedback in classroom and pairwork. Language Learning, 50, 119–151.Google Scholar
Panova, I. (1999). Patterns of corrective feedback and uptake in an adult ESL classroom. Unpublished master's thesis, McGill University, Montreal.
Panova, I. & Lyster, R. (2002). Patterns of corrective feedback and uptake in an adult ESL classroom. TESOL Quarterly, 36, 573–595.Google Scholar
Pica, T. (1988). Interlanguage adjustments as an outcome of NS-NNS negotiated interaction. Language Learning, 38, 45–73.Google Scholar
Pinker, S. (1989). Learnability and cognition: The acquisition of argument structure. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Russell, J. & Spada, N. (2006). The effectiveness of corrective feedback for second language acquisition: A meta-analysis of the research. In J. Norris & L. Ortega (Eds.), Synthesizing research on language learning and teaching (pp. 131–164). Amsterdam: Benjamins.
Rutherford, W. & Sharwood Smith, M. (1985). Consciousness-raising and Universal Grammar. Applied Linguistics, 6, 274–282Google Scholar
Schmidt, R. (1983). Interaction, acculturation, and the acquisition of communicative competence: A case study of an adult. In N. Wolfson & E. Judd (Eds.), Sociolinguistics and language acquisition (pp. 137–174). Rowley, MA: Newbury House.
Schmidt, R. (1990). The role of consciousness in second language learning. Applied Linguistics, 11, 129–158.Google Scholar
Schmidt, R. (1993). Awareness and second language acquisition. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 13, 206–226.Google Scholar
Schmidt, R. (2001). Attention. In P. Robinson (Ed.), Cognition and second language instruction (pp. 3–32). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Sharwood Smith, M. (1981). Consciousness-raising and the second language learner. Applied Linguistics, 2, 159–168.Google Scholar
Sharwood Smith, M. (1991). Speaking to many minds: On the relevance of different types of language information for the L2 learner. Second Language Research, 7, 118–132.Google Scholar
Spada, N. (1997). Form-focused instruction and second language acquisition: A review of classroom and laboratory research. Language Teaching, 29, 73–87.Google Scholar
Spada, N. (2005). Conditions and challenges in developing school-based SLA research programs. Modern Language Journal, 89, 328–338.Google Scholar
Spada, N. & Fröhlich, M. (1995). COLT: Communicative orientation of language teaching observation scheme—Coding conventions and applications. Sydney: National Centre for English Language Teaching and Research.
Spada, N. & Lightbown, P.M. (1989). Intensive ESL programs in Quebec primary schools. TESL Canada Journal, 7, 11–12.Google Scholar
Swain, M. (1985). Communicative competence: Some roles of comprehensible input and comprehensible output in its development. In S. M. Gass & C. Madden (Eds.), Input in second language acquisition (pp. 235–253). Rowley, MA: Newbury House.
Truscott, J. (1999). What's wrong with oral grammar correction. Canadian Modern Language Review, 55, 437–456.Google Scholar
Van den Branden, K. (1997). Effects of negotiation on language learners' output. Language Learning, 47, 589–636.Google Scholar
VanPatten, B. (1990). Attending to form and content in the input: An experiment in consciousness. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 12, 287–301.Google Scholar
White, J. (1996). An input enhancement study with ESL children: Effects on the acquisition of possessive determiners. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, McGill University, Montreal.
White, J. (1998). Getting the learners' attention: A typographical input enhancement study. In C. J. Doughty & J. Williams (Eds.), Focus on form in classroom second language acquisition (pp. 114–138). New York: Cambridge University Press.
White, L. (1987). Against comprehensible input. Applied Linguistics, 8, 95–110.Google Scholar
Zobl, H. (1984). The wave model of linguistic change and interlanguage systems. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 6, 160–185.Google Scholar
Zobl, H. (1985). Grammars in search of input and intake. In S. M. Gass & C. Madden (Eds.), Input in second language acquisition (pp. 32–44). Rowley, MA: Newbury House.