Md Nesar Uddin, The University of Memphis, United States

Title: Use of L1 in Corrective Feedback and Learner Uptakes in Foreign Language Learning

Keywords: L1 use; corrective feedback; learner uptake; foreign language learning

Abstract:

The previous three decades have seen an uptick in research on corrective feedback (CF) in SLA. Both observational studies (e.g., Roothooft, 2014) and experimental ones (e.g., Lyster and Izquierdo, 2009; Doski and Cele, 2017) have shown that CF promotes L2 learning. In parallel, an interest in the use of L1 in L2 classroom instruction has grown in SLA research. Cognitivist and sociocultural research (e.g., Morahan, 2010; Storch and Wigglesworth, 2003) has found that L1 use helps learners accomplish cognitively demanding tasks and work within the zone of proximal development. However, little is known about the use of L1 in CF and its role in L2 acquisition. The study combined L1 use and CF in L2 instruction and examined how L1 use in CF in two Arabic classes (students = 30) at a private middle school in the USA affects L2 learners’ uptakes.

The researcher collected data through 40 hours of structured observations in both classes and semi-structured interviews with two participating teachers in two phases. Ranta and Lyster’s (2007) taxonomy of CF types was used to code feedback moves and uptakes for descriptive statistics. Interviews focused on why teachers used certain CF strategies and were coded qualitatively following a grounded theory approach that helped interpret the observations data. Preliminary analysis of observation data showed that teachers received more learner uptakes when they partially or fully used L1 in their CF. The analysis also showed that teachers extensively used recast in L2 accompanied by metalinguistic explanations in L1 that significantly contributed to learner uptakes. Teachers’ use of L1 in CF accounts for their belief that learners felt more interactive and engaged while L1 was used. The presentation will detail quantitative and qualitative findings as well as implications for the use of the first language in CF in foreign language learning settings.