Corrective Feedback in Online Asynchronous and Synchronous Environments in Spanish as a Foreign (SFL) Classes

This dissertation reports on an investigation of corrective feedback provided by instructors to learners in sixteen online asynchronous and synchronous interactions. The overarching objective of this study was to examine the provision of corrective feedback in computer-mediated communication (CMC) environments. This study also sought to examine the frequency of corrective feedback types and the relationship between learner error and corrective feedback provision. Finally, this study investigated what types of corrective feedback led to repaired learner responses. Over the course of one university semester, the instructors and students in four second-semester Spanish courses participated in bulletin board and chat room discussions and a detailed analysis of the transcripts revealed that instructors do provide learners with corrective feedback in online asynchronous and synchronous environments. The results also reveal that corrective feedback is more prevalent in the asynchronous environment than in the synchronous environment. A total of six corrective feedback types–explicit correction, recasts, metalinguistic feedback, clarification request, elicitation, and repetition–were found in these environments. All corrective feedback types were present in the asynchronous environment while repetition was not observed in the synchronous environment. The results indicate instructors’ overall preference for explicit correction in the asynchronous environment and preference for recasts in the synchronous environment. In the synchronous environment, different types of learner errors are followed by different types of corrective feedback. Recasts most often follow grammatical and lexical errors, while an opportunity to negotiate form is most often provided for multiple errors. With regard to learner response to corrective feedback, the results revealed that learner response in the asynchronous environment is minimal. In the synchronous environment, learner response to corrective feedback is more frequent. In addition, the findings indicate that certain types of corrective feedback are more effective in leading to repaired learner responses in the synchronous environment. Corrective feedback types that offer the opportunity to negotiate form, which include metalinguistic feedback, clarification request, elicitation, and repetition, are more effective in eliciting a repaired learner response. Consequently, these corrective feedback types may be viable and effective tools for promoting language development in Spanish as a Foreign Language (SFL) classes