Abstract:

Corrective feedback has inspired one of the most vigorous bodies of research in second language acquisition. In this talk, I momentarily step outside the frame of corrective feedback and ask a related but broader question: how do we respond to learner contributions whether they are correct or not? To answer this question, I use the high-powered lens of conversation analysis (CA) to reveal classroom life as it is lived, where in giving feedback, teachers manage complex and often competing demands on a moment-by-moment basis. Using video data from adult ESL classrooms, I problematize some of the taken-for-granted feedback practices addressed respectively to correct and incorrect learner contributions: (1) explicit positive assessments (e.g., /very good/) and (2) feedback aimed at promoting self-discovery (e.g., /Something is wrong here. Can you figure out what?/). I argue that (1) what is affectively preferred may be developmentally dispreferred and that (2) a delicate balance needs to be struck between promoting self-discovery and providing interactionally contingent help.