Pre-service foreign language teachers’ social representations on oral corrective feedback

Abstract

This article discusses an investigation about the social representations (MOSCOVICI, 1978, 2003, 2007) of pre-service teachers of English and Spanish on oral corrective feedback. The study population were 64 senior students of Letters programs from the five different Brazilian regions. Considering that social representations may guide behavior, researching the participants’ social representations may reveal how they tend to deal with oral errors in their future teaching. Data were collected using a free word association instrument and an online focus group. The analysis showed that the participants’ social representations are anchored on traditional understanding of error correction, and points to the need of including oral corrective feedback in the curriculum of Letters programs.