The effects of face-to-face and computer-mediated recasts on L2 development

Abstract

The role of recasts, a corrective feedback technique, has received much attention from instructed SLA researchers. While a variety of factors have been identified as influencing their effectiveness in facilitating uptake and L2 development (e.g., learners’ age and level of proficiency), the role of mode of interaction has been the object of relatively little research. To fill this gap, the current study explored the impact of mode of interaction on learners’ successful uptake and L2 gains when recasts are provided. Sixty young Greek EFL learners (M = 11.39 years old, SD =.86) were assigned to one of two experimental conditions that differed as to whether students engaged in synchronous computer-mediated communication (SCMC) or face-to-face (FTF) interaction. Both groups performed information transmission tasks that required them to provide information about habits of fictional characters. In both conditions, the participants received interrogative, partial recasts addressing errors on the present third person singular. The recasts were oral in the FTF condition and written in the SCMC condition. L2 development was gauged by an oral and a written production test. Results demonstrated that oral recasts in the FTF mode generated more successful uptake and they led to more L2 gains than written recasts in the SCMC condition on both outcome measures.