Corrective Feedback in SLA: Theoretical Relevance and Empirical Research

Abstract

Corrective feedback (CF) refers to the responses or treatments from teachers to a learner’s nontargetlike second language (L2) production. CF has been a crucial and controversial topic in the discipline of second language acquisition (SLA). Some SLA theorists believe that CF is harmful to L2 acquisition and should be ruled out completely while others regard CF as an essential catalyst for L2 development. The last two decades have witnessed a dramatic increase in empirical research on the effectiveness of CF. This article, with an aim to provide an informed knowledge of the potential role of CF, briefly traces the history of research on CF and proposes some recommendations for further studies. It starts by surveying a range of theoretical stances on the role of error and error correction (also known as CF) in SLA. It then moves into detailed discussion of three issues on CF heatedly debated either within a cognitive or a sociocultural framework. By examining the empirical findings, some possible topics for further studies are uncovered.