EFL Learners’ Perception toward Interactional Corrective Feedback
pp.1-24
Second language (L2) research has reported a facilitative role of interaction in L2 learning. It points out that interactional corrective feedback (ICF), which naturally occurs during negotiation for meaning, is one of many benefits. Research argues that such feedback can draw learners’ attention to their nontargetlike utterances. However, many researchers question whether ICF is perceived by learners as correction to language in meaning-based classrooms since it is interwoven with an ongoing conversation. In light of this, the current study aims to investigate in nine intact classrooms how learners perceive ICF. In doing so, the study pioneers in the investigation of how learners perceive ICF differently depending on whether they are direct or indirect recipients. In addition, the study examines whether the type of ICF plays a role in learner perception. The study analyzed stimulated recall interviews from 45 students to measure learner perception. The results show that learners perceived about 50% of ICF as correction and that they were generally more sensitive to the corrective function of feedback when they were direct recipients. However, when instructors use recasts, there is no significant difference in learner perception between direct recipients and indirect recipients.