recasts

Despite the increasing popularity of error treatment as a research subject, the effect of age as a potential learner-internal factor affecting choice of feedback is largely undertreated. Characterized by being at early stages of self-empowerment, young language learners are considerably vulnerable and in need of particular language input to meet their age-appropriate psychological demands. This study is one of the early attempts to detect the appropriate corrective feedback for children’s linguistic (grammar uptake) and personality (willingness to communicate) development. Thirty-seven young language learners ( mean age = 10.32) at two pre-intermediate classes in a non-profit language institute took part in this study. Following intact group design, they were divided into two groups of recasts and explicit feedback. Whereas in the recast group, all or part of an erroneous utterance was reformulated by teacher, correct forms were directly and explicitly provided in the explicit group in the course of a semester ( 19 sessions ´ 50 min=950 mins). A structured willingness to communicate (WTC) scale and two parallel grammaticality judgment tests were administered at pre- and post-intervention conditions; this stage was accompanied by the teacher’s formative observations using an unstructured WTC checklist and a tally chart worksheet. The results of the quantitative phase revealed higher grammar uptake for the recast group. Besides, students in the implicit group showed more WTC in both quantitative and qualitative investigations. These findings indicate that for young learners the use of a less direct way might be more effective in both raising their unconscious L2 knowledge and willingness to participate in classroom activities.

Despite a great number of studies exploring Schmidt’s noticing hypothesis in the cognitive perspective of language learning, the investigations focused on noticing in the ecological perspective are rather rare in number. The present study was an attempt to examine how noticing second language recast could affect the learners’ achievements of grammatical structures through these two perspectives (i.e., cognitive and ecological). To do so, one hundred and twenty first-year college students at Islamic Azad University and Applied Science University in Tehran took part in this study. The students were divided into two cognitive and ecological groups and received two different treatments. During the treatment, the learners in all groups received recast and their noticing was assessed through learners’ raising hands and underlining. In the end, a posttest was conducted to measure the effectiveness of the treatment. Data analysis revealed that the ecological perspective of language learning was more conducive to noticing and subsequent language learning. The study also made contributions by actualizing the ecological project-based meaningful activities, shedding light on the importance of affordance and interaction in the context of language learning.