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Article published In:
Revista Española de Lingüística Aplicada/Spanish Journal of Applied Linguistics
Vol. 32:1 (2019) ► pp.155–184

Exploring the learning potential of models with secondary school EFL learners

| University of Murcia

The role of Corrective Feedback (CF) in the process of acquiring a second language (L2) has been deemed an issue of controversy among theorists and researchers alike. In this empirical study, the objective is to investigate the quality of EFL learners’ processing of feedback employing models and different types of noticing (perfunctory or substantive [Qi & Lapkin, 2001]). The study was carried out with 13- and 14-year-old learners placed in two groups and engaged in a three-stage writing task that included composing a picture-based story (Stage 1), comparing their texts with a model (Stage 2), and rewriting the story (Stage 3). The groups differed in the way they were prompted to process the model text. The findings indicate that there are no differences between the two feedback groups within stages. All the participants increased the number of features reported across stages regardless of the feedback condition. The employment of a model text provided the students with alternative features related to lexis, form, and ideas. The potential effects of model texts and types of noticing on L2 learners’ language development are discussed.

Keywords: corrective feedback, L2, models, EFL learners, noticing
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Literature review
    • 2.1The potential of WCF for language learning
      • 2.1.1Theoretical assumptions in favour of WCF
      • 2.1.2Theoretical objections to WCF
    • 2.2Research on WCF
      • 2.2.1Reformulations and models
      • 2.2.2Empirical research with models
  • 3.The study
    • 3.1Context and participants
    • 3.2Data collection and instruments
    • 3.3Data analysis
  • 4.Results
    • 4.1Qualitative analysis of Stages 1 and 2
    • 4.2Explanations and rehearsals by the RPG
    • 4.3Qualitative analysis of Stages 1 and 3
    • 4.4Qualitative analysis of Stages 2 and 3
    • 4.5Traceable and non-traceable incorporations in Stage 3
  • 5.Discussion
  • 6.Conclusions, pedagogical implications and limitations of the study
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 24 July 2019
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/resla.00013.mon
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