EFFECTIVENESS OF USING RECASTS AS CORRECTIVE FEEDBACKIN TEACHING ENGLISH

Table of content

I. Introduction................................................................................................ 4 II. Development ............................................................................................. 4 2.1. An overview of corrective feedback .................................................. 4 2.1.1. The definition of corrective feedback ............................................ 4 2.1.2. Types of corrective feedback ......................................................... 5 2.2. Effectiveness of recatst as corrective feedback ................................ 6 2.2.1.Definition and feature of recasts ..................................................... 6 2.2.2 .Benifits of recasts as a corrective feedback ................................... 7 2.3. Applications of using recasts in teaching English .......................... 8 III. Conclusion ............................................................................................... 9 Reference ...................................................................................................... 10

I. Introduction In learning process, learners errors have been largely regarded as natural and taken for granted. As for it, corrective feedback is considered to be one of the effective ways to facilitate learners learner development. It is important for teacher of English to see wide variety of techniques for the treatment of student errors. Lyster and Rantas (1997) study investigated six different types of corrective feedback such as clarification requests, metalinguistic feedback, repetition and among the corrective feedback types, recasts in particular have been receiving considerable attention because it provides the learner with evaluative information to incorporate changes and make progress concerning their linguistic performance. Recasts tell learners that they have said something incorrect in English, allow them to correct their utterances towards a more comprehensible or native-like use of the second language. The study is organized into three main sections. In the first place, and overview corrective feedback such as the definition of feedback and types of feedback will be presented. Next, the most important part of this study is effectiveness of recasts as corrective feedback will be discussed. Finally, it is about the pedagogical implication of recasts as corrective feedback in

teaching English. I. 2.1. Development An overview of corrective feedback

2.1.1.Definition of corrective feedback Language specialists may define corrective feedback in slightly different ways, but all definitions given can be generalized to the fact that it is an indication from the teacher that something is erroneous with the students use of the target language.

One of the first definitions of corrective feedback is that of Chaudron (1977) who considers corrective feedback as any reaction of the teacher which clearly transforms, disapprovingly refers to, or demands improvement of the learner utterance. (p. 31). Corrective feedback is any indication to learners by teachers, native speakers, or non-native speaker interlocutors that their use of the target language is incorrect (Lighbown and Spada 1999). Reid (1993) states that feedback is everything which comes from teacher to respond students action as an initiator which consists of information for error revision or praises to encourage or enhance students learning. In short, it can refer to various signals that the teacher gives to his/her students to make them see the flaws in their use of the L2. 2.1.2. Types of corrective feedback. Generally, there are two major types of corrective feedback explicit and implicit feedback. However, for detailed understanding, Lyster and Ranta (1997) identified six different types of feedback. The following brief explanations of each type are taken from the studies of Lyster & Ranta (1997): First of all, explicitation correction refers to the explicit provision of the correct form. As the teacher provides the correct form, he or she clearly indicates that what the students had said was incorrect Secondly, recasts involves the teachers reformulation of all or part of a students utterance, except for the erroneous part, but without clearly indicating to the learner that his or her utterance was incorrect.. Thirdly, clarification request indicates to students either that their utterance has been misunderstood by the teacher or that the utterance is illformed in some way and that a repetition or a reformulation is required.

In addition, metalinguistic feedback offers some information and comments, or asks questions related to the students utterance to make the learner elicit the correct information. Besides, elicitation refers to at least three techniques that teachers use to directly elicit the correct form from the student by pausing to allow students to fill in the blank as it were, some met linguistic comment and by a repetition of the error as in the following Lastly, repetition refers to the teachers repetition, in isolation, of the students erroneous utterance. In most cases, teachers adjust their intonation so as to highlight the error. 2.2. Effectiveness of recats as corrective feedback 2.2.1. Definitions and features of recasts Several definitions of recast have been provided by different researchers and authors. Larsen-Freeman (2003) points out, Recasting involves teachers re-formulating all or part of what a student has just said so that it is correct (p.135). Another specialist, Long (1998) states, Recasts are utterances that rephrase a childs utterance by changing one or more sentences components (subject, verb or object) while still referring to its central meanings (p. 434). According to Philp (2003), a recast is a target like version of a students utterance (p. 100), and Sheen (2004) says, Recasts refer to the reformulation of the whole or part of a learners erroneous utterance with-out changing its meaning (p. 278) These definitions are consistent with Lyster & Ranta (1997: 46) recast category of corrective feedback that Recasts involve the teachers reformulation of all or part of a students ill-formed utterance To sum up, recasts can be defines as utterances that repeat learners incorrect utterances, making only the change necessary to produce a correct one without changing the meaning. Recast is significant to the researcher
6

basically because it is a very common tool in language class-rooms. These are some important definitions of recast. Recast involves the teachers reformulation of all or part of a students utterance, minus the error. Spada and Frhlich (1995; cited in Lyster and Randa 1997) also refer to such reformulations as paraphrase. Recasts are generally implicit in that they are not introduced by phrases such as You mean, Use this word, and You should say. However, some recasts are more salient than others in that they may focus on one word only, whereas others incorporate the grammatical or lexical modification into a sustained piece of discourse. Recasts also include translations in response to a students use of the L1. (Lyster and Randa, 1997). To help the student notice his or her mistakes and repair it on his or her own. 2.2.3. Effectiveness of recasts as corrective feedback According to Lyster and Randa s research, in content based classes, recasts are used more than any other types of feedback because its effectiveness in teaching and learning process is undeniable. To begin with, recasts might help to use some discourse markers or exaggerated gestures to attract students attention. Recasts are implicit in nature. Sometime it is difficult for students to notice the role of recasts as corrective feedback. A teacher can use discourse markers, such as oh, aah to makes students notice his following utterance. In addition, recasts help to give students more waiting time. Recasts is the repetition of students ill utterance with corrections. It usually follows a topic shift. Sometimes the students may notice their errors indicated by the teacher a recasts, but they do not have chances to make uptakes simply because the teacher does not give them time to do so. If a teacher waits one or two seconds after giving the students recasts, the students will benefit from the waiting time.
7

Furthermore, recasts may give students more opportunities to practice the correct form. That a student can pick up the correct form does not mean that the students has acquired the correct form because it is possible that the production of the correct form is shortived and not been interalised. A teacher can give the students opportunities to practice the correct form. In generally, with all the benefits above, I strongly agree that recasts play an essential role in teaching English, especially in errors correct and we should further a movement in using this method 2.3. Applications of using recasts as corrective feedback in teaching English In learning process, students do not always go smoothly. Every student must deal with mistake. When students make some mistake or even do something correctly, it is teachers role to provide feedback as praise or evaluate the students appropriately. In addition, students in the classroom have different level of ability in understanding the materials. As a teacher, investigating the role played by recast as corrective feedback in English classroom has greatly benefited me. I myself find that correction of learners errors may lead to dangerously negative affective reactions on the part of my students because of social factors like embarrassment. Therefore, looking for an alternative implicit feedback technique like recasts that is less threatening for my students especially in classroom interactional activities. As a teacher of English in junior high school, in my teaching job, corrective feedback is teaching method used in every classes. And recasts was the most frequent feedback type provided, especially in the grammatical or lexical modification. Besides being as corrective feedback in classroom interaction, recasts are also used as the interlocutors responses that sustain the

interact ion and those that provide a means of focusing o n the language use d in the interaction. 3. Conclusion In summary, a teacher can react to a learners incorrect utterance by several ways and using corrective feedback is the way that an error has been rephrased. Recasts in turn have been shown to be more effective than other feedback types by helping the student notice his or her mistakes and repairing it on his or her own. In general, teacher should make use of corrective feedback and recasts, in particular, in teaching and correcting learnerserrors.

Words account: 1,728

Reference Chaudron, C. (1977). A descriptive model of discourse in the corrective treatment of learners' errors. Language Learning, 27, 29-46.

Larsen & Freeman, D. (2003). Teaching language: from grammar to grammaring. Newbury House.

Lightbown, P.M., and N. Spada. 1999. How languages are learned. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Long, M. (1998). The role of implicit negative feedback in SLA.Retrieved October 2, 2008, from http://modernlanguage.co.uk/SLA/0005/section13/index.html

Lyster, R., & Ranta, L. (1997). Corrective feedback and learner uptake: Negotiation of form in communicative classrooms. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 19,37-66.

Nelson, K.E. Carskaddon & J. D. Bonvillian.(1993). Syntax acquisition: Impact of experimental variation in adult verbal interaction with the child. Child Development 44: 497-504.

Philp, J. (2003). Noticing the gap. Retrieved October 2, 2008 from http://itesjl.org/links/studiesinSLA/5687ujy87.html

Sheen, Y. (2004). Corrective feedback and learner uptake. Retrieved October 2, 2008, from http://www.lsj.com/tesol/correctivefedback/pre0558kju1a.html
10

Tsui, A. 1995. Introducing classroom interaction: Penguin Group

11