Corrective Feedback in CALL: Individual Voices Speak Out Through Think-Alouds

This paper presents research conducted as part of a larger computer-mediated experiment which investigated the effects of preprogrammed computer-delivered corrective feedback on foreign language development. The research also explored learners’ attitudes regarding corrective feedback and how it may help them notice the gap between their interlanguage (IL) and the target language (TL), focusing on the relationship between types of corrective feedback and level of awareness. It is this last aspect of the study that will be addressed in this paper. Specifically, concurrent verbal reports (think-alouds protocols) were employed to investigate whether learner processing of corrective feedback differs depending on the type of feedback and type of activity. While the small sample size (N=17) limits the generalizability of the findings, the results offer valuable insights into the role of corrective feedback in language learning and its potential to enhance learners’ metalinguistic awareness. Overall, corrective feedback encouraged reflection and appeared to help learners recognize their errors. The results indicate that explicit feedback in receptive tasks was particularly effective in promoting higher levels of awareness and facilitating successful self-correction, although varying levels of awareness were observed across all treatment groups.