The Effect of Language Aptitude on Written Corrective Feedback and Task Complexity in the Acquisition of Indefinite Article

Abstract This study examines the associations between implicit and explicit language aptitude and the effects of the timing of corrective feedback (CF). A total of 112 seventh-grade EFL learners were assigned to three groups: Immediate CF, Delayed CF, and Task Only. The three groups underwent three treatment sessions during which they performed six focused communicative tasks eliciting the use of the English past tense. The Immediate and Delayed CF groups received CF treatments in the first and final sessions, respectively, and the Task Only group performed the communicative tasks without receiving any feedback. Treatment effects were measured through an untimed grammaticality judgment test and an elicited imitation test. Implicit language aptitude was operationalized as procedural memory and explicit language aptitude as working memory and declarative memory. Multiple regression analysis showed that procedural memory was significantly predictive of the effectiveness of Immediate CF, declarative memory was significantly associated with Delayed CF and Task Only, and working memory was a significant predictor of Immediate CF and Delayed CF. The results were interpreted by consulting the methodological features of the treatments and the mechanisms of the three cognitive abilities.

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The Effect of Focused Written Corrective Feedback and Language Aptitude on ESL Learners' Acquisition of Articles

TESOL Quarterly ◽

10.1002/j.1545-7249.2007.tb00059.x ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 41 (2) ◽

pp. 255-283 ◽

Cited By ~ 241

Author(s):

YOUNGHEE SHEEN

Keyword(s):

Corrective Feedback ◽

Language Aptitude ◽

Written Corrective Feedback ◽

Esl Learners

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The role of cognitive aptitudes for explicit language learning in the relative effects of explicit and implicit feedback

Bilingualism Language and Cognition ◽

10.1017/s136672891400090x ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 19 (1) ◽

pp. 147-161 ◽

Cited By ~ 25

Author(s):

YUCEL YILMAZ ◽

GISELA GRANENA

Keyword(s):

Language Learning ◽

Cognitive Processes ◽

Cognitive Abilities ◽

Corrective Feedback ◽

Language Aptitude ◽

Oral Production ◽

Indefinite Article ◽

Group Assignment ◽

Posttest Performance

This study investigated the extent to which cognitive abilities that involve explicit cognitive processes (i.e., explicit language aptitude) are related to second language (L2) learning outcomes under two corrective feedback conditions. The study followed a pretest-posttest-delayed posttest experimental design. Forty-eight L2 learners of English carried out three oral production tasks, in which their errors on the indefinite article were treated according to their group assignment (i.e., explicit, implicit, and no-feedback). A set of controlled oral production tests was administered as pretest and posttest. Explicit language aptitude was measured using three subtests from the LLAMA Language Aptitude Test battery (Meara, 2005). Results showed that explicit language aptitude predicted immediate posttest performance only under the explicit feedback condition, suggesting that this type of feedback requires mental processes that are facilitated by explicit cognitive abilities and that its short-term effectiveness is not the same for learners with different aptitude levels.

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