Exploring The Relationship Between Learner Anxiety And Recast Efficacy-in Terms Of English Subjunctive Mood

Corrective feedback is always a key point in the field of Second LanguageAcquisition (SLA). As a fundamental form of corrective feedback, recast also attractsa great deal of attention; however, previous studies put too much emphasis on itsdefinitions, functions, on comparing it with other forms of feedback, or on making acontrast of it in different contexts. Few researchers notice the relationship betweenindividual learner factors and recast, let alone learner anxiety. Therefore, on the basisof100EFL students’ learning of English subjunctive mood, this thesis has made aresearch to testify the relationship between learner anxiety and the efficacy of recast.All these participants are non-English majors from two classes in Xi’an RailwayVocational and Technical Institute. They were divided into four equal groups: alow-anxiety recast group, a high-anxiety recast group, a low-anxiety control group,and a high-anxiety control group. The study aims at investigating and answering thefollowing research questions:(1) Does anxiety have an effect on the SLA in terms of English subjunctive mood?If so, which group’s modified output is the most target-like?(2) Does recast have an effect on the SLA in terms of English subjunctive mood?If so, which group’s modified output is the most target-like?(3) Does the interactive function existing between anxiety and recast affect theSLA? If so, which group’s modified output is the most target-like?(4) Does anxiety influence the long-term benefit that EFL learners get fromrecast? If so, which group stands the minimal impact?Pretest, immediate posttest and delayed posttest were adopted for the purpose ofobtaining the scores. Participants were demanded to finish one task at each stage, thatis, oral translation scores of each participant were analyzed with SPSS18.0(Chineseversion). The results suggest that learner anxiety correlates with learners’ response torecast; learners with low-anxiety outperform those with high-anxiety. Less anxiouslearners are more attentive to recast and make modifications. It also shows thatanxiety plays a role in determining whether EFL learners can benefit from recast inthe long run.