A Comparative Study Of The Effects Of Recasts And Prompts On Learners’ Modified Output

The role of corrective feedback(CF) has received considerable research attention in the field of second language acquisition in recent years. A number of theoretical and empirical researches have proved the positive effects of CF on language learning.However, there is no consensus on the relative effectiveness of different feedback types. In addition, factors influencing the effects of feedback need to be further explored.Based on Output Hypothesis, Interaction Hypothesis and Noticing Hypothesis, the present study investigates the effects of recasts and prompts on learners’ modified output.This research mainly focuses on three aspects:(a) to compare the amount and frequency of recasts and prompts in teacher-student interactions,(b) to compare the effects of recasts and prompts on incidental errors in terms of learners’ modified output, and(c) to explore factors influencing the effectiveness of recasts and prompts.The participants in this study are 45 English major freshmen from two intact class and two teachers teaching their intensive reading course. The experimental data is collected through classroom observation, questionnaire and interview together. The results showed that recasts are more frequently used than prompts in teacher-student interaction,but prompts are more effective in eliciting learners’ modified output. The results also revealed that error types and the explicitness of each feedback have direct impact on learners’ modified output. Recasts are more effective to phonological repair while prompts are more effective to lexical and grammatical repair. The explicit forms of both feedback types are more effective than the implicit forms in generating learners’ modified output.Furthermore, there were mismatches between learners’ preferences for corrective feedback and teachers’ in-class practice, which might also influence the effectiveness of recasts and prompts.The present study has some pedagogical implications for English teaching. It provides practical basis for improving the effects of recasts and prompts in classroom. In order to promote learners’ oral modified output and improve the effectiveness ofcorrective feedback, teachers are recommended to provide proper feedback types according to learners’ errors, the characteristics of feedback and learner preferences.