Oral corrective feedback in English as a foreign language classrooms: A teaching and learning perspective

Abstract

Oral corrective feedback, a key topic in second language pedagogy and research in applied linguistics and second language acquisition, has widely been investigated for the past two decades. However, the relationship between teachers' and students' beliefs about oral corrective feedback has been relatively underexplored. The current study extends this line of research by examining the extent to which Vietnamese English as a foreign language teachers' and students' beliefs concerning the importance, types, and timing of feedback are aligned. The data consisted of questionnaires with 250 students, interviews with 15 of those who completed the questionnaires, and interviews with 24 teachers at four public secondary schools in Vietnam. The findings showed some matches and mismatches between the teachers' and students' beliefs. Both the teachers and students highly valued the efficacy of feedback and were positive about explicit feedback types such as explicit corrections and metalinguistic feedback. Regarding feedback timing, the students preferred immediate feedback while the teachers expressed their concerns about the students' emotional state and the possibility of disruption of immediate feedback on the flow of students' speech. The findings are interpreted in relation to sociocultural factors, contextual factors, and teachers' and students’ experiences. Implications for language teachers, teacher educators, and professional development program designers are discussed.