Yucel Yilmaz

This study investigated the effects of negative feedback type (i.e., explicit correction vs. recasts), communication mode (i.e., face‐to‐face communication vs. synchronous computer‐mediated communication), and target structure salience (i.e., salient vs. nonsalient) on the acquisition of two Turkish morphemes. Forty‐eight native speakers of English with no Turkish background carried out two communicative tasks during which their errors on the target structures were treated according to their feedback group. Oral production, comprehension, and recognition tests were used to measure learners’ resulting performance. A clear advantage was found for explicit correction over recasts in the oral production and comprehension tasks on both immediate and delayed posttests. Results also showed that neither communication mode nor target structure salience moderated the difference between the negative feedback types …

More than a decade has passed since Norris and Ortega’s (2000) seminal metaanalysis on the effectiveness of instruction in L2 learning. This line of research has matured for another research synthesis, which led to the present meta-analytic review. Thirty-four unique sample studies, in each of which explicit and implicit instructional treatments were compared, were retrieved and included in the present meta-analysis: 11 studies from Norris and Ortega’s meta-analysis and 23 new studies published between 1999 and 2011. Overall, explicit instruction was found to have been more effective than implicit instruction. The effectiveness of implicit and explicit instruction in L2 development was also meta-analyzed in terms of several moderator variables. We discuss our results in comparison with Norris and Ortega’s findings.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of two cognitive factors (i.e. working memory capacity [WMC] and language analytic ability [LAA]) in the extent to which L2 learners benefit from two different types of feedback (i.e. explicit correction and recasts). Forty-eight adult native speakers of English, who had no previous exposure to the target language (i.e. Turkish), were randomly assigned into explicit correction, recast, and control (no feedback) groups. Learners performed two tasks with a native speaker of Turkish where their errors on two Turkish target structures (i.e. locative and plural) were treated according to their group assignment. Oral production, comprehension, and recognition tests were used to measure learners’ resulting performance. Learners’ WMC and LAA were measured with the operation span task (Turner and Engle 1989) and a subtest of the LLAMA Aptitude Tests (Meara 2005 …

Previous research on synchronous computer‐mediated communication (SCMC) has shown that SCMC interaction could draw learners’ attention to form in ways that are similar to face‐to‐face interaction. However, the role of task type in focusing learners’ attention on form has not been widely researched. In a repeated‐measures design, this study investigated if task type had any effect on the number and characteristics of focus‐on‐form instances of 54 English‐as‐a‐foreign‐language learners. Two jigsaw–dictogloss task pairs were designed and matched for content. Following a practice task session, randomly formed dyads performed each of the tasks using MSN Messenger and CoWord software. Language‐related episodes (LREs) were identified and categorized according to their focus, outcome, and type. Results showed that the dictogloss task elicited a higher number of LREs than the jigsaw task. Tasks also …

This article reports on a study that investigated whether the extent to which learners benefit from recasts on two Turkish morphemes differ depending on communication mode — i.e. Face-to-Face Communication (F2FC) and text-based Synchronous Computer-Mediated Communication (SCMC) — and/or the salience of the target structure (i.e. salient and non-salient). In this first exposure study, 24 native speakers of English with no Turkish background studied 51 Turkish words by completing a series of vocabulary learning tasks. Participants who scored at or above a criterion level of 60% on a screening test met with the researcher and carried out two communicative tasks. In each task, learners received recasts on one of the target structures through one of the communication modes. The order of the tasks was counterbalanced across four subgroups of learners. Two oral production tasks were used as a posttest in …

This study examines the potential of learner-learner interaction through Synchronous Computer-Mediated Communication (SCMC) to focus learners’ attention on form. Focus on form is operationalized through Language-Related Episodes (LREs), instances where learners turn their attention to formal aspects of language by questioning the accuracy of their own or each other’s language use. The study also compares two task types, jigsaw and dictogloss, with respect to the number and characteristics of LREs. Ten adult intermediate ESL learners from an intensive English language program in the US worked together in dyads to carry out one jigsaw and one dictogloss task in an SCMC environment. Tasks were controlled for content and were presented in two alternative orders. The dictogloss in this study generated more LREs than the jigsaw. LREs were also qualitatively different across task types. Jigsaw LREs …

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 …

This article reports on a study that compares the effectiveness of three oral negative feedback types in the acquisition of English articles. A mixed feedback treatment, in which learners' errors were corrected, first, through explicit feedback, then through implicit feedback, was compared to implicit-only (i.e., recasts) and explicit-only (i.e., explicit correction) feedback treatments. The study followed a pretest/posttest/delayed posttest experimental design. Eighty English-as-a foreign language learners, whose proficiency level ranged from beginner to intermediate, were randomly assigned into explicit-only feedback, implicit-only feedback, mixed feedback, reduced-explicit feedback and no-feedback control groups. The learners and researcher met two times for the treatment sessions. In each treatment session, the learners and researcher carried out three oral production tasks, where learner errors on the English indefinite …

Cognitive Individual Differences in Second Language Processing and Acquisition contains 14 chapters that focus on the role of cognitive IDs in L2 learning and processing. The book brings together theoretical and methodological approaches to the study of cognitive IDs, as well as empirical studies that investigate the mediating role of cognitive IDs in various linguistic domains. Chapters include contributions from researchers working within second language acquisition (SLA), psycholinguistics, and cognitive psychology, sharing a common interest in the application of cognitive IDs to their respective areas of study. The interdisciplinary understanding of cognitive IDs presented in this book makes the book of interest to a wide readership of graduate students, faculty members, and academic researchers in the fields of SLA, psycholinguistics, cognitive psychology, and education.

This chapter reports on an empirical study that investigated feedback-cognitive ability interactions in three oral negative feedback exposure conditions. In the first condition, learners (ie receivers) received feedback on their own errors. In the second condition, learners (ie nonreceivers) did not receive feedback on their own errors, but they were allowed to hear the feedback that was provided to the receivers. In the control condition, learners were not exposed to feedback. The cognitive ability investigated was a sub-component of Carroll’s (1962) aptitude model, phonetic coding ability (PCA), or the capacity to recognize and remember previously encountered phonetic material. Results revealed that PCA played a role only in the receivers’ immediate posttest performance, suggesting that the receivers and the nonreceivers might have processed the feedback differently and that higher PCA ability may increase the benefits of receiving feedback directly on one’s own errors but have no effect on feedback that one is merely exposed to.

I wish to express my heartfelt thanks to the esteemed members of my dissertation committee. I am grateful to my co-chair Michael J. Leeser for his guidance concerning research design and data analysis and for his insights that pushed the depth of my understanding of second language acquisition; Dr. Deborah J. Hasson, my co-chair, for being a careful reader of my drafts and for her practical feedback; Dr. Alysia Roehrig, for her feedback on research design and formatting; Dr. Patrick C. Kennell for his useful suggestion about framing my research questions. I also wish to thank my previous chair, Dr. N. Eleni Papamihiel for her assistance and supervision, Dr. Elizabeth Platt and Dr. Frank Brooks, who helped me shape my interests and determine my dissertation topic. I should also acknowledge that the following devoted educators were extremely supportive and cooperative during data collection: Halil Erdogdu, Huseyin Ates, Didem Cerig and Mehmet Atasagun from Istanbul Bahcesehir University; Graham McElroy, Sibel Simsek, and Nuran Yalcin from Istanbul Bilgi University.

This article reports on a study that investigated the effects of two feedback exposure conditions on the acquisition of two Turkish morphemes. The study followed a randomized experimental design with an immediate and a delayed posttest. Forty-two Chinese-speaking learners of Turkish were randomly assigned to one of three groups: receivers, nonreceivers, and control. All learners performed three communication games with a Turkish native speaker in which their errors on the Turkish plural and locative morphemes were treated according to their group assignment. The receivers’ errors were corrected through explicit correction. The nonreceivers were allowed to hear the feedback provided to the receivers; however, they did not receive feedback on their own errors. The learners in the control group neither received feedback on their own errors nor were allowed to hear the feedback other learners received …

This chapter describes an empirical study that investigated the role of language analytic ability (LAA) in the effectiveness of feedback under two timing conditions, and whether the timing conditions were differentially effective after controlling for LAA. Forty-five Spanish learners were randomly assigned to three groups: immediate feedback, delayed feedback, and control. All learners completed an information-gap task with a native speaker of Spanish through synchronous computer-mediated communication. Learners’ errors on Spanish noun-adjective gender agreement were treated according to their group assignment. Learners’ knowledge of the linguistic target was assessed by means of oral production and grammaticality judgment tests. Language analytic ability was measured with LLAMA F, a subtest of the LLAMA Language Aptitude Tests (Meara, 2005). Results revealed that LAA did not play any role in the effectiveness of either feedback timing condition, and immediate feedback was more effective than delayed feedback after controlling for LAA.