Corrective feedback in a MIM application: Organization, timing and students' participation

Abstract

Due to globalization and the exponential development of smartphone technology, MALL (Mobile-Assisted Language Learning) has received crucial attention in the context of foreign language teaching and the way in which corrective feedback is given in this context. The following study aims to analyze the role of corrective feedback in a WhatsApp chat group, focusing the attention on the interactions during a corrective feedback episode and the factors (timing and type of correction) that influence students' participation. The corpus includes 31 feedback episodes that are analyzed in detail to identify the different strategies used by the teacher and the different interactions. Also, a Mann-Whitney U Test is carried out in order to identify if timing is a factor that promotes students' participation during corrective feedback provision. Overall results show that interactions during a corrective feedback episode in a WhatsApp context follow an informal pattern, and the use of strategies that indicate location and different alternatives to repair the mistake increase students' participation. However, time is not a factor that influences students' participation. Corrective feedback provision seems to be appropriate in a MALL context if the strategies are adequate for the context.