A la croisée des chemins entre la didactique des langues étrangères et les sciences de l’éducation, cette thèse porte principalement sur la prise de décision située de l’enseignant face à la survenue de l’erreur à l’oral, ainsi que ses enjeux didactiques et psychoaffectifs. Elle vise à démontrer que la correction n’est pas émotionnellement neutre. Corriger ou ne pas corriger, la question s’attachera à la dimension socio-humaine de l’inter-agir maître- élève envisagé sous l’angle de la « face » goffmanienne. Entre désir pédagogique d’enrôler le public à la performance langagière et objectif didactique d’évaluer cette prestation orale, les fonctions d’animateur et d’évaluateur du praticien rivaliseront autour de fluctuations émotionnelles diverses. L’ancrage théorique de l’étude se situant dans les domaines du feedback correctif, de la cognition enseignante, de l’agir professoral et de la théorie des émotions permet d’accorder une place de choix à la particularité de l’action enseignante dans les mécanismes linguistiques de transmission/apprentissage. D’un point de vue méthodologique, une démarche phénoménologique et ethnographique d’enquête-terrain permet le repérage et l’extraction de catégories qui font sens de part et d’autre de la recherche et de la pratique. Une stratégie de verbalisation négociée via un rappel stimulé donne à l’enquêteur l’opportunité de co-construire les sens de l’expérience avec l’acteur convié à commenter ses actions, entre situation et typicalité. Les résultats montrent que deux participants sur cinq confirment la théorie damasienne d’intervention de la variable affective dans le raisonnement, tandis que trois autres rejettent son rôle dans les processus décisionnels. L’étude ouvre une perspective de recherche - en Didactique Des Langues Etrangères - visant à repenser la place des affects dans l’agir et la formation des enseignants, afin de remédier à l’erreur de Descartes à travers d’autres contextes et d’autres populations. / At the cross-roads of foreign language teacher-learner practices and teacher education, the present study seeks to address, from an emic perspective, the role of emotions in contextual decision-making when faced with a learner error. It highlights the human and social dimension of the pedagogical relationship between teachers and learners. The theoretical framework is based upon research into teacher cognition, corrective feedback, teacher practices, and emotions. A careful consideration is given to the importance of teacher actions within classroom interaction and negotiation of meaning. Learner error within the construction of knowledge is highlighted in relation to the notion of face developed by Goffman. A comprehensive-phenomenological approach mainly using transcribed classroom video footage followed by a simulated recall technique allows the researcher to negotiate with 3 practitioners the meaning lying behind their in situ actions. Another dataset - sent to the 3 teachers mentioned above and two secondary ones - is comprised of a questionnaire and a short teacher-written biography underlying their practice histories and teaching philosophies, mostly concerning error treatment. The findings indicate that teachers’ contextual decision-making in relation to corrective feedback can be emotion- free, which fails to support the Damasian theory underpinning an intervention of the affective variable into reasoning processes and decision-making. The study suggests directions for further inquiry into the field of foreign language teaching and learning throughout other contexts and other populations, in order to rectify the Cartesian error.

L’uptake est la réponse immédiate de l’apprenant suite à la rétroaction de l’enseignant (Lyster & Ranta, 1997). Cette étude investigue la relation entre l’uptake et l’apprentissage des déterminants possessifs et des questions d’anglais L2. Elle examine aussi l’effet des reformulations implicites et explicites en termes d’uptake et d’apprentissage. Deux classes intensives (ESL) de sixième année du primaire (N=53) à Montréal ont participé à cette étude. Les deux classes ont été réparties en deux groupes : reformulations explicites et reformulations implicites. L’intervention comportait des activités communicatives. Les élèves ont été testés sur les formes cibles immédiatement avant et après le traitement pédagogique en utilisant des taches orales. Les résultats ont confirmé l’effet supérieur des reformulations explicites en termes d’uptake et d’apprentissage et que l’effet des reformulations dépend de la cible. Cette étude a montré aussi que l’uptake peut faciliter l’apprentissage et que son absence n’est pas signe de manque d’apprentissage. / Learner uptake is learner’s immediate response to the teacher’s oral corrective feedback (Lyster & Ranta, 1997). This study investigated the relationship between uptake and L2 learning and examined the effects of implicit and explicit recasts in terms of uptake and learning. Fifty-three students in two intact grade 6 ESL classes in Montreal were assigned to the two experimental conditions-one received implicit recasts and the other explicit recasts as feedback. The treatment included communicative activities; it targeted third-person possessive determiners and question forms. The student’s knowledge of the features was tested immediately before the treatment and immediately after it completed through oral tasks. Results revealed that explicit recasts were more effective than implicit recasts in terms of uptake and learning and that effectiveness of recasts depends on the target feature. It was also found that uptake could facilitate L2 learning; however, its absence should not be equated with absence of learning.

The research presented in this thesis examined whether incidental recasts provided by a teacher in a small-group outside a classroom were beneficial to adult ESL learners. The 26 ESL learners who participated in the study were divided into seven small groups (3-5 students per group) and each group participated in an oral activity with a teacher. During the activity, which was videotaped, the teacher provided incidental and extensive recasts to half of each student’s errors; the other half of the errors received no feedback. One day after the small-group activity, students were tested on their ability to detect and correct errors in their own speech. From the videotape, three types of episodes were identified for testing: episodes that involved an error by the student and a recast (error+recast) (n = 111), episodes that involved an error but no recast (error-recast) (n = 111), and episodes that involved no error in the student’s speech (correct) (n = 111). Students’ ability to detect and correct their errors in the three types of episodes was assessed using two types of tests: a stimulated correction test (a video-based computer test) and a written test. Students’ reaction time on the error detection portion of the stimulated correction task was also measured. The results of the study showed that the students benefited from the recasts. It was found that students were able to detect more errors in error+recast episodes than in error-recast episodes (though this difference did not reach statistical significance). They were also able to successfully and partially successfully correct more errors from error+recast episodes than from error-recast episodes, and this difference was statistically significant on the written test. The reaction time results also point towards a benefit from recasts, as students were able to complete the task (slightly) more quickly for error+recast episodes than for error-recast episodes. It was concluded from the results that recasts, even when provided extensively and in a non-dyadic context, can be of benefit to ESL students.

本研究針對台灣EFL低成就學生之段落寫作，比較「直接訂正法」與「語意重述法」兩種寫作回饋之成效。本研究對象為台北市某高職學生，共56名學生全程參與這項從2009年9月到2010年1月的研究。進行修改寫作時，教師對實驗組使用「語意重述法」，學生比較原稿與老師保留學生原意但改寫成符合英文語法的段落，並將發現的文法錯誤記錄並自行訂正；對照組則運用「直接訂正法」，學生審視老師直接在上面訂正的原稿。經過看圖英文段落寫作的前測與後測、實驗組與對照組後測結果比較、以及針對實驗組的訪談，研究結果如下：(1)整體性評量上，「語意重述法」對學生改進寫作較為有效；(2)兩組中程度較差之低成就學生進步程度均優於程度較好之低成就學生，尤其實驗組之程度較差者進步程度猶勝於對照組的；(3) 「直接訂正法」對減少學生文法錯誤之功效優於「語意重述法」；(4)絕大多數參與者認為「語意重述法」有助增進寫作能力。論文最後討論此研究在教學上的意涵與提出對之後研究的建議。 / This study aimed to compare the efficacy of “direct correction” with that of “reformulation” on Taiwan EFL low-achievers’ paragraph writing. Fifty-six students in a vocational high school in Taipei City participated in this study from Sep. 2009 through Jan. 2010. When conducting revision activities, the teacher implemented the “reformulation” technique in the experimental group. The students compared the originals with the reformulated versions given by the teacher, and detected, recorded, and corrected all the grammatical errors mainly on their own. The control group received the “direct correction” treatment, examining their originals with the teacher’s corrections on them. With the pre-test and the post-test on a paragraph-length English picture description, the comparison of the post-test results between the experimental and control groups, and interviews with the experimental group, the results are as follows: First, in holistic rating, “reformulation” was more helpful than “direct correction” in improving the participants’ writing performance. Second, the low-achievers with lower proficiency benefited more from “reformulation” than those with better proficiency. Third, “direct correction” was more effective than “reformulation” in reducing the participants’ grammatical errors. Fourth, the majority in the experimental group were positive of “reformulation” as a way to improve writing. Finally, some implications for pedagogy and suggestions for future studies were made.

Previous studies have shown that written corrective feedback (CF) addressing errors can help students to improve their language accuracy. In order to improve students' vocabulary skills, studies suggest that less explicit corrective feedback methods are more successful than more explicit ones. This small-scaled study tried to investigate what CF methods are used by three teachers concerning vocabulary errors in students' written assignments, what method is preferred by the teachers and the students in their classes and why, whether the students have to post-edit the essays after the teacher has given them feedback and finally, whether the students and their teachers believe they improve their vocabulary after the given feedback. The results show that all teachers used a varied set of corrective feedback types. The written corrective feedback method preferred by teachers in this study are underline and underline and describe. The method preferred by students are underline and describe and direct correction. In order for the feedback to be effective, the students need to work with the given corrective feedback. / Tidigare studier har visat att skriftlig korrigerande feedback som gäller språkfel kan hjälpa eleverna att förbättra sin språkriktighet. Studier tyder på att de mindre explicita korrigerande feedbackmetoderna är mer framgångsrika, när det gäller att förbättra elevernas ordförråd. Den här studien undersökte vilka feedbackmetoder på vokabulärfel i skriftliga texter tre lärare använder, vilken metod som föredras av lärarna och deras elever, om eleverna bearbetar sina texter utifrån lärarens feedback och slutligen, om eleverna och deras lärare tror att eleverna lär sig ny vokabulär utifrån lärarens feedback. Resultaten visar att alla lärare använde en varierad uppsättning av korrigerande feedbackmetoder. Den skriftliga korrigerande feedbackmetod som föredras av lärarna i denna studie är understrykning och understrykning med förklaring. Den metod som föredras av eleverna är understrykning med beskrivning och direkt korrigering. För att feedback ska vara effektiv måste eleverna bearbeta den feedback de fått av läraren.

PhD (English) / Department of English

By exploring previous research, this systematic literature review aims to shed light on the effectiveness of oral corrective feedback practices by teachers to students on oral proficiency with the focus on recasts and prompts. This systematic literature review also intends to shed light on the effectiveness of recasts and prompts compared with each other. This study reports on the results of 13 experimental or quasi-experimental studies that measured the effectiveness of prompts and recasts on language acquisition and the effectiveness of prompts and recasts compared with each other. In those studies, outcome measures such as grammaticality judgement tasks, oral production tasks, and written production tasks were utilized. The target structures of the included studies were different morpho-syntactical and phonological structures. The accounted findings of this study show that recasts are effective at increasing students’ oral proficiency in seven of thirteen studies and not effective in six of 13 studies. The reported results also demonstrate that prompts are effective at improving students’ oral proficiency in eight of ten studies and ineffective in two of ten studies. In eight of ten studies in which the effectiveness of prompts and recasts are compared with each other, prompts are more effective than recasts. However, recasts are more effective than prompts in two of ten studies. The reported findings indicate that the effectiveness of corrective feedback in general on language acquisition is uncertain and that prompts might be effective. In addition, the accounted results suggest that the effectiveness of recasts on improving students’ oral proficiency is doubtful. Moreover, the reported findings of this study also suggest the higher degree of efficacy of prompts over recasts.

This study investigates whether there is a relationship between student motivation and Focus on Form (FonF) frequency in English language teaching (ELT), with a focus on Swedish upper secondary school. The goal is to identify potential patterns of inefficiency in ELT that may need remediation, and to investigate potential benefits of promoting student motivation in ELT. The theoretical framework encompasses second language acquisition (SLA), FonF, ELT, corrective feedback and student motivation, including theories regarding intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Previous research includes findings regarding reactive and pre-emptive FonF, as well as motivational strategies. The applied methods include a questionnaire for self-evaluation regarding the students’ motivation in regard to English learning, and structured classroom observations. Three groups of students partook in the study: two groups attending an academic upper secondary school program, and one group attending a vocational upper secondary school program. One lesson á 55 minutes per group was observed. The results indicate that pre-emptive FonF occurs more frequently in groups with high intrinsic motivation, suggesting a potential relationship.

With the rise of English as the go-to language in the world, it has also become an important subject in the Swedish education system, aimed at preparing students for the English requirements expected of them in higher education and business. However, communication and content have become the main focus in the classroom, with grammar and accuracy being judged as variably important from teacher to teacher. This has led to students feeling confident in speaking, but lacking the skills needed to create accurate and coherent texts, the effects of which are detrimental to their credibility and can have serious negative effects in the workplace. The aim of this paper is to investigate the efficacy of different methods of corrective feedback (CF) aimed at improving grammatical accuracy in student writing. Eight studies were selected, looking at different methods of CF. The results showed that CF is indeed effective, but that many factors such as language proficiency, previous experience, scope of CF and error type influence the outcome of the CF. The implications of this are very relevant to the English classroom in Sweden as the classroom is not homogenous and teachers must take care to become aware of each student’s individual needs, prior knowledge and preferences in order to maximize the effectiveness of the CF. Future research could explore the effects of Dynamic CF and peer-reviewing, providing students with many opportunities to write and revise short texts while simultaneously actively engaging with language form.

Peer tutoring as an instructional strategy has been used by school personnel to increase academic achievement in the classroom setting. Traditionally, the peer tutoring concept relies on student partnerships linking higher achieving students with lower achieving students for structured reading sessions. Recently, new studies have focused on linking students with comparable reading achievements or cross-age peer tutors. Research suggests that using peer tutors may promote higher reading fluency in at-risk students as compared to teacher instruction. A potential reason for this phenomenon includes students’ comfort level with peers allowing for a more easy development of reading growth. The purpose of this study is to determine the effectiveness, efficiency, and scalability of cross-age peer tutoring on reading fluency and reading comprehension. The study involved 7 fifth grade struggling readers as tutors to 7 third grade struggling readers. Reading to Read was used as the intervention protocol. The dyads met for 5 weeks with progress monitoring conducted at the beginning of each week. Results indicated consistent benefit in improving reading fluency in 13 of the 14 participants. Several implications to the study can be identified. Peer assisted learning can benefit both participants in reading fluency. Participating in the peer assisted learning process improves the attitudes toward reading of below grade level readers. Further implications, limitations, and future research relating to the results of this study are also discussed.