1. The document discusses different types of feedback for spoken language errors: explicit correction, recasts, elicitation, repetition, and metalinguistic feedback. 2. A student survey found that students prefer immediate feedback, especially on pronunciation, during tutorials and activities. 3. Teachers reported using explicit correction for individual sounds and elicitation when errors impede communication. They provide metalinguistic feedback to explain rules. 4. The document suggests focusing feedback on errors that affect meaning and having students apply feedback to improve.

1. How to Provide Effective Feedback
for Students’ Spoken Language
Kathi Cennamo
Dawn Little
Fernanda Capraro

2. 5 Correction Types
(Lyster & Ranta, 1997 as cited in Lightbown & Spada, 2006)
1. Explicit correction:
the teacher clearly points out the student’s error and
provides the correct form
2. Recasts:
the teacher reformulates all or part of the
students’ utterance, minus the error.
Recasts are not introduced by “You mean”
or “You should say”; therefore recasts are
implicit.

3. 5 Correction Types cont.
3. Elicitation:
the teacher elicits completion of a student’s utterance, uses
questions to elicit correct forms, or asks students to
reformulate their utterance
4. Repetition:
the teacher repeats the error usually with rising
intonation to highlight the error

4. 5 Correction Types cont.
5. Metalinguistic:
the teacher provides comments, information, or questions
related to the correctness of the student’s utterance without
explicitly providing the correct form
6. Clarification:
the teacher repeats the error or says a phrase
such as “Pardon me?” to indicate that the student
has been misunderstood

5. Results of Student Survey Across All Levels
n = 144
1. I like it when my teacher corrects
all of my mistakes 63 %
most of my mistakes 31%
2. I like it when my teacher corrects me
in tutorials 93%
in pair or group activities 63%
in front of the whole class 58%
3. I like it when my teacher corrects me
during tutorials and speaking practices 94%
during pronunciation activities 83%
during fluency activities 68%
during presentations 47%

6. Student Survey Results cont.
4. I like it when my teacher corrects my
Word stress 88%
Rhythm 84%
Intonation 84%
Focal stress 79%
Vowels 77%
Consonants 77%
Speaking rate 63%
Volume 50%

7. Student Survey Results cont.
provided
feedback
preferred
feedback
immediately says
something is wrong
67% 74%
gives the rules 57% 58%
says it in a better way 43% 47%
repeats like a question 18% 14%
repeats and says,
“What?”
17% 8%
didn’t understand 17% 13%

8. Student Comments About Desired Feedback
“I want to know the reason you don’t understand me.”
“I think intonation and rhythm are more important than
vowels and consonants. (It seems that most Asian
students are not good at rhythm.)”
“Trying to say the words correctly seems funny 
It is simple not ‘cool’.”
“They are useful and specific, sometimes I get
shocked when I see so many details about
my speech.”

9. Student Comments cont.
“strategies how to improve my pronunciation”
“rules of how to say it correctly”
“general principles and techniques; tips and tricks”
“If there is something that I don’t make clear when I’m speaking,
I’d like my classmates to point it out.”

10. Teacher Survey Results
N=10
When do we interrupt students?
during pronunciation activities 10
during tutorials and speaking practices 10
during fluency activities 9
during presentations 7
other (presentation practice) 1
Most Important Feedback in Class
suprasegmentals 8
segmentals 7
N/A 1

11. Most Important Feedback in Tutorials
segments and suprasegmentals 10
words and phrases 4
When do we use these strategies?
Explicit & Elicitation 10
all others 9

12. When Strategies Are Used by Teachers
1. Explicit Correction N = 10
Teachers’ comments suggest that this strategy is used to
correct specific pronunciation features and when errors
cause confusion:
“When we are focusing on individual sounds within a
single word . . .”
“I use this strategy so that students can hear the
correct pronunciation”
“Often, generally when working on pronunciation”

13. 2. Recast N = 9
Teachers’ comments indicate that they use this when:
– practicing presentations
– watching video presentations
– doing fluency activities
– focusing on individual sounds
– an error is lexical
*Students are not always able to pick up
this type of correction. (N=2)

14. 3. Elicitation N=10
Teachers’ comments indicate that this strategy is used when:
– an error impedes communication
– the student has some awareness of how to say it correctly
“I also do this frequently when I know they know what they did wrong
or when I really didn’t understand, need clarification and also want
them to write it on the board.”
“During a presentation, in tutorial, to get
the student to focus on the part I didn’t
understand.”

15. 4. Metalinguistic N=9
Teachers’ comments indicate that this strategy is used for:
– explaining rules or patterns
– unfamiliar pronunciation concepts
“Usually for patterns not tied to specific sounds, e.g.
lengthening vowels before voiced consonants . . .”
“For explaining specific segments and focal stress and
intonation. As adult learners they can learn rules.”
“[I]n terms of word stress, rhythm, and phrasing – students
often don’t know what these are before we discuss them.”

16. 5. Clarification N=9
Teachers’ comments suggest that this strategy is used when
they don’t understand what the student said.
“Clarification [is] more natural when an error impedes (or might
impede) communication”
“I will use clarification if I want them to realize I really had no idea
what they said”

17. Suggestions for Providing Feedback
to Language Learners
1. Students want immediate feedback on their pronunciation
a) in tutorials
b) during pronunciation activities in class
c) and why we didn’t understand them
2. Provide explicit information about how we give feedback
a) go over types of corrective feedback
b) which types of correction we use
c) why we use those strategies

18. Suggestions cont.
3. Don’t overcorrect especially during presentations and fluency
activities
4. Do correct when meaning is impeded:
a) word stress errors
b) rhythm, focal stress, and intonation
c) substitutions of vowels and consonants

19. Suggestions cont.
5. Acquire phonetics training
(web resources, pronunciation texts, phonetics course)
6. Make students more responsible for using feedback by:
a) noticing
b) monitoring
c) responding to metalinguistic feedback

20. Final Word . . .
“That’s basically all there is to teaching
pronunciation- giving feedback and ensuring that
the student uses the feedback to improve their
speaking skills.”
-www.pronunciationtips.com