Overt-correction vs. Recasts and Grammar Performance of Iranian Male Learners of English

Abstract

Although a large body of research examined the effectiveness of certain types of error treatment methods, there has been little research done to investigate the efficacy of various kinds of corrective feedback on EFL students’ grammar knowledge through eliciting repeated performances. The main purpose of the study was to find out whether recasts helped the Iranian EFL students at intermediate level improve their grammar knowledge better than overt correction. In addition, two methods of recast, declarative and interrogative, were under investigation to figure out which method of recast Iranian EFL learners at intermediate level preferred to be used by the instructor. To this end, fifty male EFL students studying at the intermediate level took part in this study at the Iran Language Institute, Yazd branch, Iran. They were divided into two groups, overt correction and recast. A pre-test was administered before the consecutive process of corrective feedback provision started, and a post-test was given at the end. The participants in both groups enjoyed the same tests, however, the treatment was different. While in one group, the errors were corrected overtly, for the recast group, they were corrected implicitly. The results indicated that both overt correction and recast groups improved in their grammar performances. Between-groups comparison revealed that there was not a significant difference between the learners’ grammar performance in overt correction and recast groups. A careful consideration of percentages of declarative and interrogative recasts showed a clear preference for interrogative recasts by the group receiving recasts in their class.