Differential Effects of Processing Instruction with and without Feedback on L2 Development

Abstract

　　In this paper, I argue that feedback during processing instruction (PI) plays a crucial role in enhancing the receptive and productive abilities of L2 grammar among Japanese learners of English as a foreign language (EFL). The present study compared three types of PI: PI with teacher feedback and explanation, PI with feedback and without explanation, and PI without feedback or explanation. This study also compared their effects on Japanese high school students' development in the comprehension and production of the English present hypothetical conditional. During PI, when students were pushed to make form-meaning connections in the target form through a series of listening and reading practices, they did not produce any outputs. The results showed that students in the PI [+feedback, –explanation] condition outperformed those in the PI [–feedback, –explanation] condition, as measured by comprehension and production tests. This result is discussed in relation to Carroll's (2001) Autonomous Induction Theory. The findings also indicated that students in the PI [+feedback, +explanation] condition outperformed those in the PI [+feedback, –explanation] condition, as measured by the comprehension test. This result supports the use of explicit grammar instruction in Japanese EFL classrooms.