The Effect of Intensive Recast Treatments on the Long-Term Development of Less Salient Structures in Japanese as a Foreign Language

Abstract

The paper reports on part of a longitudinal case study which investigated a role of conversation in the acquisition of Japanese. In particular, the study examined effects of intensive recast treatments on the development of two grammatical structures. A growing number of studies have shown how native speakers provide negative feedback in their conversation with learners, and their potential effect on second-language learning. Recasts, in particular, have drawn research attention because of their unique properties (i.e., immediacy, saliency and reformulation components). A number of studies have shown some benefits of recasts for L2 development, some studies have also shown that benefits of recasts for L2 development depend on learner proficiency (e.g., Ammar & Spada, 2009 ; Mackey & Philp, 1998 ; Iwashita, 2003), nature of recasts (e.g., length, the number of reformulations) (e.g., Egi, 2007, Loewen & Philp, 2006), types of linguistics targets (e.g., syntax, morphology, vocabulary) (e.g., Iwashita, 2003 ; Leeman, 2003 ; Long, Inagaki, & Ortega, 1998). Further investigations, especially studying less transparent forms in a different L2, and for learners of different proficiency levels will be worthwhile.

The current study builds on Mackey and Philp's work to examine whether a series of intensive recast treatments would facilitate long-term development of less salient structures. The results support Mackey and Philp's findings, that learner performance on the use of the target features improved as a result of the intensive recasts. While a temporary negative impact was observed on the structures that learners were able to use correctly prior to the treatment, their performance soon returned to the initial level. The positive effect of intensive recasts was supported by the fact that learners maintained the same level of performance six months after the treatment. The study has implications for teachers' use of error-correction strategies.