Corrective feedback and learner uptake in CALL

This paper describes a study in which we investigated the effects of corrective feedback on learner uptake in CALL. Learner uptake is here defined as learner responses to corrective feedback in which, in case of an error, students attempt to correct their mistake(s). 177 students from three Canadian universities participated in the study during the Spring semester 2003. The study considered three feedback types: Meta-linguistic, Meta-linguistic + Highlighting, and Repetition + Highlighting. Study results indicate that feedback that provides an explanation of the error and also highlights the error in the student input (Meta-linguistic + Highlighting) is most effective at eliciting learner uptake. The study also considered two learner variables, gender and language proficiency. Our data suggest that none of the two learner characteristics has a significant impact on student responses to corrective feedback.