Perceptions of Recasts by ESL Learners of Different Proficiency Levels: A Classroom-based Study

SLA literature in the past two decades has seen a proliferation of studies on corrective feedback, particularly focusing on an implicit type of feedback, or recasts. While most studies on recasts have focused on manipulating learnerexternal factors such as the intensity, length, or scope of recasts, little is known about how learner-internal factors function in modulating the effectiveness of recasts. The present paper teases out one of the learner-internal factors (i.e., learners’ proficiency level) and examines what kinds of recasts are provided to learners with different proficiency levels, how learners respond to recasts, and whether they perceive recasts as corrective feedback. The participants comprised 14 adult Korean learners who were enrolled in two intact ESL classes (Beginning and Intermediate) in Fort Lee, New Jersey. A total of 960 minutes of classroom interaction from the two classes were recorded and transcribed, from which 62 instances of recast episodes were identified for further analysis. The results revealed that students in the lower proficiency class received and “uptook” more recasts than those in the higher proficiency class and that the lower level students were also more likely to perceive recasts as feedback. Results are discussed with pedagogical insights to provide feedback for different proficiency levels.