The Relative Effect of Extensive and Intensive Recasts on L2 Accuracy Development and Its Relationship with Language Analytic Ability

This study aimed to examine the relative effects of extensive and intensive recasts and the relationship between the benefits learners obtained from each type of recast and learner language analytic ability (LAA). The study was conducted in six intact intermediate English classes at a university. The classes were assigned to an extensive recast group (ERG), an intensive recast group (IRG), and a control group (CG). While students were engaging in a story-retelling activity, the IRG received recasts on their errors of the target forms (i.e., English articles), while the ERG received recasts on not only the errors of the target forms but also other types of errors. The accuracy gains via recasts were measured by an oral production test (OPT) and an error correction test (ECT). The IRG outperformed the ERG in both tests. The ERG showed more accuracy improvement than the CG in the OPT, but the difference was not statistically significant. However, the ERG performed significantly better than the CG in the ECT, and the effectiveness was sustained over time. In addition, learners’ LAA was related to the effectiveness of both extensive and intensive recasts. However, its relationship was stronger in the ERG, indicating that learners’ LAA had more effect on the effectiveness of recasts when recasts targeted a wide range of errors.