Learner engagement with corrective feedback using think-aloud protocols

Abstract

Online language learning environments where asynchronous communication is the main form of relation between learners and teachers require learners to use self-regulatory skills that help them control their learning process and compensate for the lack of interaction with their teachers (Fernández-Toro & Furnborough, 2014; Fernández-Toro & Hurd, 2014). In such a context, feedback can constitute a driver of self-regulation, facilitating information about the learning process that can contribute to the development of self-regulatory skills (Yu, Jiang & Zhou, 2020). The present article aims at providing insights about how online learners of German as a foreign language engage with written corrective feedback and co-construct meaning (Nicol, 2010). The eleven participants received two different types of corrective feedback: direct explicit feedback on one written assignment and indirect feedback using metalinguistic information and error categorization on the other. Upon receiving the feedback information, the learners were asked to carry out two screen-recorded thinkaloud protocols. This article reports on the data obtained through these protocols after conducting thematic analysis (Brown & Clarke, 2006). The results show how learners engaged with each feedback modality and reveal that the feedback-revision generated expression of self-regulatory actions such as reflection on their performance, evaluation and planning.