Abstract:
This mixed-methods, action research study investigated the effect of utilising adult learners' first language for corrective feedback interactions targeting pronunciation, during online, 1-to-1 classes. Matched pairs of adult, Italian learners of English as a second language (N= 10) participated in a six-week, pronunciation course intervention via Zoom, instructed by a bilingual teacher-researcher in either English and Italian (+L1) or English only (-L1) conditions. Participants undertook pre-tests and post-tests before and after the course, comprised of two sets of Elicited Imitation and Elicited Reading tasks. The course sessions were video-recorded, transcribed, and analysed both quantitatively and qualitatively. Descriptive statistics regarding the number of corrective feedback episodes, the type and language of the corrective feedback, and whether participants exhibited corrective feedback uptake were produced; in addition to inferential statistics obtained from paired samples t-tests conducted on the pre-test and post-test data. The course session transcripts, the researcher’s field notes, and the post-course questionnaire responses were also thematically coded in order to shed light on any affective factors that may interact with the perception of first language-use in second language instruction. The results of the quantitative analyses revealed that all participants obtained higher post-test scores in the Elicited Imitation task, with a higher statistical significance of improvement for participants in the +L1 condition. It was also shown that participants receiving both English and Italian corrective feedback exhibited higher rates of corrective feedback uptake than their peers in the English only condition, despite error types made, and corrective techniques used being roughly equal across both conditions. Moreover, the qualitative analyses confirmed a limited but functional use of the learners’ L1 in the +L1 condition, predominantly for translating and explaining L2 concepts, as well for making L1-L2 linguistic comparisons, which the participants reported to be beneficial for their understanding. The findings provide support for a ‘disciplined’ use of L1 in L2 teaching, in line with translanguaging pedagogical approaches.
Author biography:
Ilaria Marazzina is a bilingual English-Italian professional language teacher who has been working in language education both in classrooms and online with international students for over 8 years. Currently, she is completing her Master’s degree in Multilingualism at the University of Oslo, following her previous studies in Linguistics and Cultural Mediation at the University of Milan. She is passionate about bridging the gap between academic research in Second Language Acquisition and language teaching practices, with a particular focus on didactics, educational technologies and multilingualism as a resource. Last year, she collaborated on a UiO research project investigating the role of individual differences in L2 speech production.