Negotiation of meaning and corrective feedback in Japanese/English eTandem

Abstract

This paper presents a comparative analysis of corrective feedback provided by participants in an eTandem interaction between university students in Japan and Australia who were learning each other’s language. Corrective feedback provided to tandem partners during interaction via text-based Synchronous Computer Mediated Communication (SCMC) is compared to corrective feedback provided to tandem partners post-chat utilizing logs of the chat interaction. Results show that implicit corrective feedback on NNS errors occurred in the text-based SCMC interaction but not frequently. On the other hand, negotiation of meaning occurred most often to overcome communication problems during chat exchange rather than in direct relation to errors. This is a crucial element for L2 development since the learner finds himself/herself in the sort of context that allows for recognition of developmental gaps. Further, explicit corrective feedback utilizing conversation logs and exchanged by email achieved high rates of correction both in English and Japanese sessions. The strategy of sending post-chat corrective feedback is shown to be an effective eTandem language learning strategy providing learners with opportunities to focus on form in their L2.31 page(s