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THE ASSOCIATIONS BETWEEN IMPLICIT AND EXPLICIT LANGUAGE APTITUDE AND THE EFFECTS OF THE TIMING OF CORRECTIVE FEEDBACK

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 May 2021

Mengxia Fu Open the ORCID record for Mengxia Fu [Opens in a new window]  and
Shaofeng Li Open the ORCID record for Shaofeng Li [Opens in a new window]
Mengxia Fu*
Affiliation:
The University of Auckland
Shaofeng Li
Affiliation:
Florida State University
*
*Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Mengxia Fu, School of Cultures, Languages and Linguistics, Arts 2 Building, 18 Symonds Street, The University of Auckland, Auckland 1010, New Zealand. E-mail: mfu804@aucklanduni.ac.nz
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Abstract

This study examines the associations between implicit and explicit language aptitude and the effects of the timing of corrective feedback (CF). A total of 112 seventh-grade EFL learners were assigned to three groups: Immediate CF, Delayed CF, and Task Only. The three groups underwent three treatment sessions during which they performed six focused communicative tasks eliciting the use of the English past tense. The Immediate and Delayed CF groups received CF treatments in the first and final sessions, respectively, and the Task Only group performed the communicative tasks without receiving any feedback. Treatment effects were measured through an untimed grammaticality judgment test and an elicited imitation test. Implicit language aptitude was operationalized as procedural memory and explicit language aptitude as working memory and declarative memory. Multiple regression analysis showed that procedural memory was significantly predictive of the effectiveness of Immediate CF, declarative memory was significantly associated with Delayed CF and Task Only, and working memory was a significant predictor of Immediate CF and Delayed CF. The results were interpreted by consulting the methodological features of the treatments and the mechanisms of the three cognitive abilities.

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