For many classroom instructors, recasting, a reformulation of what a learner says, is a daily occurrence:
Student: The ton of the feedback should be positive.
Teacher: The tone of the feedback should be positive.
After recasting, instructors have to wonder whether the student
will remember the correction, given the ephemeral nature of the
feedback. In fact, learners often misperceive oral feedback on their
spoken errors (Mackey, Gass, & McDonough, 2000; Gass &
Lewis, 2007; Kim & Han, 2007). For corrective feedback to be
effective, it has to be noticed and understood as corrective by the
learner (Schmidt, 1990; Mackey et al., 2000). Oral feedback studies have
shown that phonological feedback has elevated perception because of its
high communicative value and salience (Mackey et al., 2000; Gass
& Lewis, 2007; Kim & Han, 2007). Instructors can improve
students’ ability to notice their oral errors and remain unobtrusive
through explicit written and recorded corrective feedback using the
iPhone Voice Memo App.
There are several student-centered formats that allow the
instructor extra time to focus on individual performance: student
presentations, student-led discussions, panel discussions, fishbowl
discussions, Harkness discussions, and debates. During these activities,
the instructor can carefully monitor the students’ performance and
provide personalized written feedback using dedicated feedback forms.
The written memo is accompanied by recorded feedback, an effective way
to make corrective feedback salient and memorable for learners.
CREATING THE WRITTEN MEMO
The written feedback form that the instructor fills out during
the student presentation or performance contains the name of the
student, the pronunciation error and correction, phonetic spellings,
clarifying comments such as short definitions and words that rhyme, and
instructions on what to do with the feedback. For the example from the
introduction above, the written feedback would appear as
follows:
Student Name:
Topic: |
Pronunciation Feedback
Be careful with the following words:
ton (2,000 pounds = a very big amount)
tone (sound)
ton: /tʌn/ vs. tone /toʊn/
short longer |
Comments
The correct pronunciation rhymes with:
Phone/home/dome/comb
Check your e-mail for a recorded feedback. Add word to your pronunciation log. |
The instructor retains the written feedback for making the
voice memo and gives it to the student once the recording is made.
MAKING THE IPHONE VOICE MEMO
Originally envisioned as a way to capture thoughts, memos to
self, or business meetings, the iPhone Voice Memo App is a productive
tool for language learning as well. The Voice Memo App comes installed
on the iPhone (and the iPad) and can be downloaded as a free app through
iTunes. For iPhones updated to OS 3.0 or later, an iPhone voice memo
can be created in a few easy steps (Drenn24, n.d.).
1. Open the Voice Memo app. (The icon is an old-fashioned white microphone on a blue background.)
2. To record a memo, press the button on the bottom left of the
screen (the silver button with a red circle in the center). A red bar
will appear at the top of the screen to let you know that recording has
started and how much time has elapsed.
3. To pause the recording, press the pause button on the bottom
left. Press the red circle record button to continue recording to the
same memo.
4. To stop the recording, press the black square stop button on the bottom right.

5. To view your saved iPhone memos, click the button on the
bottom right. (When not recording, the button has three horizontal
lines.) This will bring up a list of all of your recorded voice memos.
From here you can listen, label, share, delete, and edit the recordings
in M4A file format.
6. To label the memo with your student’s name, click on the
desired recording, click again on the arrow to the right, and select Custom at the bottom of the list. A keyboard appears
for you to type in the student’s name.
7. To edit a memo, click on it, and choose Trim
Memo. By squeezing the audio bar at the ends with your
fingertips, you can delete from the beginning or end of the recording by
clicking on the yellow Trim Voice Memo button.
8. To share the memo with your student(s), select the voice
memo you want and press the large blue Share button
at the bottom left of the screen. Select Email or MMS (multimedia messaging service). For e-mail,
students will need Quicktime software (www.apple.com/quicktime/download)
or VLC Media Player (www.videolan.org/vlc) to
listen to the recording. Some students may prefer MMS to e-mail if they
use their
UTILIZING VOICE MEMOS
Audio clip here
When I heard this word several times, it was easy to
keep it in mind and now I know how to pronunciate singular and plural
form of the word "half." ―Aisulu
Once concise, targeted voice memos have been recorded and
shared, they should be used to help students keep track of their own
pronunciation needs. Have students collect voice memos in dedicated
folders for easy reference. Using the recordings, students can assemble a
personal pronunciation journal or error log for reviewing individual
problem sounds in meaningful contexts.
The iPhone Voice Memo App allows for easy, individualized
corrective feedback that motivates learners to attend to accuracy in
speaking. The written feedback is the instructor’s guide for making the
recording and, for the learner, a supplement to the recording. The
recording also extends the saliency of the feedback because students can
return to it again and again. This is explicit feedback that is neither
disruptive nor transient. As one student put it: “I think it is an
amazing idea. It’s more effective way to know my mistake and
remember.”
REFERENCES
Drenn24. (n.d.) How to create an iPhone voice memo. Retrieved
22 December 2010 from http://www.ehow.com/m/how_5276826_create-iphone-voice-memo-html
Gass, S. M., & Lewis, K. (2007). Perceptions of
interactional feedback: Differences between heritage language learners
and non-heritage language learners. In A. Mackey (Ed.), Conversational interaction and second language acquisition: A
series of empirical studies. (pp. 79-99). Oxford, England:
Oxford University Press.
Kim, J., & Han, Z. (2007). Recasts in communicative EFL
classes: Do teacher intent and learner interpretation overlap? In A.
Mackey (Ed.), Conversational interaction and second language
acquisition: A series of empirical studies. (pp. 269-297).
Oxford, England: Oxford University Press.
Mackey, A., Gass, S., & McDonough, K. (2000). How do
learners perceive interactional feedback? Studies in Second
Language Acquisition, 22, 471-497.
Schmidt, R. (1990). The role of consciousness in second
language learning. Applied Linguistics, 11,
129-159.
Monika Floyd, PhD, is a preceptor at in the Harvard
University Institute for English Language Programs, Cambridge, MA, and
LuAnn Sorenson, MA, is a lecturer at the University of Illinois
Intensive English Institute, Urbana, IL. Their research interests
include corrective feedback in spoken and written forms. |