Feedback corretivo na interação oral : uma pesquisa-ação colaborativa com duas professoras de língua inglesa

Abstract

Oral corrective feedback, from a sociocultural perspective, is understood as a pivotal element in how foreign language teachers can assist a learner to achieve self-regulation. As corrective feedback enables the joint construction of a zone of proximal development (ZPD), it is emphasized the importance of varying the types of feedback offered, reformulations and prompts, favoring the latter, as they help learners assume responsibility for correcting their own errors. This study aims at contributing to English as a foreign language teachers’ professional development and, within a sociocultural perspective, intends to approach and develop scientific concepts about oral corrective feedback. The study engaged two teachers of English as a foreign language, from a public language school, in a collaborative action research, during a school semester. The study explores collaborative action research, as closely related to the sociocultural concepts of mediation and ZPD. It thereby proposes the zone of proximal foreign language teacher development (ZPFLTD), defined as the distance between what a foreign language teacher does in his/her classroom and what he/she can do when strategically mediated. The study used a triangulation design for data collection and analysis. Data were collected by means of semi-structured individual interviews, classroom observations, audio and video recordings of the observed lessons, teacher stimulated recall interviews, and an unstructured group interview. Data analysis was informed by using content analysis and interaction analysis. The results showed that prior to the collaborative action research, both teachers predominantly used reformulations, especially recast, and were against the provision of immediate oral corrective feedback. Furthermore, they provided only some of the various feedback types. The results of the study revealed the participant teachers internalized scientific concepts, and therefore, changed their understanding and the way they furnished oral corrective feedback. The findings of this study highlight the importance of implementing opportunities, such as those propitiated by a collaborative action research, for in-service teachers engage with and reflect on their oral corrective feedback practices, as a supportive and effective way to promote the professional development of teachers of English as a foreign language.