Exploring Instructor Feedback Provision in Heritage Language and Mixed Heritage-Second Language Classrooms

Abstract

The effects of feedback on second language (L2) learning has garnered extensive attention in the field of second language acquisition (SLA). Relatively little attention, however, has been given to the effects of feedback in the heritage language (HL) classroom (e.g., Atoofi, 2013) or instructors’ motivations to provide feedback in classrooms features heritage speakers (cf. Gurzinski-Weiss, 2016). The present study seeks to explore instructors' feedback practices and cited reasons for feedback choices in HL and mixed HL-L2 classrooms. Four instructors who taught Spanish as a HL and mixed HL-L2 Spanish classes participated in this study. Data were elicited using background questionnaires, video recordings of classroom meetings, and semi-structured interviews. Analyses of instructor-provided feedback episodes in recorded classroom meetings revealed that instructors provided explicit positive assessments (e.g., muy bien "very good") at high rates, and this type of feedback was more frequent in HL classrooms than mixed classrooms. Interviews with instructors revealed that instructors cited distinct, learner-related reasons for providing feedback to heritage speakers as opposed to L2 learners in their classrooms.