AKITA – April 2016 – The Effectiveness of Recasts in the Language Classroom: A Meta-Analysis – Paul Chamness Miller, Ph.D., Akita International University. Many language teachers employ ‘recasts’ as a means to correct their students’ language without interrupting the flow of conversation. In order to examine what we know and understand about the effectiveness of recasts in the second language classroom, the presenter showed the results of a meta-analytic review of 13 papers published since the early 1990s on the current research on recasts. Initial analysis showed an average weighted effect size of 0.38. A Q-statistic test revealed that the studies contain heterogeneous data, where significant difference occurred in the type of treatment given to the participants, the type of grammatical structure studied, and in the difference in the second language being studied. What this means is that the meta-analytic sample was too small and the multiple types of recast too diverse to actually show whether or not recasts were effective. Thus further research is required to validate the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of using recasts in the classroom. A fun time was had by all, especially appreciated was the introduction of snacks at the meeting.
Reported by Stephen Shucart
Akita JALT 