Feedback and Uptake in Teacher-Student Interaction: An Analysis of 18 English Lessons in Hong Kong Secondary Classrooms

This paper analyzes 18 non-native English lessons on teacher feedback and learner uptake at secondary levels in Hong Kong across Forms 1 to 5 (equivalent to Grades 7 to 11) and different types of lessons (Reading, Writing, Speaking, General English). 945 minutes of lessons were transcribed and analyzed. Results show: (1) Recast and explicit correction were the most frequent types of feedback; (2) none of the student-generated repairs resulted from recast or explicit correction, and the most frequent student-generated repair followed repetition; (3) most grammatical repairs followed from negotiation; and phonological repairs followed equally frequently from recast and explicit correction. There are two implications. First, recast may give way to other types of feedback moves (elicitation, clarification request, metalinguistic feedback, repetition), which may be more effective than the provision of correct forms. Second, while recast and explicit correction are more appropriate for phonological errors, negotiation facilitates grammatical repairs.