Beliefs about oral corrective feedback in an Argentinean EFL university classroom : their impact on a teacher’s classroom actions

Abstract

Beliefs about oral corrective feedback (OCF) are essential components in the EFL classroom, especially when learning the speaking skill since teachers have to strike a delicate balance between the provision of OCF without negatively affecting students’ emotions. During the last years, many scholars have devoted great attention to the influence of affective factors in the learning of foreign languages. Among these factors, beliefs held by teachers and students have proved to impact significantly on the processes of teaching and learning a foreign language. The aims of this paper are: to describe the beliefs held by an Argentinian EFL teacher about OCF and to describe how her beliefs might shape this teacher’s classroom practices regarding the provision of OCF at a specific context. A qualitative approach was adopted, and data was collected by means of videotaped classroom observations, teacher stimulated recall interviews and a semi-structured teacher interview. The results showed that the teacher’s beliefs and her classroom actions were not always congruent, especially when she was faced with an ambiguous situation. In the end, the beliefs that had stronger connections to emotions were the ones enacted in her classroom practices.