NOTICING FROM MODELS AND REFORMULATIONS : A CASE STUDY OF TWO JAPANESE EFL LEARNERS

概要

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The aim of this study is to investigate the role of feedback as a noticing enhancer in EFL writing. Specifically, the present study examined potentially different roles of two types of feedback texts, i.e., models written independently of learners' texts and reformulated writing based on learners' texts. The participants in this case study were two Japanese EFL learners at different levels of proficiency. Analysis of the data indicates that Saki, the more proficient learner, noticed more features from the feedback texts than Tae, the less proficient learner. Another notable difference between the two learners was that, although the number of features they incorporated from the feedback texts was about the same, Saki incorporated more features from the models than from the reformulated texts, whereas Tae incorporated equally from both types of feedback texts. This was the case in spite of the fact that both learners had noticed more features from the reformulated texts than from the models. The two learners' performances suggest that models and reformulations play different but complementary roles as feedback tools. Specifically, models may serve the dual role of addressing alternative forms and developing the original content. In contrast, reformulated writing may promote noticing of linguistic inadequacies in the original text through juxtaposition of two related texts.