The impact of peer corrective feedback on vocabulary development

Abstract

This study explored whether form‐focused instruction (FFI) and peer corrective feedback (CF) facilitated vocabulary development during peer interaction (PI). Third‐semester learners of German were assigned to a PI group (peer interaction only), PI FFI group (peer interaction and form‐focused instruction), or PI FFI CF group (peer interaction, form‐focused instruction, and peer corrective feedback). Participants in all groups engaged in peer interaction activities, but only the PI FFI group and the PI FFI CF group received form‐focused vocabulary instruction on German nouns, along with their grammatical genders and plural forms. Only the PI FFI CF group was taught to provide feedback to peers during peer interaction. Results from a pretest and two posttests revealed that both experimental groups outperformed the control group on measures of productive and receptive vocabulary, grammatical genders, and noun plurals. In addition, the PI FFI CF group outperformed the PI FFI group on measures of productive and receptive vocabulary. These results highlight the importance of metacognitive instruction for vocabulary development during peer interaction.