not the concern of this chapter but the importance of being able to read and
write and the role of the written language in pointing out and consolidating these
differences was already highlighted in Chapter Four.
5.8.2 Feedback on Performance
Feedback on performance, either on pronunciation Orstructural accuracy, did
not often happen, possibly in the interest of maintaining positive attitudes and
motivation. However, the importance of corrective feedback has been
emphasised by Bley-Vroman (1989), Lightbown & Spada (1990) and Schachter
(1990) for example. Bley-Vroman argues that the 'unclear findings of empirical
studies on the efficacy of correction does not mean that correction plays no role,
as some of the errors learners make suggest that they have formed 'a
hypothesis which requires negative evidence for disconfirmation, (Bley-Vroman,
1989: 48,49) and Schachter claims that feedback is needed to give learners
information on the clarity, accuracy and comprehensibility of their utterances.
Negative evidence, although not always necessary, is therefore often useful.
Findings from child development studies, discussed in Chapter Four, suggested
that young children find it difficult to see anything 'wrong' with incorrect
language and a number of authors in Tunmer, Pratt & Herriman (1984)
suggested that young children frequently judge statements in their first
language on their semantic rather than on their structural accuracy. On a
number of occasions when the teacher or researcher would point out an error,
some children found it difficult to notice or recognise an error or to remember
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