The effects of distributed versus massed corrective feedback on the acquisition of Spanish differential object marking

Abstract

AbstractThis study compares the effects of distributed versus massed corrective feedback (CF) on Spanish differential object marking (DOM). Forty‐eight Spanish learners completed three communicative tasks with a researcher on three consecutive days, one task per day. Partial recasts were used to reformulate DOM errors. The distributed group (n = 16) received feedback in all three tasks. The massed group (n = 16) received feedback in the last task. The control group (n = 16) received no feedback. The total amount of CF provided to the two CF groups was controlled. Learners completed oral production and grammaticality judgment pre, post, and delayed posttests. Results showed that the massed group scored significantly higher than the control group across test types and times. However, the distributed group scored significantly higher than the control group only on the immediate and delayed oral production tests. We argue that the temporal contiguity, intensity, and consistency of feedback instances in the massed condition might be responsible for the relative superiority of the massed CF.