Taking Advantage of Non-Target-Like Production in the L2

Recent, second language acquisition (SLA) research has suggested language learners’ errors can be the opportunities for teachers to facilitate learners’ second language (L2) development and performance through the use of elicitation strategies. They are known as an explicit manner of motivating learners to correct their original erroneous utterance without the expert providing the learner with the correct form or any explanations of errors. Furthermore, when prompts (e.g., repetition of learners’ error) are added to the elicitations, the combination is prone to encourage learners to produce their own target-like output by serving to assist learners in the transition of declarative knowledge to procedural knowledge. Unfortunately, despite the existing structures of research available, there is still a great area of concern inside and outside the classroom with professionals unbearably providing ill-advised protocols that include, most often than not, giving away the correct answer before the learner has been given an opportunity to reformulate their utterance. Likewise, this current empirical study made up of 34 intermediate level Spanish students in a middle size university, elicitations with prompts were suggested to be more effective in promoting the production of modified output (MO) when compared to no feedback and elicitations alone (without prompts). The full and partial repairs formed by the learners were indicative of a more target-like production in regards to the higher rate of reformulations, regardless of the tense and aspect in the target structures.