Implicit negative feedback has been shown to facilitate SLA, and the
extent to which such feedback is given is related to a variety of task and
interlocutor variables. The background of a native speaker (NS), in terms
of amount of experience in interactions with nonnative speakers (NNSs),
has been shown to affect the quantity of implicit negative feedback
(namely recasts) in a classroom setting. This study examines the effect of
experience and uses stimulated recall to attempt to understand the
interactional patterns of two groups of NSs (with greater and lesser
experience) interacting with second language (L2) learners outside of the
classroom context. Two groups of NSs of English each completed an
information exchange task with a L2 learner: The first group consisted of
11 preservice teachers with minimal experience with NNSs, whereas the
second group included 8 experienced teachers with significant teaching
experience. Immediately after the task, each NS participated in a
stimulated recall, viewing a videotape of the interaction and commenting
on the interaction. The quantitative results did not show a strong
difference in the number of recasts used by the two groups, but it did
show a difference in the quantity of NNS output between the two groups.
This finding was corroborated by the stimulated recalls, which showed that
those with experience—who clearly saw themselves as language
teachers even outside of the classroom—had strategies for and
concerns about getting the learners to produce output. Additionally, the
experienced teachers showed greater recognition of student comprehension,
student learning, and student problems. Those with little experience were
more focused on themselves, on student feelings, and on procedural and
task-related issues.