Corrective feedback (CF) has been proven to be effective in Second Language Acquisition (SLA). With the increased usage of technology in the field of education, learning a second or foreign language in a computer mediated environment is widely discussed in current literature, thus paving the way for research on computer mediated corrective feedback (CMCF). As such, CMCF, especially through tools such as text chat, has gained increasing attention from researchers. Nevertheless, the scholarly focus has often been confined to certain aspects such as peer CF or CF given by native speakers (NS) in telecollaboration projects. As teachers could provide step by step scaffolding to make learners notice their errors and correct them, teachers’ CF in text chat environment could be more useful. However, text chat has rarely been discussed as a mediating tool to provide teachers’ CF. Addressing this potential gap in research, the present study aims to explore the perspectives of university teachers and students on the potential of using text chat for teachers’ CF, while discussing the challenges they would encounter in the process. Applying the sociocultural theoretical framework, the study discusses text chat as a mediating tool and the role teachers could play in assisting learners in the zone of proximal development. The data were collected from five Sri Lankan university teachers and two groups of university students (five in each group) through individual and group interviews, respectively. An Affinity Diagram was employed to analyse the data thematically. The study suggests that teachers’ CF through text chat could play a significant role in a context where learners have high second language anxiety which could be a result of their social, cultural and historical context. Students favour CF through text chat, mostly because it may reduce their anxiety of speaking the language. The study further reveals that teachers are still using conventional means of technology though learners prefer using the technology of their generation. Teachers, however, stated that their CF in the traditional pedagogy where most of the time, CF is given in front of the whole class does not seem to work successfully. Therefore, recognising the potential of the text chat as a mediator of CF in a particular challenging sociocultural context, they seem to be examining alternatives to their traditional pedagogy. The results also indicate that text chat, being a popular means of communication among teachers and learners, and as learners could go through the history of the text chat and learn about their language errors, provision of teachers’ CF through text chat could be possible and useful. The present study contributes to the theoretical and practical discussions on the use of computer mediated pedagogical tools in English as a Second Language (ESL) classroom. The findings of this study will be useful for teachers who are seeking interactive pedagogical tools to be used in the language classroom. Further, our results will also support future researchers to design studies to examine the interventions between teachers and students in text chat, as well as to evaluate the efficacy of teachers’ CF through text-chat to improve the language skills of adult second language learners.

The discussion on the dynamic assessment (DA) - a combination of assessment and instruction - and regulatory scales from implicit to explicit corrective feedback (CF) is relatively new in the CALL context. Applying the notions of Sociocultural Theory, Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) and Mediation, the present study examines how a DA-based regulatory scale from implicit to explicit CF could be designed to promote language learning in the text chat environment. This was done in collaboration with teachers. Four English-as-a-second-language (ESL) teachers and eight ESL students participated in the study. Using the methodology of design-based research (DBR), the study was conducted mainly in three stages: exploratory stage, first intervention, and second intervention. This study drew on various data. Naturally occurring interaction data such as teachers’ oral conversation transcripts and text chat transcripts were analysed using conversation analysis, while the teachers’ interviews were analysed using thematic analysis. Thus, employing DBR, the present study introduces a three-step regulatory scale that could promote learning in the text chat environment. The findings suggest that the three-step regulatory scale could be used by teachers to identify the learner’s potential and assist them in partial or complete self-regulation. The study will introduce a DA-based regulatory scale to promote language learning in the text chat environment and contribute to the knowledge of DA, ZPD and mediation in the CALL context.

Dynamic assessment (DA) is an effective tool for diagnosing learner abilities that are still being internalised. Although mediation and learner reciprocity are inseparable features of DA, the latter has rarely been analysed or theorised about compared to mediation. To address this research gap, this paper examines learner reciprocity in a text chat-mediated environment. The study involved eight English as a Second Language (ESL) students and four ESL teachers, who participated in task-based interactions. During these interactions, teachers used a DA-based regulatory scale to assist learners in completing the tasks. Data were collected from text chat-mediated interactions and oral conversations during the text chat interactions. Data were analysed employing an approach inspired by conversation analysis (CA), and five reciprocity moves were identified: incorporating the mediator’s feedback, providing a correct response following the mediator’s feedback, imitating the mediator, seeking mediator’s approval, and accepting and acknowledging the mediation. The findings indicated how the types of reciprocity moves could be used to diagnose the learner’s current level of development, which can help teachers to decide how much more instructional effort might be needed.

Even though the importance of corrective feedback (CF) is widely recognized, there is no agreement on the most effective type of CF for promoting self-regulation. Thus, this study adopts a sociocultural perspective on learning and employs dynamic assessment (DA) as a CF form. DA is considered a theoretically promising approach to CF as it focuses on the learning process rather than the end product. Instead of the common teacher-learner interaction, this study initiates a teacher-learner group interaction with the support of text chat. Text chat helps teachers to cater to all students in the class simultaneously through several chat groups. This longitudinal study was part of an ongoing, university-level three-month English-as-a-second-language course. The findings demonstrate that this collaborative approach facilitates self-regulation through teacher mediation and peer scaffolding, and that the text chat supports implementing DA in the classroom while its features support mediational and reciprocity moves of the DA process.