Feedback in Computer-Assisted Language Learning: A Meta-Analysis

Feedback is a well-known advantage for language learning. Primary studies on feedback in computer-assisted language learning (CALL) demonstrates that feedback has a significant effect on student language learning. Previous reviews (e.g., Azevedo & Bernard, 1995; Kang & Han 2015; Li, 2010) provided important insights on language learning. However, these reviews showed that there has never been a meta-analysis synthesizing the effectiveness of feedback in CALL studies and the moderators moderating the effect of feedback in CALL. With the aim of summarizing years of research on feedback in CALL studies and identifying the moderators of feedback in CALL, a meta-analysis was conducted. By establishing rigorous inclusion and exclusion criteria, the investigator located 21 primary studies that met the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The findings indicated under the Random-Effects (RE) model that feedback in CALL has a significant medium effect size on student language learning outcomes (g = 0.56). The results also showed that the effect of feedback is moderated by a host of variables, including learners' mother tongue, intervention provider (i.e., teacher, researcher), target language, and so on. The study concluded that feedback in CALL is a promising field for language learning and provided implications for teachers and future research.