Oral Corrective Feedback: Perceptions of Iranian Learners

A group of Iranian English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) learners’ perceptions about oral corrective feedback (OCF) on pronunciation errors were investigated. Ten learners with various proficiencies were interviewed and the data was coded to examine these learners’ perceptions and preferences regarding OCF on pronunciation errors. The findings showed that the learners strongly valued feedback, in general, and OCF on pronunciation issues, in particular. The findings showed that many learners aimed to improve their pronunciation accuracy by utilizing OCF. In addition, all of the learners viewed teacher-generated OCF as more reliable than peer OCF, even though a few learners sought to receive peer-generated OCF prior to teacher OCF. Further analysis suggested that these perceptions were multifaceted complex entities. A number of socio-culturally embedded variables were identified, namely, previous learning experiences, professional experiences, and personal experiences, as the factors that shaped the aforementioned perceptions. The findings suggest that teachers need to familiarize themselves with their students’ perceptions regarding feedback and provide as much individualized feedback as practically possible.