The Impact of Positive vs. Negative Evidence on the Learning of Simple Past Tense by Elementary EFL Learners

Abstract

This study aimed at investigating the effect of positive and negative evidence on the learning of simple past tense by Iranian EFL elementary learners. To this aim, two intact classes with a total of 60 elementary learners were selected randomly out of different classes in one of the branches of Kish language institute in Tehran. Then, a Key English Test (KET) was run to ensure that the participants were homogeneous in terms of their language proficiency. Moreover, to ensure the learners' homogeneity in terms of their grammar knowledge of the English past tense, a grammar test was developed and administered to the learners in both groups. Then, the participants in one group were exposed to recast which is one of the manifestations of negative evidence in line with Nicholas, Light brown and Spada (2001). As for the positive evidence, the participants in the other group were exposed to a large number of texts including the correct use of past tense in line with Schmitt (2002). To do so, the instructor applied different techniques to pave the way for learners' exposure to the correct forms of the past tense as extensively as possible. The results of statistical analysis indicated that positive evidence led to enhancement in terms of learning the simple past while providing the learners with the negative evidence did not contribute to a significant impact on the learning of simple past by the participants. Moreover, it was also revealed that the positive evidence group outperformed the negative evidence group on the grammar posttest.