Pirone, John S. and Jason D. Listman. "Signed Corrective Feedback in the American Sign Language Classroom." American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) Convention. ACTFL. Philadelphia, PA. 23 Nov. 2025. Conference Presentation. *
Feedback is important in developing students’ second-language proficiency; however, related research has mostly focused on spoken languages, overlooking signed language education. This study investigates corrective feedback (CF) strategies employed by American Sign Language (ASL) instructors when addressing phonological, lexical, and grammatical errors made by second or additional language learners in beginner-level classrooms. In a quantitative survey, 122 ASL instructors responded to video prompts depicting common ASL errors, selecting one CF type—recast, elicitation, explicit correction, repetition, metalinguistic cues, or clarification. Recasts were predominantly chosen for phonological errors, aligning with trends in spoken language research. Explicit correction also emerged frequently, reflecting the visual-manual demands of ASL. For lexical and grammatical errors, elicitation was the preferred strategy to promote learner engagement and self-correction. Variations in CF preferences suggest that error complexity, instructional context, and modality-specific factors influence instructors’ decision-making. This study expands CF research into signed language education, emphasising the need for a deeper understanding of how CF is implemented across ASL teaching contexts. The study findings could enhance instructional practices and advance ASL learners’ language development.