Corrective feedback in historical perspective

In this paper, pedagogical, linguistic theoretical, and psychological perspec tives on corrective feedback are discussed and an attempt is made to inte grate these different perspectives. To a large extent, researchers in these three approaches have been isolated from one another, each ignorant of the others' stands on the issues. Herein, we attempt to overcome the isolation, interweaving the similarities and pointing out the differences of the three approaches. It is argued that the answers to questions raised here and elsewhere concerning the role of corrective feedback in language learning will not come in the form of sweeping affirmative or negative generalizations. They will come from the careful teasing apart of the components of language and experimental work on these components. We need to ascertain whether some components can in fact be acquired on the basis of positive evidence alone, and whether negative evidence (feedback) is required for successful mastery of some other components.