Alison Mackey is Professor of Linguistics at Georgetown University, known for her empirical research on conversational interaction in second language acquisition. She is particularly associated with studies on recasts — implicit corrective feedback in which an interlocutor reformulates a learner’s erroneous utterance — and whether learners actually notice these reformulations as corrections or simply as input. Her work has been central to the debate about when and why interaction facilitates acquisition.

In-Depth Explanation

Mackey’s research builds on the interaction hypothesis developed by Michael Long, which proposes that conversational interaction — especially negotiation of meaning — creates uniquely favorable conditions for SLA. Mackey extended this framework by investigating the mechanisms through which interaction works, focusing particularly on corrective feedback.

Her most influential line of work, conducted with Susan Gass and Kim McDonough in the late 1990s and early 2000s, investigated learners’ perceptions of interactional feedback. A core finding from this research is that learners frequently do not notice recasts as corrections — they often interpret them as simple confirmations or relevant responses rather than as implicit signals that their utterance was grammatically incorrect. This is significant because recasts are by far the most common corrective feedback type in both classrooms and natural conversation: if learners are not noticing them as corrections, the acquisition benefit supposedly delivered through the interaction may not materialize.

This prompted a debate about whether explicitness of feedback matters for acquisition: if learners don’t notice recasts as corrections, do more explicit forms of feedback — clarification requests, metalinguistic corrections, repetition of the error — produce better acquisition outcomes? Mackey’s subsequent work showed that the answer depends on learner proficiency level, the specific linguistic feature targeted, and individual learner variables such as working memory capacity and language analytic ability.

Mackey has also conducted influential research on individual differences in interaction benefit. Not all learners benefit equally from conversational interaction or from the same types of feedback. Learners with higher working memory capacity are better at retaining interactional input and noticing corrective reformulations. Learners with stronger language analytic aptitude show greater benefit from recasts. This work connects interaction research to the broader SLA literature on aptitude and individual differences.

Her methodological contributions include the development and refinement of stimulated recall protocols — a technique in which learners watch video of their own interaction and verbalize their thoughts at key moments — as a tool for investigating what learners are attending to during interaction.

Key Contributions

• Learner noticing of recasts — demonstrated that recasts are frequently not processed as corrective feedback despite being the most common feedback type
• Individual differences in interaction benefit — showed that working memory and aptitude mediate how much learners gain from interaction
• Stimulated recall methodology — developed and validated think-aloud protocols during interaction as a research tool
• Meta-analysis of interaction research — (with Jenefer Philp and others) synthesized findings across interaction studies, establishing the aggregate effect size of interaction on learning outcomes

Common Misconceptions

• Mackey’s research does not show that recasts are ineffective. Her findings show that recasts are often not noticed as corrections, not that they cannot facilitate acquisition in any circumstances. For highly perceptually salient features, recasts can be effective.
• Interaction benefit is not limited to speaking. Mackey’s research includes listening and reading tasks that embed interaction, showing that meaning negotiation assists comprehension even outside traditional conversation.

Related Terms

• Recasts
• Interaction hypothesis
• Negotiation of meaning
• Noticing hypothesis
• Focus on form
• Applied linguistics

See Also

• Michael Long
• Susan Gass
• Patsy Lightbown

Research / Sources

• Mackey, A., Gass, S. & McDonough, K. (2000). How Do Learners Perceive Interactional Feedback? Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 22(4), 471–497 — key paper establishing that learners often misclassify recasts as responses rather than corrections; the primary empirical basis for the recast-noticing debate.
• Mackey, A. & Goo, J. (2007). Interaction Research in SLA: A Meta-Analysis and Research Synthesis. In A. Mackey (Ed.), Conversational Interaction in Second Language Acquisition. Oxford University Press — meta-analysis synthesizing interaction research; establishes the positive effect size of interaction on SLA outcomes.
• Google Scholar: Alison Mackey interaction SLA recasts — full citation index for Mackey’s interaction and feedback research.