The Effect of Spatial Intelligence-based Metalinguistic Written Corrective Feedback on EFL Learners’ Development in Writing

Abstract

Correcting and providing feedback to the written work of the learners has always been one of the hotly-debatedissues over the last decades. While a group of scholars argue in favor of the effectiveness of the written corrective(CF) feedback, others question the utility and usefulness of the CF on writing of the learners. Even there seem to befewer consensuses on the typology of the CF. Metalinguistic written corrective feedback (CF) (e.g., briefgrammatical descriptions and error codes) is a type of written feedback, through which teacher gives metalinguisticclue to the nature of the errors (Ellis, 2009). In this study, a different type of metalinguistic feedback, conceptualizedas spatial intelligence-based (SIB) metalinguistic written CF_ using the colorful stationery to write, highlight, locate,or underline the linguistic errors of the learners while giving feedback_ was used while providing feedback to thelearner’s work. In order to investigate the effectiveness of SIB metalinguistic written CF on English as a foreignlanguage (EFL) learners’ development in writing, 47 intermediate learners were randomly assigned into two groups.The learners in the first group received SIB metalinguistic written CF for their errors in writing, while the ones in thesecond group only obtained metalinguistic written CF for their errors. An independent samples t-test applied on thescores achieved from a posttest showed a significant difference in scores of the first group and that of theexperimental group. Results indicated that the accuracy (mechanics) and style of the writing of the first group ofstudents who received SIB correction for their linguistic errors exceled that of the second group students whosereceived written correction was only metalinguistic. However, there was no significant difference between thegroups in the content, and organization of their writing.