Types of Information in Written Corrective Feedback and Its Efficacy on L2 Acquisition

Abstract

This study investigates whether the effect of written corrective feedback (CF) on learners' acquisition of English article usage is mediated by the type of information CF provides. To tap into this issue, four types of information on error were identified: its existence, location, correct form and nature. Written CF was categorized into three types according to the sorts of information it contained: indirect CF that supplies information on existence and location, direct CF that provides information on existence, location and correct form, and metalinguistic CF that includes metalinguistic explanation on error nature and all the other information types. Three CF groups were accordingly formed along with a control group in a quasi-experiment, where the groups engaged in three narrative-writing tasks. Error correction and narrative writing tests were administered to measure the acquisition of explicit and implicit knowledge of English articles respectively. The results revealed that written CF was beneficial to acquisition of both L2 explicit and implicit knowledge and that such positive effects emerged only in the metalinguistic CF group. The findings added counterevidence to Truscott's (1996) argument against written CF utility and suggested that metalinguistic explanation on error may play a pivotal role in written CF-triggered L2 acquisition.