L2 Feedback Research Articles

Peer editing and writing proficiency: an experimental study in South Korean higher education

ABSTRACT Peer editing enhances critical thinking, improves student writing, ultimately leading to a more productive learning environment (Kostopoulou and O’Dwyer 2021; Lundstrom and Baker 2009, “To give is better than to receive: The benefits of peer review to the reviewer’s own writing.” Journal of Second Language Writing 18:30–43; Storch 2018, “Written corrective feedback from sociocultural theoretical perspectives: A research agenda.” Language Teaching 51 (02): 262–277; Yao et al. 2021, “How university EFL writers’ beliefs in writing ability impact their perceptions of peer assessment: Perspectives from implicit theories of intelligence.” Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education 46 (1): 151–167). However, reservations toward peer feedback in a university EFL setting persist due to the accuracy of L2 feedback (Braine, 2003; Erdel 2023, “Student feedback literacy (SFL) profiles in an L2 writing classroom and the influence of peer feedback on the SFL features.” International Journal of Education and Literacy Studies 11 (3): 112–125.). This study utilized a pretest-posttest writing assessment to analyze differences in writing outcomes in an academic research writing course at two universities in Seoul, South Korea. The researchers also examined the accuracy of the L2 peer-editing feedback. The sampling consisted of five randomized classes of university undergraduates. Two control groups received feedback via the instructor and two experimental groups received peer-editing feedback. A fifth mixed group was divided between the control and experimental groups but within the same context. The instructors used both in-class and online feedback tools for the control and experimental groups. The analysis used Sengupta’s (1998, “Peer evaluation: ‘I am not the teacher’.” ELT Journal 52 (1): 19–28) revision taxonomy to assess peer feedback accuracy. Participants completed separate pretest and posttest writing assessments. One at the start of the semester (pretest) and one at the end (posttest). The researchers used a MANOVA to compare the pretest and posttest mean average assessment scores between the control and experimental groups. The results show that peer feedback matches the effectiveness of professor feedback for pretest/posttest scores. Researchers also assessed 156 peer-editing assignments for feedback accuracy. Peer editors demonstrated statistically significant accuracy. This study recommends using peer feedback for its benefits to L2 learners and instructors.

Engaging in dialogic peer feedback in L2 writing development: A microgenetic approach

Recent research on the multifaceted nature of student engagement indicating that students engaged with peer feedback dynamically, varying with the interaction of individuals and the environment, while neglecting the impact of engagement with peer feedback on L2 learners’ writing development. Grounded in sociocultural theory, this longitudinal case study aimed to investigate the roles of dialogic peer feedback as a mediating tool for promoting L2 writing development. Four first-year English major students participated in eight tutorials over 16 weeks in a university in China. Data were collected from peer feedback dialogue, pre- and post-mediation drafts, retrospective verbal reports, self-reflection, and focus groups through microgenesis. The findings revealed that dialogic peer feedback enhanced student engagement from various dimensions. Engaging in dialogic peer feedback facilitated the diagnosis of writing problems and appropriate mediation through interaction. Mediation rather than correction in dialogic peer feedback was critical in assisting learners in achieving L2 writing goals.

Teacher-written feedback in L2 writing education: Insights into student tensions and responses

This study aimed to investigate the perceptions and experiences of six undergraduate students enrolled in two writing courses within an L2 teacher education programme. The focus was on understanding the tensions these students experienced when engaging with their tutors' written feedback and the impact of these tensions on their responses. Adopting a qualitative methodology, the research involved semi-structured background interviews and stimulated recall interviews. Key findings reveal multiple dimensions of tensions, including emotional, interpersonal, academic, and institutional. Students employed various adaptive and maladaptive strategies to navigate these tensions, ranging from proactive engagement and peer support to avoidance and selective feedback engagement. The study also identified five characteristics of the interaction between tensions and responses: dynamic, context-dependent, idiosyncratic, cumulative, and interconnected. These insights emphasise the need for educators to provide clear, specific, and constructive feedback, and foster a supportive environment that mitigates negative impacts and promotes adaptive strategies. The findings have significant implications for research and practice, advocating for the development of feedback literacy among educators and students to enhance the effectiveness of written feedback in L2 writing education.

‘Feedbackpacking’: mapping the journey towards independent L2 student feedback literacy

Generally, there are two kinds of travellers: package tourists and independent backpackers. The journey towards second language (L2) student feedback literacy shares many features with independent backpacker travel, and there are benefits to viewing student feedback literacy this way. Despite feedback playing a fundamental role in higher education learners’ development, students and teachers are currently dissatisfied with feedback. This research uses the metaphor of independent backpacker travel to explore how L2 learners can become more effective users of feedback through feedbackpacking. Specifically, seven Chinese undergraduate English for Academic Purposes students at a Sino-foreign joint venture university were interviewed. Data were analysed thematically to highlight salient features of students’ journeys towards L2 student feedback literacy and to demonstrate that for such learners, this journey is perhaps more complex than current understandings assume. By linking students’ self-reported feedback practices to the concept of independent backpacker travel, the practical insights reported will benefit higher education practitioners across disciplines who wish to develop their L2 learners’ feedback literacy. The results emphasize the importance of context, culture, and language for effective feedback, highlighting the benefits for L2 learners to adopt a mindset of feedbackpacking in order achieve L2 feedback literacy.

Students’ perceptions of online peer feedback in process-oriented L2 writing: A qualitative inquiry

Peer feedback has been of paramount importance in second language (L2) writing given that L2 learners especially need the facilitative role of feedback in improving their writing skills. Despite recent research highlighting the benefits of peer feedback in L2 writing, there is a call for more qualitative studies situated in classroom contexts to explore the continuous flow of peer feedback in a social community including technology-enhanced interactive social settings. This case study takes the students at a university in Turkey as the center of the peer feedback process and explores how L2 writers (n = 35) using student blogs for online peer evaluation in the naturalistic setting of an academic writing course perceive online peer feedback in L2 writing. This qualitative study adopted a case study design using the data from students’ essays (210 essays), blog-mediated peer comments (on 35 student blogs), and self-reflection papers (105 reflections). The data was analyzed through Braun and Clarke’s inductive thematic analysis. The analysis resulting in four themes revealed that peer feedback experienced in an online writing community improved students’ ability to perceive and use feedback effectively by creating opportunities for a shared understanding of peer feedback and establishing a writing community and also enhanced students’ critical thinking skills as an essential aspect of the writing process. This study provides insights into the student experience of online peer feedback in L2 writing, highlighting the importance of creating a supportive and collaborative learning environment to foster effective feedback practices and enhance the students’ L2 writing skills.

The effects of task repetition and corrective feedback on L2 writing development

ABSTRACT This study examines the joint effects of task repetition and corrective feedback on EFL learners’ writing accuracy. Two types of task repetition were investigated: identical repetition where learners repeated the same task, and procedural repetition where learners performed tasks with different content following the same procedure. Under each repetition condition, learners received direct correction or metalinguistic feedback on their erroneous use of three linguistic structures: the past tense, articles, and prepositions. 80 Korean university EFL learners were randomly assigned to four groups: identical repetition + direct feedback, identical repetition + metalinguistic feedback, procedural repetition + direct feedback, and procedural repetition + metalinguistic feedback, and received one of the four instructional treatments. The results showed that (1) procedural repetition was superior to identical repetition in enhancing learners’ writing accuracy regardless of whether direct feedback or metalinguistic feedback was provided, and (2) there were no significant differences between the two types of feedback despite a trend toward a greater effect for metalinguistic feedback for the past tense and a greater effect for direct correction for articles and prepositions. The results demonstrate the advantage of procedural repetition over identical repetition in enhancing the effects of corrective feedback in L2 writing.

A Qualitative Study into How Non-English Major Students Emotionally Respond to Teacher-Written Feedback

Despite extant literature on the interplay between pedagogical practices and emotional impact, the emotional responses of non-English major undergraduates to teacher-written feedback in L2 writing classrooms remain underexplored. This research, employing semi-structured interviews and document analysis as primary data collection tools, aims to explore how different functions of feedback, including praise, criticism, and suggestions, evoke students’ emotions in higher education settings. The study, conducted in the context of a single university's L2 writing courses, involved 88 undergraduates for document analysis and 5 for semi-structured interviews. Findings reveal that personalized feedback significantly impacts students' self-perception, learning motivation, and engagement, underscoring the importance of empathy and clarity in feedback delivery. This paper highlights tailored feedback's crucial role in enhancing academic growth and emotional well-being, contributing to a more nuanced understanding of feedback dynamics in language education.

The enactment of positive emotions via teacher scaffolding: The case of Chinese high school EFL learners’ engagement with teacher written feedback

With the flourishing of positive psychology, there is a heightened emphasis on the value and significance of engagement. Although recent years have witnessed the growing interest in learner engagement with feedback in L2 writing, little attention has been towards understanding the role of teachers in fostering their students' engagement. To fill this gap, our exploratory study examined the effects of teacher scaffolding on EFL learners' engagement with teacher written feedback. Anchored in a high school in mainland China, our study employed a mixed-methods design, collecting data from multiple sources (i.e., questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, teacher written feedback, and first as well as revised writing samples) over a semester. The findings revealed that the teacher adhered to the key tenets of positive psychology and implemented positive pedagogical practices to facilitate students’ revision. Both quantitative and qualitative data showed that with teacher scaffolding Chinese high school EFL learners actively engaged with teacher written feedback from affective, behavioral, and cognitive perspectives. Our study concludes with the important pedagogical implications.

Attitudes and Perceptions of Teachers and Chinese Students Towards Corrective Feedback in L2 Writing

Corrective feedback is a concept of second language acquisition (SLA). Previous studies have investigated the definitions, categories, and effectiveness of corrective feedback from myriad perspectives, often choosing English as a second language to conduct research on ESL students. Writing is a challenge for most L2 learners, and written feedback is part of overall corrective feedback. Much research has emphasized the effectiveness of corrective feedback, but how different types of corrective feedback influence L2 learners differently remains unknown. Few studies have combined students’ with teachers’ perceptions of written corrective feedback. Most only emphasized students’ preferences and few studies concentrated on Chinese students. As such, this paper aims to investigate the attitudes and perceptions of teachers and Chinese students towards written corrective feedback in L2 writing, which is beneficial to determine whether teachers can have awareness of students’ perceptions and satisfy their needs according to individual situations, helping them facilitate the accuracy of L2 writing. The results reveal that differences exist between Chinese students’ and teachers’ preferences for written corrective feedback in L2 writing. Both groups think written corrective feedback is effective to enhance L2 writing, and most Chinese students and teachers affirm that different strategies of written corrective feedback should be given according to different error types. Finally, in teachers’ opinions, the most appropriate written corrective feedback for Chinese students is direct corrective feedback and metalinguistic feedback (e.g. using error codes and metalinguistic codes), while Chinese students believe that the most appropriate written corrective feedback is direct and indirect corrective feedback.

Model text as corrective feedback in L2 writing: the role of working memory and vocabulary size

Abstract Recent research highlights model texts as a form of written corrective feedback (WCF) for enhancing L2 writing skills. This study, conducted at a South Asian university, assessed the impact of model texts on the argumentative writing skills of 71 undergraduate ESL students. Divided into treatment and control groups, assessments at various stages employed an analytic rubric and CALF metrics (complexity, accuracy, fluency, lexical richness). Additionally, regression analysis was used to gauge the effect of working memory capacity (WMC) and vocabulary size on the success of the method. The findings revealed that the treatment group exhibited significant improvements, particularly in vocabulary use and structural aspects of their writing. Both WMC and vocabulary size were found to influence the efficacy of model texts. This study underscores the potential of model texts in WCF and highlights the role of individual learner attributes in determining its effectiveness.

Students' Views of Teacher’s Feedback in L2 Writing Class

The objective of this study was to scrutinize the nature of corrective feedback delivered by instructors in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classrooms and to delve into the perspectives of students who received such feedback from their educators. The study seeks to explore the diverse forms of corrective feedback utilized by instructors to address flaws or errors in students' writing practices, while also examining students' perceptions of this feedback subsequent to the correction process. The research was conducted at a private university situated in Bekasi, employing a qualitative descriptive approach. Data collection encompassed the distribution of questionnaires and the conduction of interviews. This study reveals that instructors furnish students with five distinct types of feedback. The results indicate that Lexical Feedback is consistently provided to all students, closely followed by Grammar Feedback. Additionally, a majority of students frequently receive Structural Feedback. Insights from the interviews highlight that a substantial number of students exhibit a favorable disposition towards the various forms of corrective feedback employed by the instructors. Moreover, this research underscores the imperative of integrating corrective feedback into the English language instruction for students learning English as a foreign language (EFL).

Understanding student engagement with teacher and peer feedback in L2 writing

While studies on feedback in L2 writing have flourished in recent decades, much remains to be discovered about how L2 learners engage with different sources of feedback. To fill this gap, this study examined Chinese tertiary EFL learners' engagement with teacher feedback and peer feedback in their writing. Collecting data from multiple sources, this study investigated and compared how the same group of L2 students engaged with teacher feedback and peer feedback affectively, behaviorally, and cognitively. The results revealed that the learners showed a more complex engagement with peer feedback than they did with teacher feedback. Specifically, while a generally consistent relationship existed among students’ affective, behavioral, and cognitive engagement with teacher feedback, there were both consistency and inconsistency among the three sub-dimensions of student engagement with peer feedback. Some important pedagogical implications are discussed.

Student engagement with peer feedback in L2 writing: Insights from reflective journaling and revising practices

The torrent of research into peer feedback in academic writing in recent years has largely overlooked student revision process – how individual students engage with this feedback to revise their texts and why certain changes are made in their texts. In other words, the cognitive dimension of student engagement with peer feedback in revision is little known. Drawing on multiple student drafts, peer feedback on these drafts, reflective journals and interviews with students, this study examines how two L2 students engage with peer feedback to conduct revisions. We found that the two participants differed considerably in their revision processes and identified two patterns of engagement: deep engagement, characterized by self-regulated revising practices, and surface engagement, concerned with other-regulated revision operations. We were not only interested in students’ revision operations in their drafts, but also their reflective practices in their reflective journals that their teacher had assigned. The study suggests that effective student engagement with peer feedback largely depends on how they make use of cognitive and metacognitive strategies in the revision process. The study recommends that teachers seek to provide instructional scaffolding to facilitate student cognitive engagement with peer feedback on L2 writing.

CONTROVERSIES IN THE ROLE OF WRITTEN CORRECTIVE FEEDBACK IN L2 WRITING

Truscott has strongly opposed the use of written corrective feedback in second-language writing classes. According to Truscott, written corrective feedback generates pseudo-learning that has a significant impact on the L2 development of learners. In response, experts in Second Language Acquisition and Second Language Writing addressed his argument. This paper examines the debates surrounding the function of written corrective feedback in L2 writing.

L2 Learners’ Preferences and Opinions of Teachers’ Written Corrective Feedback in L2 Writing Multicultural Class

Effective writing skills are essential for second language (L2) learners to achieve. To assist these learners, writing teachers provide methods to improve their skills in writing, and one of the methods is written corrective feedback. Despite applying written corrective feedback, L2 learners still face challenges in developing their writing skills, especially the skill to produce linguistically accurate writing. Written corrective feedback is a form of written feedback that is commonly employed pedagogically in writing class. Nevertheless, it is unsure whether or not L2 learners are benefited from this method. Therefore, this study seeks to determine the preferences and opinions of L2 learners regarding their teachers' written corrective feedback. The study adopted a mixed-methods research method, combining a questionnaire and a semi-structured interview. This study involved twenty-one L2 students from various ethnic backgrounds. The findings indicate that these L2 learners of diverse ethnic backgrounds require written corrections to improve their writing correctness. As a result of the teachers' lack of effort in expressing the written corrective comments, the L2 students are unable to comprehend the corrections made. This impacts their writing accuracy. For this reason, they choose face-to-face consultation for the written CF, as it will benefit both their revisions and future writings. This study is relevant because it provides teachers with insights for enhancing the efficiency of written corrective feedback in an L2 writing class.

Student Engagement With Peer Feedback in L2 Writing: A Multiple Case Study of Chinese Secondary School Students

Abstract While the past few decades have witnessed a growing body of research on peer feedback and student engagement, little attention has been paid to student engagement with peer feedback in the secondary school classrooms. Based on multiple qualitative data including semi-structured interviews, stimulated recall, original, revised and final writing drafts as well as peer discussion recordings, this case study investigated how secondary school students engaged with peer feedback in behavior, cognition, and affect from both the feedback giver’s and receiver’s perspectives and what factors may influence their engagement with peer feedback. Data analysis showed that 1) student engagement with both giving and receiving peer feedback demonstrated dynamic and complex interactions among three dimensions; 2) students were engaged with peer feedback in different ways while playing the roles of feedback givers and receivers, showing deep engagement as a giver and superficial engagement as a receiver, and vice versa; 3) factors such as language proficiency, self-efficacy, personality and teachers’ guidance were found to influence student engagement with peer feedback. By shedding light on the multi-dimensional characteristics of students’ engagement from bidirectional perspectives, the study offers suggestions for educational practitioners to improve English learners’ engagement with peer feedback in L2 writing classes.

Collaborative peer feedback in L2 writing: Affective, behavioral, cognitive, and social engagement.

The recent two decades have witnessed a greater interest in L2 writing research to explore how individual learners engage with and participate in peer feedback. However, not much attention has been directed to peer feedback in the collaborative format, despite the fact that peer collaboration can enable learners to draw on their respective strengths and pool their knowledge. In this qualitative study, we adopted an educational psychological perspective to discover the intricate nature of learners working together to give anonymous feedback to their peers. In addition to learners' cognitive engagement with the correction and revision process, we also investigated learners' affective, behavioral, and social engagement in collaborative peer feedback. The findings show that, although learners can cognitively engage with the task by identifying a number of language-related problems and providing feedback, their affective, behavioral, and social engagement differed considerably. While some participants' engagement was relatively extensive, especially in the affective and social aspect, others' engagement was at a relatively limited level, characterized by negative emotions and low mutuality in peer interaction. The unpleasant task experience affected their attitudes toward collaborative peer feedback activities and their willingness to participate in subsequent tasks.

Measures for Instructors to Provide Corrective Feedback in L2 Writing Classes in High School

Measures for Instructors to Provide Corrective Feedback in L2 Writing Classes in High School

Exploring students’ strategy-related beliefs and their mediation on strategies to act on feedback in L2 writing

Substantial research indicates that students’ beliefs mediate learning strategies. Nevertheless, students’ strategy-related beliefs about feedback and their mediation on strategies to act on feedback are insufficiently addressed. This case study aimed to examine: (1) students’ strategy-related beliefs about feedback in L2 writing and (2) how beliefs mediated students’ actions when a feedback intervention was implemented to facilitate students’ use of feedback strategies. Data were collected from semi-structured interviews and reflective journals from 10 Year-1 participants who studied in an associate degree programme at a higher education institute in Hong Kong. Students’ strategy-related beliefs about feedback encompass the evaluation of strategies about: (1) understanding feedback, (2) addressing areas for improvement, (3) seeking feedback, and (4) implementing feedback. Nine participants adopted a more comprehensive range of strategies to act on feedback consistent with their strategy-related beliefs. One participant, however, did not appreciate and use feedback. Pedagogical implications are discussed.

To peer or not to peer: A controlled peer-editing intervention measuring writing self-efficacy in South Korean higher education

Peer editing has shown benefits for undergraduates writing in their native language. However, the results are not all positive when used in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classes. There are concerns regarding the efficacy of L2 feedback and whether peer editing positively impacts learning outcomes. This article examines a control group and an experimental group of undergraduates enrolled in an online academic writing course at a medium-sized university in South Korea. The intervention involved three peer-editing assignments that were part of a larger essay project. The experimental group received training on how to edit and revise their peers’ compositions based on coded feedback. The researchers used a retrospective pretest posttest design to measure changes in writing self-efficacy. Quantitative results show that both groups significantly improved, but that neither group significantly improved more than the other. Qualitative findings from an open-ended post-semester survey suggest that peer editors reported they can learn through the process of editing by both the feedback they give and receive, and that social relatedness can also be enhanced, which is important in an online setting. However, participants also noted that peer feedback can be inaccurate and incorrect.