Written Corrective Feedback Research Articles

Effect of Implicit Written Corrective Feedback on the Writing Skills of ESL Learners

Background. Providing learners with written corrective feedback (WCF) on their writing is crucial to the ESL learning process.Purpose. This research is aimed at examining the effects of indicating errors as implicit WCF on the writing skills of ESL learners, as well as identifying learners’ perceptions towards its use in their essay writing.Methods. This is a mixed methods research involving the gathering of data both quantitatively and qualitatively. By means of a purpose sampling method, 50 ESL learners from a private university in Selangor, Malaysia were selected for this study. They underwent a two-week training period during which they were taught to self-correct their essays based on errors indicated as implicit WCF by their lecturer. This also included a pre-test and a post-test administered in between. Finally, 10 respondents were interviewed to gain their perceptions on the use of this technique as implicit WCF in their writing.Results. The results showed that the students achieved a slightly significant improvement in their essay writing skills. They also had a positive perception of the use of the lecturer’s indication of errors as implicit WCF in their essay writing.Conclusion and Implications: In conclusion, error indication as implicit WCF is effective for enhancing writing skills, and the ESL learners perceived it positively. This present study contributes fundamental pedagogical implications and recommendations for future research. ESL instructors are encouraged to adopt and apply this technique in their composition writing lessons.

Towards Understanding Teacher Mentoring, Learner WCF Beliefs, and Learner Revision Practices Through Peer Review Feedback: A Sociocultural Perspective

Background. The existing literature has focused on learner perceptions or beliefs about peer review tasks over the recent decade. However, little has been known about the relationships among learner beliefs about written corrective feedback (WCF), related teacher mentoring process, and learner revision practices.
 Purpose. We thus aimed at addressing the gap by exploring how teacher mentoring and learner WCF beliefs may inform learner revision practices in the peer-reviewed process.
 Methods. In this mixed-method study, we included four Chinese EFL students majoring in English as the participants and collected their WCF belief survey data. We also collected their actual practice data through PeerCeptiv, an online writing and rewriting platform. In addition, we traced the teacher mentoring practices and interviewed the participants about their beliefs and practices in the peer review and back-evaluation process.
 Results. Through the mixed-methods design, we reported our major findings: the student participants believed empathy and resonance was the primary advantage of peer feedback, and teacher mentoring facilitated them in understanding and performing the peer review and revision tasks; we also found the student review process consisted of evaluating, resonating, learning, and reflecting practices and the student revision process included crediting, arguing, correcting, and polishing practices.
 Implications. From a sociocultural perspective, we centered our discussion on these research findings by claiming that scaffolding in different forms work together enhance learner performance and student beliefs appear in a complex manner with student actual revision practices. We also offered insights for future studies and practical implications for language teachers.

Medical School Students' Preferences for and Perceptions of Teacher Written Corrective Feedback on English as a Second Language Academic Writing: An Intrinsic Case Study.

This intrinsic case study investigated English as a foreign language (EFL) medical students' preferences for and perceptions of teacher written corrective feedback (WCF) on their academic writing. Chinese-speaking second-year first-semester undergraduate medicine majors (n = 71) enrolled in an academic EFL "reading to write" course at a university in northern Taiwan were recruited as participants. Qualitative content analysis, as well as some descriptive statistics, was used to investigate data gathered from participants' responses to an open- and closed-ended questionnaire. The questionnaire enquired about their preferences for and perceptions of teacher WCF relating to writing structure, writing content, and writing mechanics. Qualitative content analysis of two in-depth semi-structured interviews with the English teacher uncovered why the participants preferred certain WCF types and perceived them as helpful. Questionnaire data revealed that students showed a preference for WCF relating to writing structure over content and mechanics, and direct feedback over indirect feedback for both writing content and structure. Compared to writing structure and writing content, the examples given by students of the most (n = 25) and least helpful (n = 14) feedback were predominantly related to writing mechanics. The interview transcript data underscored the influencing factors of EFL medical students' preferences and the perceived benefits and challenges related to feedback. These findings suggest that writing teachers should consider the specialized preferences of particular learner groups (e.g., EFL medical school students) prior to administering feedback.

Exploring L2 Written Corrective Feedback in the Saudi Context: A Critical Review

Written corrective feedback (WCF) has received increased attention in recent years because of its widespread implementation and also due to the philosophical debate around its nature, function, and potential benefits. The purpose of this study is to examine the areas that demonstrate development in terms of scope when it comes to WCF in the Saudi context. The study analyses thirty publications that were published between 2016 and 2021 and retrieved from Semantic Scholar and Google Scholar, to assess the key findings on three dimensions: (1) effectiveness of WCF; (2) comparative effectiveness of different strategies in WCF; and (3) beliefs and attitudes of students/teachers toward WCF. Application of the PRISMA 2020 approach shows that most studies on WCF in Saudi Arabia investigated the beliefs and attitudes of students and teachers towards WCF followed by the effectiveness of WCF for learners, and comparative effectiveness of different strategies in WCF to students. The outcomes of this study indicate that a number of difficulties surrounding the scope of feedback need researchers' attention, and that there is also a need to address the existing technique imbalance by including a greater diversity of research procedures in future research designs.

INVESTIGATING LEARNER PREFERENCES FOR WRITTEN CORRECTIVE FEEDBACK IN A THAI HIGHER EDUCATION CONTEXT

The current study investigated EFL learners’ preferences for written corrective feedback (WCF) and the rationale for their preferences. A mixed-methods approach, combining quantitative and qualitative data collection, was used to explore this phenomenon. The data were collected using an internet-based questionnaire and a semi-structured interview. The questionnaire was utilized to gather quantitative information from 93 Thai EFL students at a Bangkok-based Rajabhat University, while the interview collected qualitative data from ten respondents who were willing to be interviewed. The findings indicated that Thai EFL undergraduate students, on the whole, appreciated receiving WCF in several forms. The most desired type of WCF was direct feedback, while feedback given to learners regarding global errors was not favourable. Additionally, the rationale for the students’ WCF preferences included: 1) clarity of feedback in pointing out the grammatical errors and the proper forms; 2) feedback resulting in improvement of the written text in the amended version; and 3) feedback resulting in better writing scores. The outcomes of this study may encourage Thai EFL teachers, as well as teachers in similar EFL situations, to deliver more precise types of WCF on learners’ faults in writing and utilise a chosen WCF method to involve students in learning to write

Research trends in L2 written corrective feedback: A bibliometric analysis of three decades of Scopus-indexed research on L2 WCF

We conduct a bibliometric analysis to map the field of research on written corrective feedback (WCF) for L2 learning over the last 30+ years, tracking changes in the popular areas for L2 WCF research topics, outlets, highest-cited authors, and geographical origins of published L2 WCF research. Based on a collection of the metadata of 493 L2 WCF-related articles from 158 Scopus-indexed journals, books and book chapters, our data reveal links between developments in L2 WCF research and diachronic socio-cultural developments in applied linguistics and society more generally. We find a significant rise in studies on teacher and peer feedback, WCF within assessment, the affordances of direct vs indirect forms of WCF and their impact on grammatical accuracy, stakeholders’ perceptions of WCF, automated writing evaluation, learner engagement with WCF, how WCF impacts editing, and WCF for second language acquisition. L2 WCF studies span 11 total languages across the period, although the dominance of English is an ongoing concern. A number of influential, highly-cited L2 WCF researchers are identified over the past three decades, including clusters of L2 WCF researchers spanning a range of (inter)disciplinary research areas. Although researchers from the USA still account for the highest raw frequency of Scopus-indexed L2 WCF research, its slower relative increase compared with those from China, Iran, Spain, and many others is evidence that the global reach of L2 WCF research (at least for L2 English) has expanded considerably. We discuss the implications of these findings for the field and provide insights into what L2 WCF research might cover next.

Applying Writing Feedback Orientation and Self-Regulated Learning Writing Strategies to EFL Students at Van Lang University During COVID-19

The main purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between Writing feedback orientation (WFO) and self-regulated learning (SRL) Writing L2 strategies in online teaching during COVID-19. 200 EFL students from Van Lang University in Vietnam were recruited to participate in this study from a variety of courses (98 first-year students and 102 second-year students), using the questions from Jian Xu's study as a guide (2021). Data from this study are examined using qualitative, quantitative, and theoretical studies methodologies. Evidence from experiments has been gathered and categorized a number of guidelines that students follow when exercising in writing with a focus on feedback and self-controlled learning Writing techniques to develop their writing abilities. The findings revealed that EFL students had developed an optimistic response toward written corrective feedback (WCF), which is related to SRL strategies; at the same time, the teachers' and students' online interactions are also associated with teachers' feedback, which has created a confident academic online space for students accomplishing further tasks during COVID-19.

Incongruence Between Learning Style and Written Corrective Feedback Type: Mediating Effect of Implicit Theory of Learning Style

Implicit theory (Dweck, 2000) suggests that learners’ theories about the malleability of their individual traits (learning style, here) determine the extent to which they can stretch their learning style (Gregersen & MacIntyre, 2014; Young, 2010) and benefit from the instruction that mismatches their preferred styles. The present study aimed at investigating the extent to which Iranian EFL learners with inductive vs. deductive learning styles would benefit from the written corrective feedback (WCF) that does not match their learning styles (i.e., implicit vs. explicit WCF). The study also examined if their success (or lack of) in style stretching and improving their written accuracy is due to the implicit theory (entity vs. incremental) they hold about their learning style. The result showed that students with an incremental theory significantly improved their written accuracy more than those with an entity theory. Also, the findings revealed that inductive learners were more successful in adapting to the mismatched WCF (explicit) and made greater improvement in their written accuracy than deductive students who received implicit WCF.

The effects of direct written corrective feedback and comparator texts on the complexity and accuracy of revisions and new pieces of writing

There is growing consensus that the provision of Written Corrective Feedback (WCF) on second language (L2) writing is beneficial for long-term L2 development. Yet, while WCF may help improve linguistic accuracy, there is no evidence that it promotes the development of linguistic complexity. Further, WCF is also often laborious and time-consuming for the provider. One intervention that may mitigate the above is learner exposure to comparator (model) texts. Studies have demonstrated that the use of comparators can lead to noticing and uptake in immediate revisions. However, no attempt has been made to ascertain the longer-term effect of comparators on the complexity and accuracy of new pieces of writing. Using a pre-, post-, delayed post-test design, this study examined the effects of two interventions on the complexity and accuracy of revisions, and on new pieces of writing. One group received comprehensive WCF on an initial draft and a second received comparators. A third group received neither. All groups revised their draft and produced new pieces of writing. It was found that comparators had a significant effect on the lexical complexity of revisions and on the accuracy of new texts on the same topic but of a different genre. Furthermore, both comparators and WCF had a significant effect on the accuracy of revisions, and WCF led to a significant increase in the use of subordination in revisions.

Effective Written Corrective Feedback on EFL Students’ Academic Writing

Abstract. Written corrective feedback (WCF) is believed to be one of the essential factors in the improvement of students' academic writing in English as Foreign Language (EFL) context. WCF is crucial for EFL students as they may face both language barriers and problems related to academic requirements during the process of writing. Hence, EFL students tend to have more challenges than L1 students, especially in making pieces of academic writing. This current research aims to find out the criteria of effective WCF that help EFL students on their academic writing. This current research employed qualitative approach. The current research isa descriptive qualitative research design. It employed interview as a data collection method. Interview guidelines were used as the instrument of data collection. Participants of the study are four students in an English Education Department in a private university in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. The participants experienced the process of writing a research report as the fulfillment of getting an undergraduate degree. The research found that criteria of effective WCF i.e. WCF should be understandable, focused, and direct. These findings imply that teachers should consider how to give WCF to the students. The criteria of effective WCF found in the current study could be reference and guideline by the teacher about what kind of WCF that help students better in their academic writing. By considering the WCF they give, teachers could have better writing feedback to the students.Keywords: Feedback, Written Corrective Feedback, Academic Writing

Effects of Focused Written Feedback and Revision in the Development of Explicit and Implicit Knowledge in EFL Writing

This study investigated the effect of (a) direct written corrective feedback (WCF) and (b) opportunities for revision on the development of second language learners’ explicit and implicit L2 knowledge in an EFL setting. Twenty-six intermediate-level university students were randomly divided into three groups: two treatment groups (direct feedback, direct feedback + revision), and a control group (no feedback). In a pretest-posttest design, over the span of six weeks, participants completed picture-prompted writing tasks, timed grammaticality judgment tests and error correction tests. Participants also produced two new writings with members of the direct feedback + revision group being given an opportunity to revise their writing. The results for the direct feedback group indicated accuracy gains in posttests. There was also some evidence that these gains were dependent on the structure targeted. However, there was no comparable improvement in the direct feedback + revision group. Therefore, it was not possible to interpret these effects as strong evidence for development of learners’ L2 knowledge. Conversely, there was evidence that the direct feedback + revision group had benefitted from the opportunity to revise their writing.

L2 Learners’ Cognitive and Behavioral Engagement with Written Corrective Feedback

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between students’ cognitive engagement with written corrective feedback (WCF) and their revision behavior. Based on the assumption that different levels of cognitive involvement are linked to learners’ use of the feedback, we investigated how different post-feedback activities (i.e., reading, copying, and explaining the feedback) would affect second language writers’ behavioral engagement with WCF during the revision phase. Ninety-eight students were divided into three experimental groups and one control group. Experimental groups performed one of the three post-feedback activities before revising their original writing. The participants’ revision behavior was examined by their uptake of WCF. Additionally, the change in writing quality between the first and the revised drafts was investigated. Results showed that activities that promote deeper cognitive processing generally led to higher uptake of WCF in revision. The effects of post-feedback activities, however, varied for error types. All the post-feedback activities were effective in improving the quality of writing.

LANGUAGING AND WRITTEN CORRECTIVE FEEDBACK IN L2 WRITING

The aim of this article is to introduce the application of languaging as the mediational tool to enhance the written corrective feedback’s effectiveness in L2 writing. Written Corrective Feedback (WCF) shows L2 learners their grammatical and ungrammatical errors in writing. It is a form of feedback that is commonly applied pedagogically in writing class. With WCF, L2 learners can improve their ability to write without errors. Nevertheless, providing WCF alone without engaging L2 learners will make the L2 learners become passive learners. They merely copy their teachers’ WCF where they can neither identify nor correct their errors. Therefore, it is recommended that L2 learners are given the opportunity to engage (to notice and understand) with the WCF. Languaging creates the opportunity for L2 learners to engage with the teachers’ WCF. Languaging is a process where L2 learners make meaning, shape knowledge and experience through language. L2 learners use language (languaging) to solve difficult task like L2 writing. When L2 learners languaging the teachers’ WCF, they should be able to improve their writing skills. This paper has pedagogical implications in L2 writing.

Investigating novice EFL writing teachers’ beliefs and practices concerning written corrective feedback across contexts: a case study from a complexity theory perspective

While previous research has identified misalignment of L2 teachers’ beliefs and practices on written corrective feedback (WCF), much remains to be known about whether and how writing teachers’ beliefs may vary across contexts and evolve over time, as well as the extent to which their beliefs are manifested in their practice. To address this issue, this study draws upon the perspective of complexity theory to explore the data collected in a case study of two novice Chinese EFL teachers’ changes in beliefs and practices about WCF across student-centred contexts and teacher-centred contexts. Data were collected from multiple resources, including interviews, drafts of students’ writing, and teacher on-script WCF. The data revealed a complex process of change in teachers’ beliefs about WCF that underwent distinct stages across contexts. Misalignments between teachers’ WCF beliefs and practices and possible reasons for these differences (e.g. teacher professional identity, affective factors, and individual student differences) are also discussed. This study deepens our understanding of writing teachers’ complex beliefs about feedback practices and sheds new light on feedback pedagogy in L2 writing classrooms.

Effects of Written Corrective Feedback on College EFL Students’ Writing Accuracy and Linguistic Knowledge Acquisition

AbstractSet at the interface between second language acquisition and second language writing, this study examines how different types of written corrective feedback (WCF) influence the writing accuracy of Chinese college students learning English as a Foreign Language (EFL) and whether WCF facilitates the students’ grasp of the focused linguistic knowledge. The participants (n = 60) were divided into direct correction group (n = 20), indirect error-coding group (n = 20) and metalinguistic explanation group (n = 20). The three groups wrote four essays in two months and received WCF for the first three essays on the five targeted error types, namely tense errors, confusion of different forms of a word, word (articles, prepositions, etc.) missing, errors in subject-verb agreement and inappropriate verb-noun collocations. The results show that all three types of WCF improved students’ writing accuracy but none of them had any statistical advantage, and the metalinguistic WCF was more effective than the other two forms in facilitating the acquisition of the targeted linguistic features. These results shed some light on teaching and consolidation of language points through writing in EFL contexts.

Written corrective feedback strategies: A systematic review

In the last few decades, written corrective feedback (WCF) in Second language acquisition(SLA) has held great importance for L2 researchers. Technically, WCF consists of different forms, scopes, and tones compared to oral feedback and types and strategies. Truscott’s claim (1996) about the practicality of grammatical corrections became the reason for many researchers to investigate the matter more in detail. As WCF is directly related to teachers and students, it is equally significant to consider the psychology of learners who adopt feedback that when, where, and how much feedback they can process according to their capability. All these aspects assisted researchers in broadening their range of research to plan vibrant research designs to cover all mechanisms involved in the feedback process. Not only the question of debate is teachers’ and students’ perception about WCF but also the effects of different WCF strategies. The present paper aims to bring forth the rational, systematic review of the recent studies from 2018 till 2022 conducted on written corrective feedback strategies, specifically direct and indirect feedback type followed by a metalinguistic explanation as to the most frequent way of providing feedback by teachers. The data displayed the learners’ inclination towards direct written corrective feedback as the preferred type over indirect WCF. This paper will assist new researchers planning to explore this varied domain to understand what learners perceive, prefer, and how any WCF type influences them.

It takes two to tango: Investigating teacher-student interactions related to written corrective feedback with Activity Theory

While research on written corrective feedback (WCF) has flourished in the past two decades, not many studies have probed the contextual factors impacting on the effectiveness of WCF in-situ. Even fewer studies have focused in on how the teacher-student relationship may shape WCF and what factors in turn could shape that relationship. This study addresses this gap in research by investigating teacher-student interactions related to WCF over time in a private institute. The study used a case study design. Thematic analysis of interviews conducted with two teachers and four of their students as well as a careful analysis of students’ essays with teacher feedback revealed that the teacher-student relationship not only influenced the amount of teacher WCF, but also students’ tendency to seek clarification about feedback and the accuracy of their revision. Through the lens of Activity Theory, three factors were identified shaping the teacher-student relationship: goals alignment, expectation fulfillment and power relationships. Pedagogical implications are proposed based on these findings. • Teacher-student relationship plays an important role in feedback activity. • Nature of teacher-student relationship impacts on amount of teacher WCF. • Teacher-student relationship influences students’ clarification-seeking tendency. • Goals, expectations and power hierarchy shape teacher-student relationship.

Student Engagement and Language Learning: What, Why, and How?

Student Engagement and Language Learning: What, Why, and How?

The role of feedback literacy in written corrective feedback research: from feedback information to feedback ecology

Research on written corrective feedback (WCF) has received sustained interest in the field of second language acquisition and language education. This viewpoint article extends the theoretical and conceptual discussion on WCF research by introducing the notions of “feedback literacy” and “feedback ecology”. In this article, I first review three strands of WCF research. Then, I argue for the need to shift the focus of our investigation from feedback information (focusing on impact of feedback), to feedback process (focusing on learners “and teachers” perception of feedback), to feedback ecology (focusing on learners’ and teachers’ engagement of feedback and influences of such engagement). Putting forward a “feedback ecology” conceptual framework that is informed by Ecological Systems Theory, Actor-network Theory, and Complex Dynamic Systems Theory, I suggest three research tasks for future WCF studies, highlighting the affordances of qualitative research methodologies such as narrative inquiry.

고급 한국어 학습자의 서면 오류수정 피드백 수용 양상 연구

This study aims to explore how do Korean learner writers receiving direct written corrective feedback(WCF), indirect WCF describe their strategies for applying feedback to existing texts on subsequent texts. in order to do it, Data collected from multiple sources, including 13 Korean learners’ written texts, Survey results, interviews, and Written revision. and explored how korean learners behaviorally, strategically and affectively engage with WCF. The amount of successful uptake in indirect written corrective feedback, 46.59% was significantly lower than in direct written corrective feedback(98%). In indirect WCF, the highest amount of successful student uptake occurred in the subcategory on grammar and the lowest on Vocabulary. Different learners had different attitudes toward feedback. Findings suggest that teachers need to have a thorough understanding of students’ backgrounds and beliefs and that they should carefully plan their WCF strategies to enhance students’ engagement with WCF. (Seoul National University)