Written Corrective Feedback under SLA Lens: From Research to Practice
Main Article Content
Abstract
It is widely accepted that written corrective feedback (WCF) is an effective tool for helping learners develop their L2 knowledge. Yet, it remains inconclusive as to which type of WCF can best facilitate L2 learning. In recent years, many second language acquisition (SLA) researchers agree that direct and focused WCF may be more effective in aiding learners’ L2 development when compared to indirect and unfocused WCF. Other SLA scholars argue that the type of WCF might not matter as all types have been shown to be effective to some extent. Instead, the focus should be on selecting the appropriate type of WCF that is tailored to the needs of target learners. Recent research has suggested that practitioners consider learners’ proficiency levels and beliefs towards the use of feedback before selecting the type of WCF to be used in class as these factors can significantly determine the success of WCF. To guide practitioners’ practical decision-making on this topic, this article aims to provide a comprehensive review of studies on WCF and offer recommendations on how to best implement it in specific teaching contexts based on current literature.
Article Details
References
Aljaafreh, A., & Lantolf, J. (1994). Negative feedback as regulation and
second language learning in the zone of proximal development.
Modern Language Journal, 78(4), 465-483. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4781.1994.tb02064.x
Benson, S., & DeKeyser, R. (2019). Effects of written corrective feedback
and language aptitude on verb tense accuracy. Language Teaching
Research, 23(6), 702-726. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F1362168818770921
Biber, D., Nekrasova, T., & Horn, B. (2011). The effectiveness of feedback
for L1 English and L2-writing development: A meta-analysis. ETS research report series, 2011 (1), 1-110. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2333-8504.2011.tb02241.x
Bitchener, J. (2008). Evidence in support of written corrective feedback.
Journal of Second Language Writing, 17, 102–118. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jslw.2007.11.004
Bitchener, J., & Ferris, D. (2012). Written corrective feedback in second language
acquisition and writing. Routledge.
Bitchener, J., & Knoch, U. (2010a). Raising the linguistic accuracy level of
advanced L2 writers with written corrective feedback. Journal of Second Language Writing, 19, 207–217. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jslw.2010.10.002
Bitchener, J., & Knoch, U. (2010b). The contribution of written corrective
feedback to language development: A ten-month investigation. Applied Linguistics, 31(2), 193–214. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/amp016
Bitchener, J., & Storch, N. (2016). Written corrective feedback for L2 development.
Multilingual Matters.
Bonilla López, M., Van Steendam, E., Speelman, D., & Buyse, K. (2018).
The differential effects of comparative feedback forms in the second language writing class. Language Learning, 68(3), 813-850. https://doi.org/10.1111/lang.12295
Brown, C. (1998). Errors in language learning and use: Exploring error analysis.
Longman.
Brown, D., Liu, Q., & Norouzian, R. (2023). Effectiveness of written
corrective feedback in developing L2 accuracy: A Bayesian meta-
analysis. Language Teaching Research. Advance online publication.
https://doi.org/10.1177/13621688221147374
Chingchit, O. (2024). The contribution of written corrective feedback
and its association with working memory on the development of
EFL learners’ English plurals. Language Teaching Research. Advance
online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/13621688241246134
Ellis, R. (2009a). A typology of written corrective feedback types. ELT
Journal, 63, 97-107. https://doi.org/10.1093/elt/ccn023
Ellis, R. (2009b). Implicit and explicit learning, knowledge and instruction.
In R. Ellis, S. Loewen, C. Elder, R. Erlam, J. Philp, & H. Reinders (Eds.), Implicit and explicit knowledge in second language learning, testing and teaching (pp. 3-25). Multilingual Matters.
Ellis, R., Sheen, Y., Murakami, M., & Takashima, H., (2008). The effects of
focused and unfocused written corrective feedback in an English as
a foreign language context. System, 36(3), 353-371. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2008.02.001
Ene, E., & Kosobucki, V. (2016). Rubrics and corrective feedback in ESL
writing: A longitudinal case study of an L2 writer. Assessing Writing,
, 3-20. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asw.2016.06.003
Farrokhi, F., & Sattarpour, S. (2012). The effects of direct written corrective
feedback on improvement of grammatical accuracy of high-
proficient L2 learners. World Journal of Education, 2(2), 49-57. http://dx.doi.org/10.5430/wje.v2n2p49
Ferris, D. (2006). Does error feedback help student writers? New evidence
on the short-and long-term effects of written error correction. In K.
Hyland & F. Hyland (Eds.), Feedback in second language writing: Contexts and issues (pp. 81-104). Cambridge University Press.
Ferris, D. (2010). Second language writing research and written corrective
feedback in SLA: Intersections and practical applications. Studies in
Second Language Acquisition, 32, 181-201. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0272263109990490
Ferris, D., Liu, H., Sinha, A., & Senna, M. (2013). Written corrective
feedback for individual L2 writers. Journal of Second Language Writing, 22, 307-329. https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440221135172
Frear, D., & Chiu, Y. (2015). The effect of focused and unfocused indirect
written corrective feedback on EFL learners’ accuracy in new pieces of writing. System, 53, 24-34. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2015.06.006
Gass, S. (1997). Input, interaction and the development of second languages. Mahwah,
NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Gass, S. (2003). Input and interaction. In C. Doughty & M. Long (Eds.), The
Handbook of second language acquisition (pp. 224-255). Blackwell.
Guénette, D. (2013). The pedagogy of error correction: Surviving the
written corrective feedback challenge. TESL Canada Journal, 30(1),
-126. https://doi.org/10.18806/tesl.v30i1.1129
Han, Y., & Hyland, F. (2015). Exploring learner engagement with written
corrective feedback in a Chinese tertiary EFL classroom. Journal of
Second Language Writing, 30, 31-44. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jslw.2015.08.002
Hartshorn, K., Evans, N., Merrill, P., Sudweeks, R., Strong-Krause, D., &
Anderson, N. (2010). Effects of dynamic corrective feedback on ESL writing accuracy. TESOL Quarterly, 44, 84-109. https://doi.org/10.5054/tq.2010.213781
Kang, E., & Han, Z. (2015). The efficacy of written corrective feedback in
improving L2 written accuracy: A meta-analysis. The Modern Language Journal, 99(1), 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1111/modl.12189
Kim, Y., Choi, B., Kang, S., Kim, B., & Yun, H. (2020). Comparing the
effects of direct and indirect synchronous written corrective feedback: Learning outcomes and students’ perceptions. Foreign Language Annals, 53, 176-199. https://doi.org/10.1111/flan.12443
Lee, I. (2019). Teachers’ frequently asked questions about focused written
corrective feedback. TESOL Journal, 10, 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesj.427
Lee, I. (2020). Utility of focused/comprehensive written corrective feedback
research for authentic L2 writing classrooms. Journal of Second
Language writing, 49, 1-7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jslw.2020.100734
Li, S., & Vuono, A. (2019). Twenty-five years of research on oral and
written corrective feedback in System. System, 84, 93-109. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2019.05.006
Lim, C., & Renandya, W. (2020). Efficacy of Written Corrective Feedback
in Writing Instruction: A Meta-Analysis. TESL-EJ, 24(3), 1-26.
Long, M. (1996). The role of the linguistic environment in second language
acquisition. In W. Ritchie & T. Bhatia (Eds.), Handbook of second language acquisition (pp. 413-468). Academic Press.
Long, M. (2014). Psycholinguistic underpinnings: A Cognitive-interactionist
theory of Instructed Second Language Acquisition (ISLA). In M. Long (Ed.), Second language acquisition and task-based language teaching (pp. 30-62). Wiley.
Manchón, R. (2011). Writing to learn the language: Issues in theory and
research. In R. Manchón (Ed.), Learning to write and writing to learn in an additional language (pp. 61-82). John Benjamins.
Mao, Z., & Lee, I. (2020). Feedback scope in written corrective feedback:
Analysis of empirical research in L2 contexts. Assessing Writing, 45, 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asw.2020.100469
Mao, Z., Lee, I., & Li, S. (2024). Written corrective feedback in second
language writing: A synthesis of naturalistic classroom studies.
Language Teaching. Advance online publication.
https://doi.org/10.1017/S0261444823000393
Nassaji, H (2015). The interactional feedback dimension in instructed second language
learning: Linking theory, research and practice. Bloomsbury.
Pienemann, M. (1998). Language processing and second language development:
Processability theory. Benjamins.
Schmidt, R. (1995). Consciousness and Foreign Language Learning: A Tutorial on the Role of Attention and Awareness in Learning. Attention and Awareness in Foreign Language Learning, 9, 1-64.
Schmidt, R. (2001). Attention. In P. Robinson (Ed.), Cognition and second
language instruction (pp. 3-32). Cambridge University Press.
Sheen, Y., Wright, D., & Moldawa, A. (2009). Differential effects of focused
and unfocused written correction on the accurate use of grammatical forms by adult ESL learners. System, 37(4), 556-569. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2009.09.002
Shintani, N., & Ellis, R. (2013). The comparative effect of direct written
corrective feedback and metalinguistic explanation on learners’ explicit and implicit knowledge of the English indefinite article. Journal of Second Language Writing, 22, 286-306.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jslw.2013.03.011
Shintani, N., Ellis, R., & Suzuki, W. (2014). Effects of Written Feedback
and Revision on Learners’ Accuracy in Using Two English Grammatical Structures. Language Learning, 64(1), 103-131. https://doi.org/10.1111/lang.12029
Stefanou, C., & Révész, A. (2015). Direct written corrective feedback,
learner differences, and the acquisition of second language article use for generic and specific plural reference. Modern Language Journal, 99, 263-282. https://doi.org/10.1111/modl.12212
Storch, N. (2018). Written corrective feedback from sociocultural theoretical
perspectives: A research agenda, Language Teaching, 51(2), 262-277.
https://doi.org/10.1017/S0261444818000034
Storch, N., & Wigglesworth, G. (2010). Learners’ processing, uptake, and
retention of corrective feedback on writing: Case studies. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 32(2), 303-334. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0272263109990532
Suzuki, W., Nassaji, H., & Sato, K. (2019). The effects of feedback
explicitness and type of target structure on accuracy in revision and new pieces of writing. System, 81, 135-145. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2018.12.017
Tan, K., & Manochpinyo, A. (2017). Improving grammaticality accuracy in
Thai learners’ writing: Comparing direct and indirect written
corrective feedback. The Journal of Asia TEFL, 14 (3), 430-442.
http://dx.doi.org/10.18823/asiatefl.2017.14.3.4.430
Truscott, J. (2001). Selecting errors for selective error correction. Studies in
English Literature and Linguistics, 27(2), 93-108.
Truscott, J. (2007). The effect of error correction on learners’ ability to write
accurately. Journal of Second Language Writing, 16(4), 255-272.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jslw.2007.06.003
Van Beuningen, C., De Jong, N., & Kuiken, F. (2008). The effect of direct
and indirect corrective feedback on L2 learners’ written accuracy. ITL-Review of Applied Linguistics, 156, 279-296. https://doi.org/10.2143/ITL.156.0.2034439
Van Beuningen, C., De Jong, N., & Kuiken, F. (2012). Evidence on the
effectiveness of comprehensive error correction in second language
writing. Language Learning, 62, 1-41. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9922.2011.00674.x
Wagner, J., & Wulf, D. (2016). Understanding written corrective feedback in
second language grammar acquisition. Journal of Education and
Learning, 5, 259-277. https://doi.org/10.5539/jel.v5n4p259