Feedback scope in written corrective feedback: Analysis of empirical research in L2 contexts

Abstract The current study aims to explore the development of research on feedback scope in written corrective feedback (WCF), identify unresolved issues concerning feedback scope, and offer recommendations for further research in this domain. To achieve these purposes, we synthesize a total of 59 relevant articles and examine the salient findings on four dimensions: (1) effectiveness of comprehensive WCF; (2) effectiveness of focused WCF; (3) relative effectiveness of focused and unfocused/comprehensive WCF; and (4) student and teacher beliefs and attitudes about comprehensive and focused WCF. Next, we investigate the unresolved issues by identifying some under-explored topics including the comparison of comprehensive and focused WCF, the combination of comprehensive and focused WCF, and individual and contextual factors in feedback scope. Methodological gaps in existing research are considered, such as an imbalance in research methodologies and research methods. Drawing upon findings of the review, we offer a number of recommendations for further work on feedback scope in WCF. The present review can add valuable information to previous syntheses that focused on quantitative research, augmenting existing WCF scholarship by zeroing in research on feedback scope that employs not only quantitative but also qualitative and mixed-methods approaches.

[1]  D. Ferris.  SECOND LANGUAGE WRITING RESEARCH AND WRITTEN CORRECTIVE FEEDBACK IN SLA , 2010, Studies in Second Language Acquisition.

[2]  John R. Anderson.  Acquisition of cognitive skill. , 1982 .

[3]  Younghee Sheen.  The Effect of Focused Written Corrective Feedback and Language Aptitude on ESL Learners´ Acquisition of Articles. , 2007 .

[4]  Neomy Storch,et al.  Written corrective feedback from sociocultural theoretical perspectives: A research agenda , 2018, Language Teaching.

[5]  John Bitchener,et al.  Written Corrective Feedback for L2 Development , 2016 .

[6]  Harriet D. Semke.  Effects of the Red Pen , 1984 .

[7]  John Bitchener,et al.  The Effect of Different Types of Corrective Feedback on ESL Student Writing. , 2005 .

[8]  Rod Ellis,et al.  The comparative effect of direct written corrective feedback and metalinguistic explanation on learners’ explicit and implicit knowledge of the English indefinite article , 2013 .

[9]  Icy Lee.  Working Hard or Working Smart: Comprehensive versus Focused Written Corrective Feedback in L2 Academic Contexts , 2017 .

[10]  Natsuko Shintani,et al.  The effects of computer-mediated synchronous and asynchronous direct corrective feedback on writing: a case study , 2016 .

[11]  Icy Lee,et al.  L2 writing teachers' perspectives, practices and problems regarding error feedback , 2003 .

[12]  Lucy L Fazio,et al.  The Effect of Corrections and Commentaries on the Journal Writing Accuracy of Minority- and Majority-Language Students. , 2001 .

[13]  J. Truscott.  The Case for "The Case Against Grammar Correction in L2 Writing Classes": A Response to Ferris , 1999 .

[14]  Tatsuya Nakata,et al.  The timing of oral corrective feedback , 2017 .

[15]  Icy Lee,et al.  ESL learners' performance in error correction in writing: Some implications for teaching , 1997 .

[16]  Nina Vyatkina.  The Effectiveness of Written Corrective Feedback in Teaching Beginning German , 2010 .

[17]  Ute Knoch,et al.  The relative effectiveness of different types of direct written corrective feedback , 2009 .

[18]  Norman W. Evans,et al.  Effects of Dynamic Corrective Feedback on ESL Writing Accuracy , 2010 .

[19]  David Frear,et al.  The effect of focused and unfocused indirect written corrective feedback on EFL learners’ accuracy in new pieces of writing , 2015 .

[20]  Susan M. Gass,et al.  Input, interaction, and the second language learner , 1994 .

[21]  R. Ellis,et al.  Effects of Written Feedback and Revision on Learners’ Accuracy in Using Two English Grammatical Structures , 2014 .

[22]  Icy Lee,et al.  Ten mismatches between teachers' beliefs and written feedback practice , 2008 .

[23]  John Bitchener,et al.  Written corrective feedback in second language acquisition and writing studies , 2011, Language Teaching.

[24]  Marisela Bonilla López,et al.  The Differential Effects of Comprehensive Feedback Forms in the Second Language Writing Class , 2018, Language Learning.

[25]  A. Révész,et al.  Direct Written Corrective Feedback, Learner Differences, and the Acquisition of Second Language Article Use for Generic and Specific Plural Reference. , 2015 .

[26]  John Truscott,et al.  Review Article The Case Against Grammar Correction in L2 Writing Classes , 1996 .

[27]  Daphnée Simard,et al.  L2 learners' interpretation and understanding of written corrective feedback: insights from their metalinguistic reflections , 2015 .

[28]  Louisa Buckingham,et al.  Interpreting coded feedback on writing: Turkish EFL students' approaches to revision , 2017 .

[29]  Yeu-Ting Liu,et al.  Effects of indirect coded corrective feedback with and without short affective teacher comments on L2 writing performance, learner uptake and motivation , 2018 .

[30]  Andrew Sampson,et al.  “Coded and uncoded error feedback: Effects on error frequencies in adult Colombian EFL learners' writing” , 2012 .

[31]  Cristine McMartin-Miller,et al.  How much feedback is enough?: Instructor practices and student attitudes toward error treatment in second language writing , 2014 .

[32]  Nuwar Mawlawi Diab,et al.  Effectiveness of written corrective feedback: Does type of error and type of correction matter? , 2015 .

[33]  Ute Knoch,et al.  The value of written corrective feedback for migrant and international students , 2008 .

[34]  Icy Lee.  Teacher written corrective feedback: Less is more , 2019, Language Teaching.

[35]  John F. Lalande.  Reducing Composition Errors: An Experiment , 1982 .

[36]  Icy Lee.  Teachers’ frequently asked questions about focused written corrective feedback , 2019, TESOL Journal.

[37]  Dana R. Ferris,et al.  Written corrective feedback for individual L2 writers , 2013 .

[38]  R. Lyster,et al.  Written Corrective Feedback and Its Challenges for Pre-Service ESL Teachers , 2013 .

[39]  R. Schulz.  Cultural Differences in Student and Teacher Perceptions Concerning the Role of Grammar Instruction and Corrective Feedback: USA-Colombia. , 2001 .

[40]  J. Bitchener.  To what extent has the published written CF research aided our understanding of its potential for L2 development , 2016 .

[41]  John Truscott,et al.  The effect of error correction on learners' ability to write accurately , 2007 .

[42]  Younghee Sheen.  DIFFERENTIAL EFFECTS OF ORAL AND WRITTEN CORRECTIVE FEEDBACK IN THE ESL CLASSROOM , 2010, Studies in Second Language Acquisition.

[43]  Estela Ene,et al.  Rubrics and corrective feedback in ESL writing: A longitudinal case study of an L2 writer , 2016 .

[44]  Xiaoyan Zhang.  Reading–writing integrated tasks, comprehensive corrective feedback, and EFL writing development , 2017 .

[45]  John Truscott,et al.  Error correction, revision, and learning , 2008 .

[46]  Icy Lee,et al.  Error correction in L2 secondary writing classrooms: The case of Hong Kong , 2004 .

[47]  Icy Lee.  Research into practice: Written corrective feedback , 2012, Language Teaching.

[48]  Neomy Storch,et al.  LEARNERS’ PROCESSING, UPTAKE, AND RETENTION OF CORRECTIVE FEEDBACK ON WRITING , 2010, Studies in Second Language Acquisition.

[49]  D. Ferris.  The ‘‘Grammar Correction’ ’ Debate in L2 Writing: , 2022 .

[50]  Fred R. Eckman.  Theories in Second Language Acquisition , 2020 .

[51]  Mariko Kubota.  Error correction strategies used by learners of Japanese when revising a writing task , 2001 .

[52]  Folkert Kuiken,et al.  Evidence on the Effectiveness of Comprehensive Error Correction in Second Language Writing , 2012 .

[53]  Christine Pearson Casanave,et al.  Controversies in Second Language Writing: Dilemmas and Decisions in Research and Instruction , 2003 .

[54]  ZhaoHong Han,et al.  The Efficacy of Written Corrective Feedback in Improving L2 Written Accuracy: A Meta‐Analysis , 2015 .

[55]  Charlene Polio,et al.  “If I only had more time:” ESL learners' changes in linguistic accuracy on essay revisions , 1998 .

[56]  K. James Hartshorn,et al.  Contextualizing corrective feedback in second language writing pedagogy , 2010 .

[57]  Yvette Coyle,et al.  EXPLORING THE ROLE PLAYED BY ERROR CORRECTION AND MODELS ON CHILDREN’S REPORTED NOTICING AND OUTPUT PRODUCTION IN A L2 WRITING TASK , 2013, Studies in Second Language Acquisition.

[58]  M. Rahimi.  A comparative study of the impact of focused vs. comprehensive corrective feedback and revision on ESL learners’ writing accuracy and quality , 2019, Language Teaching Research.

[59]  D. Ferris.  THE CASE FOR GRAMMAR CORRECTION IN L2 WRITING CLASSES: A RESPONSE TO TRUSCOTT (1996) , 1999 .

[61]  Ute Knoch,et al.  The Contribution of Written Corrective Feedback to Language Development: A Ten Month Investigation. , 2010 .

[62]  David Wright,et al.  Differential effects of focused and unfocused written correction on the accurate use of grammatical forms by adult ESL learners , 2009 .

[63]  Dana R. Ferris,et al.  Treatment of Error in Second Language Student Writing , 2002 .

[64]  D. Ferris,et al.  Does Error Feedback Help L2 Writers? , 2019, Feedback in Second Language Writing.

[65]  Rod Ellis,et al.  Does language analytical ability mediate the effect of written feedback on grammatical accuracy in second language writing , 2015 .

[66]  Kendon Kurzer.  Dynamic Written Corrective Feedback in Developmental Multilingual Writing Classes , 2018 .

[67]  Mohammad Rahimi,et al.  The role of teacher’s corrective feedback in improving Iranian EFL learners’ writing accuracy over time: is learner’s mother tongue relevant? , 2009 .

[68]  Michael H. Long.  The Role of the Linguistic Environment in Second Language Acquisition , 1996 .

[69]  Ye Han.  Written corrective feedback from an ecological perspective: The interaction between the context and individual learners , 2019, System.

[70]  F. Hyland,et al.  Exploring learner engagement with written corrective feedback in a Chinese tertiary EFL classroom , 2015 .

[71]  Anastasia Riazantseva.  Outcome measure of L2 writing as a mediator of the effects of corrective feedback on students' ability to write accurately , 2012 .

[72]  L. Vygotsky.  Mind in Society: The Development of Higher Psychological Processes: Harvard University Press , 1978 .

[74]  R. Schulz.  Focus on form in the foreign language classroom: students''and teachers''views on error correction and the role of grammar , 1996 .

[75]  Rod Ellis,et al.  The effects of focused and unfocused written corrective feedback in an English as a foreign language context , 2008 .

[76]  Joel R. Tetreault,et al.  The utility of article and preposition error correction systems for English language learners: Feedback and assessment , 2010 .

[77]  Neomy Storch,et al.  Investigating Writing Development in Secondary School Learners of French. , 2011 .

[78]  Eun Sung Park,et al.  To what extent do learners benefit from indirect written corrective feedback? A study targeting learners of different proficiency and heritage language status , 2016 .

[79]  Norman W. Evans,et al.  The efficacy of dynamic written corrective feedback for university-matriculated ESL learners , 2011 .

[80]  Dan Brown,et al.  Methodological synthesis of research on the effectiveness of corrective feedback in L2 writing , 2015 .

[81]  Ute Knoch,et al.  Raising the Linguistic Accuracy Level of Advanced L2 Writers with Written Corrective Feedback. , 2010 .

[82]  J. Bitchener,et al.  The value of a focused approach to written corrective feedback , 2009 .

[83]  Rod Ellis,et al.  A typology of written corrective feedback types , 2008 .

[84]  John Bitchener,et al.  Evidence in Support of Written Corrective Feedback. , 2008 .

[85]  Shulin Yu,et al.  Student engagement with teacher written corrective feedback in EFL writing: A case study of Chinese lower-proficiency students , 2018, Assessing Writing.

[86]  S. Gass,et al.  Quantitative Research Methods, Study Quality, and Outcomes: The Case of Interaction Research , 2011 .

[87]  Shaofeng Li.  Student and teacher beliefs and attitudes about oral corrective feedback , 2017 .

[88]  J. Bruner,et al.  The role of tutoring in problem solving. , 1976, Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines.

[89]  Peter Crosthwaite,et al.  Investigating written corrective feedback: (Mis)alignment of teachers’ beliefs and practice , 2019, Journal of Second Language Writing.

[90]  J. Norris,et al.  Effectiveness of L2 Instruction: A Research Synthesis and Quantitative Meta‐analysis , 2000 .

[91]  Dana R. Ferris,et al.  ERROR FEEDBACK IN L2 WRITING CLASSES: HOW EXPLICIT DOES IT NEED TO BE? , 2001 .

[92]  Christine Goring. Kepner.  An Experiment in the Relationship of Types of Written Feedback to the Development of Second‐Language Writing Skills , 1991 .

[93]  Natsuko Shintani,et al.  The Effectiveness of Synchronous and Asynchronous Written Corrective Feedback on Grammatical Accuracy in a Computer-Mediated Environment. , 2016 .

[94]  Jean Chandler,et al.  THE EFFICACY OF VARIOUS KINDS OF ERROR FEEDBACK FOR IMPROVEMENT IN THE ACCURACY AND FLUENCY OF L2 STUDENT WRITING , 2003 .

[95]  Ilona Leki.  THE PREFERENCES OF ESL STUDENTS FOR ERROR CORRECTION IN COLLEGE-LEVEL WRITING CLASSES , 1991 .