Insights from Studies on Written Corrective Feedback: Implications for Language Pedagogy

Abstract

Written corrective feedback (WCF) is an instructional strategy used to help second/foreign language (L2) learners improve their writing effectiveness. Teachers can design and provide WCF across a number of dimensions such as focus (e.g. grammar, organization, content), type (e.g. direct correction, reformulation, comment), and tone (e.g. negative, positive). This article provides a comprehensive overview of WCF, its typology, research methodologies and fndings, as well as learners’ and teachers’ perceptions of its use and benefts. The article concludes with a discussion of implications for L2 writing pedagogy, followed by practical recommendations on the effective utilization of WCF in the classroom and suggestions for practitioners in conducting WCF research.