Cognitive and affective reactions to written corrective feedback, type of linguistic items, and second language writing accuracy improvement: an exploratory study

Abstract

This exploratory study investigates how learners’ cognitive and affective reactions to direct written corrective feedback (WCF) relate to the development of second language (L2) writing accuracy. Thirty-four second-year engineering students at a university in Japan participated, and complete data from 20 students were analysed. Direct WCF was provided on learners’ initial drafts, and its effects were assessed using a subsequent revised draft and a new draft (transfer), focusing on past hypothetical conditionals, articles, and other items. Writing accuracy was quantified for each linguistic category, and learners’ self-reported cognitive and affective reactions to WCF were measured using questionnaires. Stepwise multiple regression analyses examined how these reactions and linguistic-item type predicted accuracy changes across drafts. The results showed that both learners’ reactions and linguistic-item type were associated with WCF effectiveness in revision and subsequent writing. For example, gains in article accuracy from the initial to revised draft were negatively associated with frustration but positively associated with thinking about the corrected vocabulary, expressions, and grammar (adjusted R2 = 0.64). These findings suggest that effective WCF depends not only on the targeted linguistic features but also on learners’ cognitive and affective engagement with feedback strategies.