Three written corrective feedback sources in improving Indonesian and Japanese students’ writing achievement

Abstract

The quality of written corrective feedback can strongly and positively affect students’ writing achievement levels. This study aimed to examine whether written corrective feedback could improve students’ achievement levels for essay writing and investigated which one from three different feedback sources—teacher, peer, and self—was effective in increasing senior high school students’ achievement levels of English writing in two English as a Foreign Language countries, Indonesia and Japan. The study participants included 81 Indonesian and 81 Japanese senior high school students (Grade XI, 16-17 years old), who were divided into three different groups. Three different feedback sources were utilized for each group. Data collection was from a pretest and posttest to identify the relationship between students’ writing achievement level and the written corrective feedback sources they had been exposed to in the classroom. The data were analyzed by employing descriptive statistics, ANOVA, and Bonferroni post hoc test. The study results showed that written corrective feedback from peers effectively improved Indonesian senior high school students’ writing achievement levels. In contrast, for the Japanese senior high school students, teachers’ written corrective feedback represented the most effective source.