The Efficacy of Written Corrective Feedback in ESL/EFL Context: A Synthesis of Present and Past Studies

Abstract

The current study provides literature review on research conducted over the past four decades focused on written corrective feedback (WCF). This metanalysis reveals that, although the field of WCF has matured, there is still considerable debate among research scholars over its efficacy. This article provides a synthesis of the literature on WCR in five areas the efficacy: (1) of WCF, in general; (2) of different forms of WCF; (3) of focused versus unfocused WCF; (4) of WCF on revised and new pieces of writing; and (5) of the results of WCF studies and the instructional context. Research has thus shown the general usefulness of WCF and examined a host of variables that influence it, such as the focus of the WCF, the nature of the target grammatical structure, forms of WCF, and instructional teaching context.