The Effects of Immediate Versus Delayed Teacher Feedback on L2 Writing

Abstract

This study examined the differential effects of immediate versus delayed teacher feedback. It attempted to explore how best to give feedback on student writing. The focus was on the effects of feedback on the use of cohesive devices in L2 writing. Immediate feedback was provided during the writing process, while delayed feedback was operationalized after the completion of drafts. Six adult ESL learners were divided into two groups: an immediate feedback group and a delayed feedback group. The learners conducted two writing tasks and received feedback at different stages of the writing process. The results revealed that providing immediate oral feedback by asking questions during the writing process was a more effective way of responding to student writing and that it could benefit not only high proficiency students but also those who were at low proficiency level with no awareness of their writing problems.