Exploratory case study : perceptions of English as a foreign language teacher and students on the role of classroom contextual factors in the use of written corrective feedback -

Abstract

Written corrective feedback (WCF) refers to the comments and corrections that teachers provide students with on both content and form in an attempt to improve their performance during essay writing. Several studies on WCF have provided evidence that the use of WCF in English as a foreign language (EFL) writing classrooms enhances students’ writing accuracy level. Despite its role in improving the accuracy level of students’ writing, some learners still fail to make use of it when revising their essays due to the presence of various classroom contextual factors that influence the effectiveness of the provided WCF. According to various studies, this issue is not thoroughly examined and requires further investigation. The study examined, from the perspective of both teacher and students, the factors that affected students’ ability to apply WCF. Also, this study explored why some students within the same classroom applied WCF, while others did not. Six graduate EFL students and their teacher participated in the study. Multiple sources were used for data collection. Analysis was done using the Components of Data Analysis: Interactive Model proposed by Miles and Huberman (1994), and a narrative construction approach was followed. Students reported on their own experience as they revised and re-wrote a second draft of their texts following teacher’s WCF. The participants, teacher and students, described the factors that appeared to influence students’ ability to utilize WCF. Students and their teacher indicated that there were several factors within the learning context, individual, situational, and methodological, that interacted and influenced students’ ability to apply WCF. It was found that individual factors played a major role in affecting students’ utilization of WCF.