The Debate of Written Corrective Feedback: What to do And Where to Go
Abstract
This article presents the debate of written direct CF (WCF) stated by the previous studies. Being a controversial issue leads written CF into two different positions: that written CF is plausible for ESL and EFL learners (Bitchener et al, 2005; Bitchener, 2008; Bitchener & Knoch, 2008, 2009, 2010; Bruton, 2007, 2009; Chandler, 2003; Lee, 2008a, 2008b, 2008c; Montgomery & Baker, 2007; Lundstrom & Baker, 2009; Vasquez & Harvey, 2010; Evans et al., 2010) or that it does not contribute significantly for ESL and EFL learners (Truscott & Hsu, 2008; Bruton, 2007). Through the debate, there are two queries revealed: what to do and where to go. Finally, it can be concluded that an effort to assist learners in improving their accuracy of ESL and EFL writing has to be conducted by a teacher, and CF is one of the alternative techniques among others to make the learning outcome better. Moreover, both local and global aspects are to be checked and treated proportionally meaning the written CF should not only concern local aspects but also global aspects. Later, it would be better to evaluate the long term effect of providing WCF on other occasions (a month or a semester after WCF is given).
Keywords: Written Direct CF, Indirect CF
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