Results and Discussion of the Main Study

This chapter presents the statistical analysis of the quasi-experimental study in which five types of written CF were examined. The results show that more explicit written CF types were more effective on facilitating L2 development. However, although participants are of different English proficiency, it was not found that proficiency level had an impact on the effect of written CF.

The Empirical Evidence of the Effect of Written Corrective Feedback From Information Processing Perspective

The theoretical perspectives reviewed in the previous chapter have led many in the field to believe that written CF can have a positive effect on L2 learning. The recent written CF studies reviewed in this chapter confirmed the theoretical expectation. However, it needs to be noted that although more explicit written CF types, such as metalinguistic explanation, direct correction, and direct correction plus metalinguistic explanation were proved to facilitate the learning of English articles and past tense for students of different proficiency levels, more research is needed to find out the correlation between the complexity and written CF type. Furthermore, whether these types of written CF could facilitate the learning of more complex language features needs to be examined. Last but not least, learner's factors, including affective factors, learning aptitude, motivation, and so on need to be investigated regarding the extent to which they may have an impact on the effect of written CF.

The Theoretical Expectation of the Effect of Written Corrective Feedback From Information Processing Perspective

Chapter 2 explains how written CF can facilitate the process of information processing in Gass' model from a micro perspective, and also in a macro view, according to McLaughlin's model, and Anderson's model. The theoretical explanation makes us to believe written CF has the potential to benefit L2 development. The other half of the chapter provides an understanding of written CF in an interactive view of SLA and leads to the conclusion that all the factors involved in the interactions between teacher and learner should be taken into consideration when providing written CF.

The Exploration of the Effect of Scafflolded Written Corrective Feedback

This chapter reviews the written CF studies that have been conducted within a socio-cultural framework. These are three case studies, the first of which found individual learners had better self-control after receiving scaffolded written CF within their different ZPDs. The second study compared scaffolded written CF and random written CF and found scaffolded written CF resulted in better L2 development. The third study compared scaffolded written CF and the most explicit written CF (direct correction plus metalinguistic explanation) and no advantage for scaffolded written CF was reported. In the end, a combined approach of investigating written CF is proposed.

Introduction to Written Corrective Feedback for L2 Development

In this chapter, written CF is defined, and then how written CF can contribute to each of the three stages of L2 development is presented. By comparing corrective feedback in a written context to an oral context, the conclusion is made that written context is a better platform for L2 development. After presenting the underpinning theoretical frameworks, including information processing theories and socio-cultural theories, this chapter provides the research findings up to date to prove the effectiveness of written CF provided in both of the approaches. Last but not the least, this chapter highlights the questions remained in this field, which justifies the necessity and importance of further written CF research.

The Theoretical Expectation of the Effect of Written Corrective Feedback From Sociocultural Perspective

This chapter explains how written CF should be provided within a socio-cultural framework. Sociocultural researchers believe learning occurs “in” instead of “by” the interaction between the learner and the teacher. When the learner needs less “other-regulation” or has better “self-regulation” during the scaffolded interaction, learning occurs. Scaffolding means that facilitation varies according to the learner's need. For the optimal facilitation of learning, scaffolding should be within the learner's ZPD. Therefore, it is fair to assume that scaffolded written CF within the learner's ZPD has the potential to facilitate the desired L2 learning.

Results and Discussion of Two Case Studies

This chapter presents the in-depth analysis of case studies in which each linguistic item used in pre-test and post-tests are noted. Although the participants in case studies did not show improved accuracy after receiving written CF, the errors which had been provided with written CF did not occur again in the post-tests. And it can be seen that the errors that appeared in post-tests bore no relation to the written CF. Proficiency level was not found have an impact on the effect of written CF, but it was found that participants who had lower proficiency level required more written CF assistance.

The Contribution of the Combined Approach of Investigating Written CF and Opportunities for Future Research

This chapter discusses the contributions of this combined approach to written CF research while the limitations are also pointed out. The second part of this chapter focuses on the opportunities for future research, suggesting the research direction. In the end, the implications of written CF research for English teaching, which emphasized again that this book will benefit not only SLA researchers but also English teachers, are shown.

The Combination of Two Approaches in Investigating the Effect of Written Corrective Feedback for L2 Development

This chapter proposes a combined approach in investigating the effect of written CF for L2 development. This research design includes a quasi-experimental study in which participants are given four writing tasks, at the pre-test, immediate post-test, delayed post-test 1, and delayed post-test 2. The written texts are marked and accuracy rates are calculated so that the changes in accuracy in the post-tests can be tracked. Then the participants who do not show improved accuracy in the immediate post-test are invited to participate in a one-on-one conference in which scaffolded written CF is provided. This way, not only can the improved accuracy of a group of participants be used to prove the effectiveness of written CF, but the individuals who do not show improved accuracy but do not make the same mistake in the post-test can also prove that written CF is not ineffective.