A Phenomenological Investigation of International Students’ Perceptions of Corrective Feedback on Grammar in English Writing

A growing body of research has examined the perceptions of written corrective feedback, which is defined as correction or advice on students’ written work (Tatawy, 2007; Lee, 2008; Ellis, 2009; Baleghizadeh & Rezaei, 2010; Lightbown & Spada, 2013). Corrective feedback (CF) can be given in six different forms, namely: direct, indirect, focused and unfocused, metalinguistic, electronic and reformulation (Ellis, 2009). The research for this paper studied the perceptions of written corrective feedback on grammar in English writing and has been conducted among 11 international students on a foundation course at a university in Northern England. This qualitative research aimed to examine students’ perceptions and preferred types of CF, as well as how they made use of CF, by means of one-to-one interviews and think-aloud protocols. It concluded that the participants’ perceptions of CF were primarily positive, the preferred type was direct and unfocused CF, and students did not always make revisions. Pedagogical implications of the study are discussed. This study recommends that teachers consider each student’s motivation, English proficiency level, and preferred type of CF before providing the feedback.