[Webinar] Research on Focused and Comprehensive Written Corrective Feedback: What REALLY matters?

The debate on written corrective feedback (WCF) sparked by Truscott (1996) has spawned a growing literature on focused and comprehensive WCF (i.e. feedback scope) in L2 writing. Such research, being largely experimental/quasi-experimental, has generated findings that are tangentially relevant to authentic classrooms. In this presentation, I attempt to problematize existing research on focused and comprehensive WCF by examining three key issues – ambiguity of pertinent terms, laboratory-like classroom conditions, and narrow scope of research. I also provide suggestions on how these problems may be addressed so that feedback scope research could be made more relevant to authentic classroom contexts. I conclude the presentation by suggesting that what really matters in WCF research is a focus that zeroes in on the real classroom, real teachers, real students and their needs, as well as the larger pedagogical context in which WCF is situated.

Icy Lee is a Professor at the Faculty of…