Historical as well as theoretical evidence for the efficacy of EFL teachers' written corrective feedback on students' writing accuracy

Abstract EN

This research paper aims at clarifying the historical as well as the theoretical importance of the written corrective feedback (WCF) of teachers of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) on the writing accuracy of the students.

To arrive at this end, the study offers a historical as well as theoretical review of the prominent figures and schools of thought relevant to WCF.

The study lies in the area “Applied Linguistics, ”which is defined according to Cambridge Dictionary as “the study of language as it affects situations in real life, for example in education or technology”(retrieved on Oct.

1^st, 2017).

The insights included in this research are mainly of interest to EFL practitioners.

This review includes supporters as well as opponents of the use of WCF in second language (L2) writing.

First, feedback is defined.

Second, the history of feedback practice since the sixties to the nineties is chronologically traced.

Third, the theoretical perspectives underlying the study of feedback are summarized to show the positive effect of WCF on students' writing summarizes.

This paper also illustrates the fact that the issue of implementing feedback in general and in EFL contexts in particular was and still is controversial.

That is to say, to date, researchers as well as language practitioners are still in a constant struggle on whether to apply WCF or not, and on how, when and by whom it should be provided.

However, through the analysis of this study, it is apparent that the linguistic and the pedagogical pendulums are swung more into the positive effect of WCF on L2 students' writing accuracy.