The efficiacy of written corrective feedback and students´perceptions : A survey about the impact of written response on L2 writing

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to investigate to what extent written corrective feedback (WCF) is a good way to treat errors that L2 (second language) pupils make and if they attend to the comments in future written assignments. WCF is the most used response on written assignments. Some research takes the perspective that it is fruitful (Chandler 2003, Ferris 2003) while other research argues that it is inefficient and unnecessary (e.g.Truscott 1996, 1999). This study presents the findings of a survey on the topic which was conducted at a small school in the south east of Sweden. A comparison between previous research and the findings of the present survey is made and the conclusion from this is that there are limitations in the efficacy of WCF and the results suggest that the type of feedback and how it is delivered are important. It is also likely to be beneficial that pupils revise their texts in order to improve in writing English.