The Effects of corrective feedback on Taiwan high school EFL low-achievers' paragraph writing: “direct correction” vs. “reformulation”

• Main Authors: Hsu, Kaijung, 許凱絨
• Other Authors: Yeh, Chieh-yue
• Format: Others
• Language: en_US
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/92228579732945169418

碩士 === 國立政治大學 === 英語教學碩士在職專班 === 98 === This study aimed to compare the efficacy of “direct correction” with that of “reformulation” on Taiwan EFL low-achievers’ paragraph writing. Fifty-six students in a vocational high school in Taipei City participated in this study from Sep. 2009 through Jan. 2010. When conducting revision activities, the teacher implemented the “reformulation” technique in the experimental group. The students compared the originals with the reformulated versions given by the teacher, and detected, recorded, and corrected all the grammatical errors mainly on their own. The control group received the “direct correction” treatment, examining their originals with the teacher’s corrections on them. With the pre-test and the post-test on a paragraph-length English picture description, the comparison of the post-test results between the experimental and control groups, and interviews with the experimental group, the results are as follows: First, in holistic rating, “reformulation” was more helpful than “direct correction” in improving the participants’ writing performance. Second, the low-achievers with lower proficiency benefited more from “reformulation” than those with better proficiency. Third, “direct correction” was more effective than “reformulation” in reducing the participants’ grammatical errors. Fourth, the majority in the experimental group were positive of “reformulation” as a way to improve writing. Finally, some implications for pedagogy and suggestions for future studies were made.