CORRECTIVE FEEDBACK IN L2 WRITING DEVELOPMENT: A MIXED-METHOD STUDY OF PAKISTANI UNIVERSITY ESL LEARNERS

Abstract

Despite recent advances in the literature and field studies, written corrective feedback (WCF) continues to be one of the most debated interventions within second language writing pedagogy. The current mixed-method study examines the impact of corrective feedback on the development of writing skills in Pakistani university ESL learners using the error analysis of student writing in three drafts and semi-structured interviews conducted with five senior university writing instructors. A total of 25 undergraduate students enrolled in an ESL program at a private university in Karachi, Pakistan, took part in the six-week writing intervention. The effect of focused vs. unfocused feedback on accuracy gains was examined using paired samples t-tests and effect size calculation based on Cohen's d index. Results show a significant advantage for focused over unfocused feedback, with large effect sizes associated with verb tense feedback (d = 1.29, p < .001) and subject-verb agreement feedback (d = 1.18, p < .001), but small, non-significant effects for unfocused lexically-targeted feedback (d = 0.27, p = .141). Analysis of interview transcripts shows that the dominant feedback strategy in Pakistani university writing classes is a combination of direct and unfocused feedback used due to contextual factors rather than a lack of knowledge.