Promoting Advantageous Ways for Teachers and Learners to Deal with Corrective Feedback

Researchers and educators in the field of second language acquisition (SLA) have long been interested in the role of corrective feedback (CF) in language teaching and learning (Cohen, 1975, 2018; Ellis, Loewen, Erlam, 2006). The main goal is to explore how to provide CF, the kind of feedback to provide, when, and by whom in order to facilitate learner’s uptake and second language (L2) development (e.g., Carroll Swain, 1993; Han, 2002; Lyster Ranta, 1997). As Cohen (2018) states, aligned with more learner-centered approaches to language teaching, not only should teachers know how to deal with providing CF but they also need to promote learners’ awareness as informed consumers of CF to optimize its effect in their L2 development journey with the highest level of efficiency (Cohen White, 2008). CF is defined as comments on accuracy or suitability of students’ comprehension or production of a foreign/second language. The extent of CF and the ways in which learners can strategically embark on such CF is still open to debate due to the fact that there are many mediating factors influencing the efficacy of CF. Consequently, being able to propose advantageous ways of providing CF by teachers and effective use of CF by learners in L2 education settings remains a desideratum which requires a systematic review of various aspects of CF and factors contributing to its effectiveness. To this end, the current paper opens by providing a definition of CF and delineating how it is operationalized in different theoretical schemes. Categories of CF are described as are technology-based means for CF, and key dilemmas regarding CF and its effectiveness are noted. The conclusion reached is that CF must be viewed as highly complex – especially as it concerns learners’ autonomy in L2 development and in effectively strategic use of CF. The article ends with some recommendations regarding advantageous ways of promoting CF practice in L2 classrooms.