A Comparison between the Effects of Teacher vs. Peer Corrective Feedback on the Iranian EFL learners Accuracy

In recent decades, the issue of corrective feedback has garnered considerable attention in studies of ESL and other L2 learning contexts in that there are some controversies and contradictory findings regarding its nature and usefulness. Finding a straightforward answer to the debate over the agent of correction _ teachers or students _ can have practical benefits and help resolve a miniscule part of the controversy. In addition to its immediate benefits for students to improve their accuracy, it can determine the content of grammar teaching. This study aims to compare teacher corrective feedback with peer corrective feedback in terms of their effectiveness on students’ accuracy. 60 students with the same level of proficiency were selected and divided into two groups. The first group received teacher feedback and the second group peer feedback. Some briefing was given to students regarding when and for what type of errors they should provide each other with feedback. Students’ grammar knowledge was assessed using Key English Test (KET) as both pre-test and post-test. Statistical analyses showed that error correction in any form (teacher corrective feedback and peer corrective feedback) can make a huge difference in students’ accuracy, but neither proved superior to the other.