Does complexity of grammatical structures mediate the efficacy of written corrective feedback?

• Published in: English Language Teaching Vol. 30; no. 4; pp. 69 - 84
• Main Author: Sungsoo Jang
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 팬코리아영어교육학회 01.12.2018
• Subjects: 영어와문학
• ISSN: 1226-6566; 2671-9460
• DOI: 10.17936/pkelt.2018.30.4.004

The study aimed to investigate whether the efficacy of written corrective feedback (CF) for improving second language (L2) knowledge varies with complexity of its target structures. Fifty six Korean EFL college students participated in the experiment designed to fulfill the purpose. The articles and the hypothetical conditional were selected as the target structures to represent two different levels of complexity with the latter being more complex. The participating learners were randomly assigned to one of the two experimental groups or the control group and produced a written text in each of four dictogloss tasks. Each experimental group received direct written CF for one of the two target structures in their first and second written texts while the control group received no CF on any of their texts. The first dictogloss writing served as the pretest while the third and the fourth writing were used as the immediate and the delayed posttest respectively. Knowledge of the target structures was measured by calculating their accuracy in learners’ texts. The results showed that written CF was effective for both target structures but had greater benefits for the hypothetical conditional. The findings suggest that complexity of grammatical structures might constitute a mediating factor for the efficacy of written CF for acquiring them and that written CF could become more effective for complex structures that have high levels of perceptual saliency and semantic magnitude. KCI Citation Count: 1