Written Corrective Feedback and Its Challenges for Pre-Service ESL Teachers

Abstract

This study explored the emerging corrective feedback (CF) practices of a group of 18 pre-service English as a second language (ESL) teachers. Serving as tutors to a group of 61 high school ESL learners during a school semester, the pre-service teachers provided CF on texts written by the learners and exchanged via e-mail. The authors analyzed the types of CF they used and the types of errors they chose to focus on, along with the factors that explained their choices. Quantitative analyses of the frequency distribution of CF types relative to error types and qualitative analyses of data collected through journals and interviews confirmed that, similar to their in-service colleagues, pre-service teachers overused direct corrections at the expense of more indirect CF strategies. Drawing on the challenges faced by the pre-service teachers, the authors highlight the importance of implementing such opportunities for pre-service teachers to engage with and reflect on their emerging CF practices.