Written Corrective Feedback: Comparing Bhutanese Middle Secondary ESL Student and Teacher Perspectives

Abstract

Numerous studies have investigated and advocated the effectiveness of written corrective feedback (WCF) on L2 students’ writing. The researchers are presently more interested in uncovering the perceptions that the teachers and the students have about the usefulness of WCF. A large number of studies have focused on students’ perspectives about WCF, whereas, very few studies accounted for teachers’ perspectives and compared the former with the latter. In the Bhutanese context, there is a paucity of WCF research altogether. This study, conducted in a Bhutanese Middle Secondary School, investigated the perceptions of ESL students and teachers on (1) amount of WCF, (2) types of WCF, and (3) types of errors to be marked. This study also attempts to gauge the differences in the students’ and teachers’ perceptions about WCF and the reasons thereof. Six English as Second Language (ESL) teachers and 42 ESL students were selected using purposive, and stratified random sampling respectively. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected by means of parallel written questionnaires. The quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics such as percentages and means, whereas the qualitative data were analysed using thematic analysis. The findings reveal that there are areas where both the students and the teachers share common preferences and views but also areas where they express disagreements. Pedagogical implications and the limitations of the study are discussed.