Percepciones y preferencias de estudiantes de inglés en secundaria sobre la devolución docente escrita

Abstract

There has been a shift in focus in the theoretical discussions on written corrective feedback. Nowadays, it is less common to challenge its overall effectiveness. Researchers tend to focus on the amount and the type of feedback provided, as these aspects are believed to determine its effectiveness. In addition to the psycholinguistic perspectives that take into account different language acquisition theories, the affective aspect of student-teacher interaction should also be considered. The way students interpret written corrective feedback will be determined, to a great extent, by their expectations. The present study looks into the preferences of two groups of high-school students of English as a foreign language in Mar del Plata, Argentina, as to the quantity and quality of written corrective feedback they receive. These two groups of students had different levels of English competence. This helped determine whether these differences in L2 command had an impact on their preferences and expectations as regards written corrective feedback. The results showed that both groups recognized the value of teacher feedback as a learning tool, and preferred to receive non-targeted feedback. Likewise, the more advanced students turned out to be more receptive to the use of questions and imperatives in their teachers' comments.