Repositioning Corrective Feedback to a Meaning-Orientated Approach in the English Language Classroom

Robert Weekly, Andrew Pollard

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

The practice of Corrective Feedback (CF), which is situated within a Second Language Acquisition (SLA) Paradigm, is currently positioned towards an accuracy-orientated delivery based on native speaker norms. This is despite the recognition in different areas of linguistic research that there is considerable variation in the way that English is spoken around the world. This paper argues that the epistemological assumptions and methodological approaches to investigate CF within an SLA paradigm have various underlying weaknesses that undermine research findings. These findings purport to provide support for an accuracy-orientated CF in the English classroom. However, it is suggested in this paper that a meaning-orientated CF would be more reflective and beneficial for students given the transformative changes that have occurred to English over the past 30 years. This perspective is discussed in relation to one teacher’s approach to CF who participated in a larger project which examined CF conducted in a British-Sino University.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1-19
Number of pages19
JournalTESL-EJ: The Electronic Journal for English as a Second Language
Volume27
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Feb 2024

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
We would like to thank two anonymous reviewers for their insightful comments on the paper, and also the editor of TESL-EJ, Thomas N. Robb for his patience during the editing process.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 Editorial Board TESL - EJ. All rights reserved.

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Repositioning Corrective Feedback to a Meaning-Orientated Approach in the English Language Classroom'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this