Written Corrective Feedback in Second Language Acquisition and Writing

What should language and writing teachers do about giving students written corrective feedback? This book surveys theory, research, and practice on the important and sometimes controversial issue of written corrective feedback, also known as “error/grammar correction,” and its impact on second language acquisition and second language writing development. Offering state-of-the-art treatment of a topic that is highly relevant to both researchers and practitioners, it critically analyzes and synthesizes several parallel and complementary strands of research ― work on error/feedback (both oral and written) in SLA and studies of the impact of error correction in writing/composition courses ― and addresses practical applications. Drawing from both second language acquisition and writing/composition literature, this volume is the first to intentionally connect these two separate but important lines of inquiry.

John Bitchener is Professor, School of Languages at Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand.

Dana R. Ferris is Professor in the University Writing Program at the University of California, Davis.