Exploring and analysis of student engagement in English writing grammar accuracy based on teacher written corrective feedback

Abstract

Whether students benefit from written corrective feedback may depend on their level of engagement with the feedback. To date, student engagement with written corrective feedback has been investigated qualitatively. However, the association between student engagement with feedback and learning outcomes that result from that engagement has not been examined. Moreover, little attention has been paid to secondary students’ engagement with written corrective feedback because most studies have focused on university students. Therefore, this mixed-method experimental study was conducted to discern if there is an association between student engagement with feedback and English writing grammar accuracy and explore how high school students engaged with the feedback behaviorally, affectively, and cognitively. Writing tests and a questionnaire were conducted with 26 tenth graders, and focus group interviews were conducted with five randomly-selected participants before, during, and after the intervention. The results indicated that there was no significant association between the variables. Our results indicate that students’ engagement with WCF had both negative and positive effects on their English language writing accuracy. The nature of their engagement with this type of feedback was ultimately found to be complex and linked to the three dimensions of student engagement.