Is Indirect Written Feedback Valuable? A Study Targeting ESL University Students in Pakistan | Nusrat | International Journal of English Linguistics | CCSE

The aim of this small-scale study is to investigate the effect of indirect written feedback (coded and un-coded correction along with revisions) among ESL learners in Pakistani University and learners’ written accuracy in three types of errors (i.e., articles, past simple tense, and prepositions). In this quasi-experimental study, 50 students are randomly assigned into two groups. At initial level, teachers provide indirect written feedback (e.g., underlining, circling or error codes are provided for three types of errors) to the first group, and no feedback is provided to the second group. The participants’ written work is assessed in three phases: pre-test writing, an immediate post-test writing and delayed post-test piece of writing. Findings from an independent sample t-test demonstrate that the students receiving indirect written feedback followed by revisions perform better on new writing as compared to those who receiving no feedback at all. Findings conclude that Indirect written feedback is significant in minimizing the errors of one out of three linguistic forms in subsequent writing. Further, results suggest that indirect written feedback can help learners become more aware of their errors, reduce some of them, and so become more self-reliant