The effects of written coded corrective feedback on pre intermediate efl students paragraph writing ma

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY — HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES FACULTY OF ENGLISH LINGUISTICS & LITERATURE THE EFFECTS OF WRITTEN CODED CORRECTIVE FEEDBACK ON PRE-INTERMEDIATE EFL STUDENTS’ PARAGRAPH WRITING A thesis submitted to the Faculty of English Linguistics & Literature in partial fulfillment of the Master‟s degree in TESOL By NGUYỄN XUÂN HỒNG Supervised by PHÓ PHƢƠNG DUNG, Ph.D HO CHI MINH CITY, OCTOBER 2021 ACKNOWLDEGEMENTS First of all, I would like to express my deep gratitude to my supervisor, Dr Phó Phương Dung, for her kindness and dedication There are no words that can fully show my appreciation for what she has done for me Without her guidance and encouragement, I would not have been able to overcome this challenge My sincere thanks also go to my colleagues who created all the favorable conditions for me to collect data for this study I am grateful and thankful for their valuable support I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to my two classmates, Ms La Nguyệt Thanh and Ms Đặng Lê Vy, for being by my side through ups and downs from the very beginning of the course Last but not least, I would like to express my deep sense of gratitude to my family for their unconditional love and support Without their care and encouragement, I would have never had enough motivation to go to the end of this journey i STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY I certify that this thesis entitled “THE EFFECTS OF WRITTEN CODED CORRECTIVE FEEDBACK ON PRE-INTERMEDIATE EFL STUDENTS’ PARAGRAPH WRITING” is my own work This thesis has not been submitted for the award of any degree or diploma in any other institution Ho Chi Minh City, October 26th, 2021 Nguyễn Xuân Hồng ii RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS I hereby state that I, NGUYEN XUAN HONG, being the candidate for the degree of Master of TESOL, accept the requirement of the University relating to the retention and use of Master‟s Theses deposited in the Library In terms of these conditions, I agree that the originality of my thesis deposited in the Library should be accessible for the purposes of study and research, in accordance with the normal conditions established by the Library for the care, loan or reproduction of theses Ho Chi Minh City, October 26th, 2021 Nguyễn Xuân Hồng iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLDEGEMENTS i STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY ii RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS iii TABLE OF CONTENTS iv LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ix LIST OF TABLES x LIST OF FIGURES xi ABSTRACT xii CHAPTER INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background to the study 1.2 Aims of the study 1.3 Research questions and hypotheses 1.4 Significance of the study 1.5 Scope of the study 1.6 Organization of thesis chapters CHAPTER LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Writing errors 2.1.1 Definition of writing errors 2.1.2 Types of writing errors 2.1.2.1 Surface Structure Taxonomy 2.1.2.2 Linguistic Taxonomy 2.1.2.3 Common errors in English writing of Vietnamese learners 10 iv 2.1.2.4 Treatable and untreatable errors 12 2.1.3 Sources of errors 13 2.2 Error correction and L2 writing development 15 2.3 Feedback 17 2.3.1 Definition of feedback 17 2.3.2 Types of written corrective feedback 18 2.3.3 Sources of feedback 19 2.4 Written Coded Corrective Feedback (WCCF) 20 2.4.1 The concept of Written Coded Corrective Feedback (WCCF) 20 2.4.2 Benefits of WCCF in teaching EFL writing 20 2.4.3 Drawbacks of WCCF in teaching EFL writing 22 2.4.4 Previous studies related to the implementation of WCCF 22 2.5 Conceptual framework of the present study 23 CHAPTER METHODOLOGY 27 3.1 Research design 27 3.2 Research setting 28 3.3 Pilot studies 30 3.3.1 Pilot study 30 3.3.2 Pilot study 33 3.3.3 Pilot study 34 3.4 The main study 35 3.4.1 Participants 35 3.4.2 The teaching materials 35 3.4.2.1 The writing topics 35 v 3.4.2.2 Guidelines for each writing topic 36 3.4.2.3 Table of error examples 37 3.4.3 Research tools 41 3.4.3.1 Student writings 41 3.4.3.2 The questionnaire 43 3.4.4 Data collection procedure 46 3.4.5 Data analysis scheme 49 3.4.5.1 Student writing analysis 49 3.4.5.2 Questionnaire analysis 50 3.5 Chapter summary 50 CHAPTER RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 51 4.1 Effects of WCCF on the number of made errors in paragraph compositions of pre-intermediate EFL students 51 4.1.1 Results of the pretest 51 4.1.2 Results of the posttest 53 4.1.3 Results from within the EG comparison 55 4.1.4 Discussion 57 4.2 Types of writing errors (marked with WCCF) that pre-intermediate EFL students revised correctly 58 4.2.1 Verb tense errors 60 4.2.2 Verb form errors 63 4.2.3 Singular-plural errors 65 4.2.4 Subject-verb agreement errors 67 4.2.5 Word order errors 68 vi 4.2.6 Discussion 70 4.3 Attitudes of pre-intermediate EFL students towards the implementation of WCCF 70 4.3.1 Demographic information of the participants 71 4.3.2 Students‟ attitudes towards benefits of WCCF 72 4.3.3 Students‟ problems (if any) when experiencing WCCF 74 4.3.4 Students‟ preference for teacher WCCF 77 4.3.5 Discussion 78 4.4 Chapter summary 79 CHAPTER CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 81 5.1 Summary of findings 81 5.2 Pedagogical implications of WCCF 82 5.2.1 For EFL teachers 82 5.2.2 For EFL learners 84 5.3 Limitations of the study 85 5.4 Recommendations for future studies 85 REFERENCES 87 APPENDICES 95 APPENDIX WRITING TOPICS 95 APPENDIX TABLE OF ERROR EXAMPLES (FOR THE EG) 97 APPENDIX TABLE OF ERROR EXAMPLES (FOR THE CG) 99 APPENDIX ORIGINAL QUESTIONNAIRE 101 APPENDIX OFFICIAL QUESTIONNAIRE (ENGLISH VERSION) 104 APPENDIX OFFICIAL QUESTIONNAIRE (VIETNAMESE VERSION) 107 vii APPENDIX SAMPLE GUIDELINES FOR WRITING TOPIC 111 APPENDIX ERROR TYPES AND THEIR CODES USED IN MARKING THE STUDENTS‟ WRITING 112 APPENDIX SAMPLE WRITING MARKED WITH WCCF 113 APPENDIX 10 QUESTIONNAIRE ITEMS ADAPTATION 114 APPENDIX 11 NUMBER OF ERRORS IN THE FOUR COMPOSITIONS OF THE EG 118 APPENDIX 12 PERCENTAGES OF CORRECTED ERRORS 119 viii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS CF Corrective Feedback CG Control Group EFL English as a Foreign Language EG Experimental Group ESL English as a Second Language L1 First Language L2 Second Language SP Singular-plural SPSS Statistical Package for the Social Sciences SV Subject-verb agreement VF Verb form VT Verb tense WCCF Written Coded Corrective Feedback WO Word order ix Section 2: Students’ attitudes towards the implementation of teacher Written Coded Corrective Feedback in the writing session Please circle ONE number which best indicates your opinion about the following statements using this scale: Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly agree disagree (D) (N) (A) (SA) writing SA I understood the codes that the teacher used in my A N Feedback, … D When experiencing teacher Written Coded Corrective SD (SD) 5 I recognized the locations of errors I made I recognized the kinds of errors I made 5 5 I was encouraged to review the underlying grammatical rules in order to correct the marked errors During the in-class error correction time, … I carried out the corrections in my writing based on the teacher‟s Written Coded Corrective Feedback I ignored a marked error if I did not know how to correct it 105 I replaced a marked error with another grammatical 10 structure that I was confident with if I did not know 5 5 how to correct that error 11 I tried to revise all the marked errors in my writing 12 I revised the marked errors, but I was not sure that all of the corrections were correct 13 I was able to revise all the marked errors quickly SD D N A SA After experiencing teacher Written Coded Corrective 14 I have started to identify the errors in my writing 15 I think I can avoid similar errors in later compositions 16 grammatical structures that caused errors in my Feedback in this course, … In later compositions, I tend to avoid using the previous writing In the following courses, … 17 I like to receive error correction on my writing 18 I like to receive written coded corrective feedback 5 19 20 I like to receive written coded corrective feedback from my teacher I like to receive written coded corrective feedback from my peers Sincerely thank you for your co-operation 106 APPENDIX OFFICIAL QUESTIONNAIRE (VIETNAMESE VERSION) PHIẾU KHẢO SÁT THÁI ĐỘ CỦA SINH VIÊN ĐỐI VỚI PHƢƠNG PHÁP PHẢN HỒI BÀI VIẾT THÔNG QUA KÝ HIỆU Bảng hỏi thiết kế nhằm thu thập thông tin thái độ sinh viên việc áp dụng phương pháp phản hồi viết thông qua ký hiệu việc dạy viết đoạn văn tiếng Anh Tất câu trả lời bạn đƣợc giữ bí mật hồn tồn sử dụng cho mục đích nghiên cứu Vì vậy, bạn khơng cần phải chọn đáp án phản ánh việc bạn nghĩ bạn nên làm, mà bạn vui lòng chọn đáp án phản ánh thực tế bạn làm Phần 1: Thơng tin ngƣời trả lời Vui lịng viết câu trả lời bạn vào chỗ trống đánh dấu () vào thích hợp Lớp: ………………… Tuổi: …………………… Giới tính:  Nam  Nữ 107 Phần 2: Thái độ sinh viên việc áp dụng phƣơng pháp phản hồi viết từ giáo viên thông qua ký hiệu học viết đoạn văn tiếng Anh Vui lòng khoanh tròn MỘT số thể rõ ý kiến bạn câu bên dựa thang đo sau: Hồn tồn Khơng Trung lập Đồng ý Hồn tồn khơng đồng ý đồng ý (TL) (ĐY) đồng ý (HTKĐY) (KĐY) viết HTĐY Tơi hiểu ký hiệu giáo viên sử dụng ĐY TL ký hiệu, KĐY Khi trải nghiệm phản hồi viết từ giáo viên thông qua HTKĐY (HTĐY) 5 Tôi nhận diện vị trí lỗi viết Tôi nhận diện tên loại lỗi viết 5 Tơi khuyến khích ơn lại điểm ngữ pháp để sửa lỗi viết Trong sửa lỗi lớp, Tôi sửa lỗi viết dựa phản hồi viết giáo viên 108 Nếu cách sửa lỗi đánh dấu bài, thay cấu trúc có lỗi cấu trúc 5 5 bài, bỏ qua lỗi Nếu tơi khơng biết cách sửa lỗi đánh dấu 10 ngữ pháp khác mà sử dụng thành thạo Tôi sửa lỗi đánh dấu không tất phần tơi sửa Tơi sửa tất lỗi đánh dấu ĐY HTĐY khoảng thời gian ngắn TL 13 viết KĐY 12 Tôi cố gắng sửa hết tất lỗi đánh dấu HTKĐY 11 5 cấu trúc ngữ pháp mà hay mắc lỗi viết 5 Sau khóa học trải nghiệm phản hồi viết từ giáo viên thông qua ký hiệu, 14 15 Tôi bắt đầu tự xác định lỗi viết Tơi nghĩ tơi tránh lỗi tương tự viết sau Trong viết sau, tơi có xu hướng tránh dùng 16 sửa Trong khóa học tiếp theo, 17 Tôi muốn nhận phản hồi lỗi viết 109 18 19 Tơi muốn nhận phản hồi viết thông qua ký 5 phản hồi viết thông qua ký hiệu cho viết hiệu Tôi muốn giáo viên tiếng Anh người đưa phản hồi viết thơng qua ký hiệu cho viết Tôi muốn bạn học lớp tiếng Anh người đưa 20 Chân thành cảm ơn bạn hợp tác 110 APPENDIX SAMPLE GUIDELINES FOR WRITING TOPIC I WRITING TOPIC In 150 words, write a paragraph to describe the free time activity you like best You should mention:  what you  where you it  whom you it with  why you like to spend your free time this way II GUIDELINES FOR WRITING TOPIC *Topic sentence: activity (vocabulary page 43) • Idea 1: equipment (vocabulary page 44) – Supporting idea 1: example/ explanation/ reason/ result • Idea 2: place (vocabulary page 44) – Supporting idea • Idea 3: people – Supporting idea • Idea 4: reasons – Supporting idea (vocabulary page 49+ grammar page 46 [superlative and present perfect]) 111 APPENDIX ERROR TYPES AND THEIR CODES USED IN MARKING THE STUDENTS’ WRITING No Error type Code Example of the error Note Misusing verb tenses (i.e present simple, present Verb tense VT I go to VT yesterday continuous, past simple, future simple and present perfect) Misusing different forms Verb form VF She has writing a book of verbs (i.e infinitive, gerund, simple past, past participle, and base form) Singular-plural Subject-verb agreement Word order I have two pen Referring to noun ending There are two mouses errors SP Henry still live well in Not SV London including singular-plural form errors WO I buy a shirt blue Adapted from Ferris (2006) and N S Tran (2018) 112 other or verb APPENDIX SAMPLE WRITING MARKED WITH WCCF 113 APPENDIX 10 QUESTIONNAIRE ITEMS ADAPTATION Item Content Type Your class: ………………… OpenEnded Your age: Open…………………… Ended Gender:  Male  Female I understood the codes that the teacher used in my writing I recognized the locations of errors I made I recognized the kinds of errors I made I was encouraged to review the underlying grammatical rules in order to correct Source Aim To collect demographic information of the participants CloseEnded Adjusted from “I am able to understand my teacher‟s written feedback.” (Mekala & Ponmani, 2017, p 52) 4-point Likert scale CloseEnded Adjusted from “Which way was easiest to see what kind of mistakes you made?” (Chandler, 2003, p 288) Multiple choice, four options: Correction / Underline and Describe / Describe / Underline To measure how far WCCF raised the students‟ error awareness (2) From the conceptual framework, according to Lalande (1982), WCCF increases students‟ awareness of their writing errors through signifying both error location and the nature of errors CloseEnded “Which way did you learn the most from?” (Chandler, 2003, p 288) Multiple choice, four options: 114 To check whether WCCF can foster the understanding the marked errors Correction / Underline and Describe / Describe / Underline I carried out the corrections in my writing based on the teacher‟s Written Coded Corrective Feedback I ignored a marked error if I did not know how to correct it From the conceptual framework, WCCF may be problematic for students with limit command of English (Ferris & Roberts, 2001) 10 I replaced a marked error with another grammatical structure that I was confident with if I did not know how to correct that error From the conceptual framework, WCCF may cause students‟ avoidance of complex structure (Sheppard, 1992) CloseEnded CloseEnded of the underlying grammatical rules (1) “I have started to carry out the corrections in my writing based on teacher‟s feedback.” To measure the students‟ preference for involvement (Mekala & Ponmani, 2017, p 52) in error 4-point Likert scale correction From the conceptual framework, WCCF may be problematic for students with limit command of English (Ferris & Roberts, 2001) 11 I tried to correct all the marked errors in my writing 12 I revised the marked errors, but I was not sure that all of the corrections were correct From the conceptual framework, WCCF may be problematic for students with limit command of English (Ferris & Roberts, 2001) 13 I was able to revise all the marked errors quickly From the conceptual framework, WCCF requires a substantial amount of time from the learners to self-correct the errors (Saadi & Saadat, 2015) 115 To identify students‟ difficulties (if any) when experiencing WCCF 14 Adjusted from “I have started to identify the errors in my own writing.” (Mekala & Ponmani, 2017, p 52) I have started to identify the errors in my writing 4-point Likert scale (1) Adjusted from “I have started to construct grammatically correct sentences.” 15 I think I can avoid similar errors in later compositions To measure how far WCCF raised (Mekala & Ponmani, 2017, p 52) the students‟ error 4-point Likert scale awareness (2) Adjusted from “Which way helped you most to write correctly in future?” (Chandler, 2003, p 288) Multiple choice, four options: Correction / Underline and Describe / Describe / Underline 16 In later compositions, I tend to avoid using the grammatical structures that caused errors in my previous writing To identify students‟ difficulties (if any) when experiencing WCCF 17 I like to receive error correction on my writing 18 I like to receive written coded corrective feedback 19 I like to receive written coded corrective feedback from my teacher CloseEnded CloseEnded From the conceptual framework, WCCF may cause students‟ avoidance of complex structure (Sheppard, 1992) (1) Adjusted from “I will need to have teacher feedback.” (Napaporn, 2012a, p 560) CloseEnded 5-point Likert scale (2) Adjusted from “I like to have my writing reviewed by my teacher.” (Napaporn, 2012a, p 560) 5-point Likert scale 116 To measure the students‟ preference for teacher WCCF 20 I like to receive written coded corrective feedback from my peers 117 APPENDIX 11 NUMBER OF ERRORS IN THE FOUR COMPOSITIONS OF THE EG 9 10 11 WO Posttest SV 24 26 SP 49 VF VT 23 17 18 19 21 Assignment WO SV 47 SP 67 2 WO Assignment 53 45 VF VT 53 SV 23 SP 76 33 40 VF 13 VT 68 27 7 WO 25 SV Pretest 74 18 28 20 20 SP 100 VF 12 VT 20 20 40 60 Number of errors revised correctly 118 80 Numbers of errors 100 106 APPENDIX 12 PERCENTAGES OF CORRECTED ERRORS Pretest Assignment Assignment Posttest 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 VT VF SP 119 SV WO