Effect Of Corrective Feedback Types On Writing Proficiency Of High And Low-Anxiety EFL Learners

Abstract

This mixed-methods study examined the impact of different types of written corrective feedback (WCF) on the writing proficiency of high and low anxiety English as a foreign language (EFL) learners. Using the Oxford Placement Test (OPT), 58 intermediate-level female EFL students from a private university participated in the study. Data were collected through pre and post-writing tests and the Survey of Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS).Results showed that direct corrective feedback (CF) had no significant effect on the writing proficiency of high- and low-anxiety learners. However, the low-anxiety indirect CF group performed better than the direct CF group in the writing posttest. Additionally, low-anxiety learners preferred receiving English comments and error correction, while high-anxiety learners preferred errors corrected with fewer comments. The study also found that structural and grammatical errors were preferred by students for feedback, whereas low anxiety learners preferred feedback on vocabulary, expression, content, and ideas.The study's pedagogical implications highlight the need for integrating feedback instruction into EFL writing teaching to enhance proficiency and decrease anxiety. Further research is recommended to generalize the findings and provide a more comprehensive understanding of the relationship between anxiety and CF in EFL writing classrooms.