Twenty-fifth International Conference on Learning

Abstract

In the past 15 years, there has been an on-going discussion regarding the need to provide corrective feedback (CF) to students learning English writing. Two issues have stood out in this discussion: the effectiveness of corrective feedback and the types of feedback provided. In the past research, not much has been explored about providing EFL learners corrective feedback in their L1. This study aimed at investigating if corrective feedback provided in different languages (English and Chinese) led learners to experience different levels of cognitive load and their perceptions of the feedback given in different languages. In a controlled setting, this study monitored and recorded the time that the students spent on processing the feedback they received in Chinese and English, administered a questionnaire to measure three types of cognitive load, and interviewed the learners to shed light on their perceptiveness of the CF in these two languages. The findings have indicated that these students spent longer time in processing CF provided in English, that the English CF cast higher cognitive loads, and that the participants preferred receiving CF in Chinese for the reasons of a faster understanding, lower tendency in re-reading feedback, less frustration caused by leaners’ uncertainty in CF.