The Effects Of Different Types Of Written Corrective Feedback On Efl Writing:from The Perspective Of Cohesion

As an integral part of L2instruction, corrective feedback is often provided by EFL/ESL teachers in response to students’deviant forms in L2writing. Teachers’ feedback concerns many language features, of which cohesion is an important one. However, previous research fails to pay enough attention to the influence of feedback on the acquisition of cohesion. This thesis, through an experimental study, attempts to investigate the possible effect of corrective feedback on the acquisition of cohesion in EFL writing.The current study intends to address the following two questions:1) Does cohesion in students’writings reflected by their use of cohesive devices improve in response to written corrective feedback?2) If yes, what type of written corrective feedback is more effective (direct or indirect)? To answer these questions, an experimental study was carried out, where15students were divided into three groups (5in each)-the control group, the direct group and the indirect group. During the experiment, each of them wrote five essays (Essay1to Essay5), and corrective feedback was provided in response to the errors concerning cohesion. Specifically, the direct group received direct corrective feedback; the indirect group received indirect corrective feedback; and the control group did not receive feedback concerning cohesion. Their use of cohesion in Essay2to Essay5was compared to that in Essay1, which was written prior to the treatment.The results suggested that direct corrective feedback exerts limited positive influence on the acquisition of cohesion and indirect corrective feedback is much more effective. Specifically, indirect feedback is effective in increasing the frequency of cohesive devices and in balancing the categories of cohesive devices. It proves to be effective in the acquisition of reference, conjunction and lexical cohesion. In the meantime, direct feedback has limited effect on the acquisition of reference (improper referential item correction). Based on the research findings, theoretical and practical implications are discussed.