Exploring Code-Based Feedback Options and Processing Patterns of L2 Writers: A Focus on Dynamic Written Corrective Feedback
Keywords:
Abstract
Dynamic Written Corrective Feedback (DWCF) is a valuable approach for language instructors and students because it focuses on principles of learner needs as well as manageability, meaningfulness, timeliness, and constancy (Evans et al., 2010). This study investigated patterns that intermediate and advanced English for Academic Purposes (EAP) students demonstrated as they processed and applied DWCF using editing or color feedback codes in individualized tutoring sessions over a 16-week semester. To accomplish this goal, eleven participants engaged in DWCF sessions conducted live online and recorded with shared screen capture. Concurrent verbal report data (Ericsson & Simon, 1993) collected from forty sessions was transcribed and analyzed qualitatively using Storch and Wigglesworth’s (2010) language related episodes (LREs) as a guide. Verbal report data was triangulated with concurrent screen capture actions. This article presents findings for patterns regarding language form-focused LREs, such as verb tenses, article use, and prepositions. Findings revealed that participants applying DWCF with color codes generally had more patterns of extensive engagement compared to participants using editing codes feedback. However, extensive engagement was not necessarily paired with expected resolutions. This study supports continued use of editing codes for DWCF and presents some questions about feedback tracking charts within DWCF.
Downloads
Altmetrics
References
Bitchener, J., (2019) The intersection between SLA and feedback research. In Hyland, K. & Hyland, F. (Eds). Feedback in second language writing: Contexts and issues (2nd ed). (pp. 85-105). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108635547
Bitchener, J., & Knoch, U. (2010). The contribution of written corrective feedback to language development: A ten-month investigation. Applied Linguistics, 31(2), 193-214. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/applin/amp016
Bitchener, J. & Storch, N. (2016). Written corrective feedback for L2 development. Multilingual Matters. https://doi.org/10.21832/9781783095056
Bowles, M. A. (2010a). The think-aloud controversy in second language research. Routledge.
Brown, D. (2010, March). Reshaping the value of grammatical feedback on L2 writing using colors. Paper presented at the International TESOL Convention, Boston, MA.
Brown, J. D., & Rodgers, T. S. (2002). Doing second language research: An introduction to the theory and practice of second language research for graduate/master's students in TESOL and applied linguistics, and others. Oxford University Press.
Chandler, J. (2003). The efficacy of various kinds of error feedback for improvement in the accuracy and fluency of L2 students writing. Journal of Second Language Writing, 12(3), 267-296. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S1060-3743(03)00038-9
Cotos, E. (2011). Potential of automated writing evaluation feedback. CALICO Journal, 28(2), 420. http://dx.doi.org/10.11139/cj.28.2.420-459
Dekeyser, R. (2007). Skill acquisition theory. In VanPatten, B. & Williams, J. (Ed.). Theories in second language acquisition: An introduction. (pp. 97-113). Erlbaum.
Ekanayaka, W. I., & Ellis, R. (2020). Does asking learners to revise add to the effect of written corrective feedback on L2 acquisition? System, 94, 1-12. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2020.102341
Ellis, R. (2009). A typology of written corrective feedback types. ELT Journal, 63(2), 97-107. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/elt/ccn023
Ellis, R. (2008). The study of second language acquisition (2nd ed). Oxford University Press.
Ericsson, K. A., & Simon, H. A. (1993). Protocol analysis: Verbal reports as data. MIT Press.
Evans, N. W., Hartshorn, K. J., McCollum, R. M., & Wolfersberger, M. (2010). Contextualizing corrective feedback in second language writing pedagogy. Language Teaching Research, 14(4), 445-463. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1362168810375367
Evans, N. W., Hartshorn, K. J., & Strong-Krause, D. (2011). The efficacy of dynamic written corrective feedback for university-matriculated ESL learners. System, 39(2), 229-239. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2011.04.012
Ferris, D. (2006). Does error feedback help student writers? New evidence on the short- and long-term effects of written error correction. In Hyland, K. & Hyland, F. (Eds.), Feedback in second language writing: Contexts and issues (pp. 81-104). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108635547
Ferris, D. (2011). Treatment of error in second language student writing (2nd ed.). University of Michigan Press. https://doi.org/10.3998/mpub.2173290
Ferris, D. R. (2022). Feedback on L2 student writing: Current trends and future directions. In Handbook of practical second language teaching and learning. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003106609
Ferris, D. R., & Hedgecock, J. S. (2023). Teaching L2 composition: Purpose, process, and practice (4th ed). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003004943-1
Ferris, D., & Kurzer, K. (2019) Does error feedback help L2 writers? In Hyland, K. & Hyland, F. (Eds). Feedback in second language writing: Contexts and issues (2nd ed). (pp. 106-124). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108635547.008
Ferris, D., & Roberts, B. (2001). Error feedback in L2 writing classes: How explicit does it need to be? Journal of Second Language Writing, 10(3), 161-184. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1060-3743(01)00039-X
Hartshorn, K. J., Evans, N. W., Merrill, P. F., Sudweeks, R. R., Strong-Krause, D., & Anderson, N. J. (2010). Effects of dynamic corrective feedback on ESL writing accuracy. TESOL Quarterly, 44(1), 84-109. http://dx.doi.org/10.5054/tq.2010.213781
Hartshorn, K. J., & Evans, N. W. (2012). The differential effects of comprehensive corrective feedback on L2 writing accuracy. Journal of Linguistics and Language Teaching, 3(2), 217–247. https://linguisticsandlanguageteaching.blogspot.com/2012/11/journal-of-linguistics-and-language.html
Hartshorn, K. J., & Evans, N. W. (2015). The effects of dynamic written corrective feedback: A 30-Week Study. Journal of Response to Writing, 1(2), 6-34. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/journalrw/vol1/iss2/2
Hartshorn, K. J., Rice, S. H., Eckstein, G., & Evans, N. W. (2023). Dynamic written corrective feedback frequency and its effects on ESL writing fluency, accuracy, and complexity. Feedback Research in Second Language, 1, 7-32. https://doi.org/10.32038/frsl.2023.01.02
Kim, H. R., & Bowles, M. (2019). How deeply do second language learners process written corrective feedback? Insights gained from think-alouds. TESOL Quarterly, 53(4), 913-938. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.522
Kurzer, K. (2018a). Dynamic written corrective feedback in developmental multilingual writing classes. TESOL Quarterly, 52(1), 5-33. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/tesq.522
Kurzer, K. (2018b). Student perceptions of dynamic written corrective feedback in developmental multilingual writing classes. Journal of Response to Writing, 4(2). 34–68. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/journalrw/vol4/iss2/3
Kurzer, K. (2019). Dynamic written corrective feedback in a community college ESL writing class setting. In S. M. Anwaruddin (Ed.), Knowledge mobilization in TESOL: Connecting research and practice. Brill. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004392472
Qi, D., & Lapkin, S. (2001). Exploring the role of noticing in a three-stage second language writing task. Journal of Second Language Writing, 10(4), 277–303. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S1060-3743(01)00046-7
Shvidko, E. (2015, May 1). Written feedback: Using color-coded comments [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://blog.tesol.org/written-feedback-using-color-coded-comments/
Storch, N., & Wigglesworth, G. (2010). Learners' processing, uptake, and retention of corrective feedback on writing. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 32(2), 303-334. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0272263109990532
Swain, M., & Lapkin, S. (1995). Problems in output and the cognitive processes they generate: A step towards second language learning. Applied Linguistics, 16(3), 371-391. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/applin/16.3.371
Valentin-Rivera, L., & Yang, L. (2021). The effects of digitally mediated multimodal indirect feedback on narrations in L2 Spanish writing: Eye tracking as a measure of noticing. Languages, 6(4), 159. https://doi.org/10.3390/languages6040159
Yang, C., Zhang, L. J., & Parr, J. M. (2020). The reactivity of think-alouds in writing research: quantitative and qualitative evidence from writing in English as a foreign language. Reading and Writing, 33(2), 451-483. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11145-019-09970-7
Copyright (c) 2025 Christina Torres, Florin M. Mihai

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
By submitting a proposal, the author agrees to the following terms:
- a) The author retains the authorship rights, granting the journal the right of first publication of the work.
- b) The texts will be disseminated with the Creative attribution license Commons 4.0. BY that allows you to share, copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format, as well as adapt, remix, transform and build on the material for any purpose, including commercially.



