Evaluation of Guenette (2007) by Dan

Guenette, D. (2007). Is feedback pedagogically correct? Research design issues in studies of feedback on writing. Journal of Second Language Writing, 16, 40-53.


Rather than trying to interpret the conflicting results of research on feedback in L2 writing (form) as a demonstration of effectiveness or ineffectiveness, Guenette argues that such disparate results to date (which has failed to guide teachers in their practice) may be highly attributable to research design and methodology, as well as the "constellation of variables" that have been ignored. For example, in scrutinizing the research methodology, she points out that efficacy of feedback may be attributable to proficiency levels, which is a variable that is rarely measured and reported accurately. Also, while there is already a deficit in the amount of research that uses both a control group and experimental group, those few that do usually fail to keep all other variables consistent. Another design feature she raises attention to is the "elicitation task" (which I think refers to 'demand'--what do the students have to do with the feedback?). Some of the variables that teachers usually ignore include classroom contexts (is the control group and experimental group receiving the same instruction? Does their instruction place attention to focus on form?), student incentive (are students being graded on the way they react to the feedback?), and motivation, which is also usually overlooked. The article concludes by summarizing the benefits of descriptive studies, which reveal other dimensions of feedback: students' ability to engage with feedback, the type of errors that benefit from feedback, students' perceptions and preferences, and individual differences.

This study can be useful for researchers to fine-tune our research design and methodology so that our research can begin to become more comparable and meaningful; clearly something that is not really happening. We need to be more vigorous in our search for other variables that might affect studies, and this article serves as a good reminder for how to improve our research. I enjoyed the study because it's my area of interest and was vaguely familiar with many of the studies that were only briely referred to. So I'd recommend it as a reading....but maybe only if you're involved in research on feedback in L2 writing with a focus on form.

A study that I spotted in this article that seems particularly interesting to me was:
Han, Z. H. (2001). Fine-tuning corrective feedback. Foreign Language Annals, 34, 582-595. This is a longitudinal case study that reveals individual differences are an important factor in determining whether feedback is effective or not, and calls for fine-tuning the feedback to the learners' specific problems.