Effects Of Different Types Of Written Corrective Feedback On Junior Middle School Students' Acquisition Of English Simple Past Tense

The accurate use of grammatical structures has always been one of the most important and fundamental criteria to assess students' writing accuracy.Written Corrective Feedback(CF)is the most widely used method for teachers to assist students in improving written accuracy.However,the debate concerning the efficacy of written CF has not been settled since Truscott(1996)claimed the ineffectiveness of written CF.The fact that different written CF types exert differential effects makes the problem even more complex.In China,the problems concerning the use of English tenses in middle school students' writing remains outstanding,especially the use of the simple past tense.Therefore,the present study intends to address the following research questions:1.What is the effect of written CF on junior middle school students'accurate use of the simple past tense?2.What are the effects of direct CF and MF on junior middle school students' accurate use of the simple past tense?3.What are the differential effects of direct CF and MF on students of different linguistic proficiency?The study adopted the design of pretest-treatment-immediate posttest-delayed posttest.The experiment lasted 10 weeks and the subjects were 84 students from two classes in Grade 9 of a junior middle school in Dongguan,Guangdong Province.All subjects were assigned into direct CF group,metalinguistic feedback(MF)group and the control group according to the student's number.Based on writing scores in the pretest,each group was further divided into high linguistic proficiency level and low linguistic proficiency level.The direct CF group received direct provision of the correct form of the simple past tense,while the MF group received the error code(tense)and a metalinguistic explanation handout about the use of the simple past tense.The control group was only given general comments on writing without CF.Students' performance in using the simple past tense was measured by error correction tests and narrative writing tests.A semi-structured interview was conducted to provide supplemental information for statistical data.The data obtained through quantitative research method and qualitative research method were collected and analyzed.The research findings are summarized as follows:Firstly,written CF is effective in facilitating junior middle school students'acquisition of the simple past tense,which further confirms the value of offering written CF in students' writing.This research finding refutes Truscott's argument and provides positive evidence to support written CF.Secondly,both direct CF and MF are equally effective in assisting students in gaining accuracy in using the simple past tense.The effectiveness of MF proves to last longer than direct CF.Therefore,MF could be a useful way to offer CF in daily practice.Lastly,direct CF and MF exert differential influences on students of different linguistic proficiency.For students of higher linguistic proficiency,both direct CF and MF show equal effects over time.For lower level students,MF is effective in both the short and long term and has an advantage over direct CF in the long run.The study investigates the effects of different CF type on junior middle school students' acquisition of the simple past tense and offers some insights into domestic English writing teaching in middle schools.Some limitations are pointed out and suggestions are also provided to promote further research in this field.