| Written corrective feedback has been a hot research topic discussed by researchers and theorists.Recently,many researchers have shifted the focus to individual differences.The study,based on the theories of language analytical ability and written corrective feedback,uses quantitative research methods and explores the effect of individual language analytical ability on written corrective feedback by answering the following three questions:1.Does language analytical ability have an effect on the result of written corrective feedback judging from learners' accurate use of target structure in the new composition?2.Is the impact of language analytical ability on direct written corrective feedback consistent with that on metalinguistic explanations judging from learners' accurate use of target structure in the new composition?3.Does the opportunity of revision affect the impact of language analytical ability on learners' processing of these two types of feedback judging from their accurate use of target structure in the new composition?The empirical study lasted sixteen weeks and involved a pre-test,four treatment sessions and a language analytical ability test.There were four treatment conditions,including 80 Senior One students selected from four intact classes according to their performance in the language analytical ability test.The students were randomly assigned into 4 groups: the DF/+Revision group,DF/-Revision group,the MF/+Revision group and the MF/+Revision group(DF: Direct Corrective Feedback;MF: Metalinguistic Corrective Feedback).The test papers finished by these four groups during the treatment sessions were investigated under two different feedback conditions.For the group providing direct corrective feedback,we underlined the error and corrected it.While for the group providing metalinguistic corrective feedback,we underlined the error and gave the metalinguistic explanation.In addition,in the DF/+Revision group and the MF/+Revision group we also gave them time for revision.After the post-test,a delayed post-test was executed.Then the data were collected and the researcher used T-tests and one-way ANOVA tests to analyze them.The results are as follows: 1.The feedback that the learners received,including direct written corrective feedback and metalinguistic written corrective feedback,both have significant positive impact on students' learning of the attributive clause,judging from their accurate use of the relative clause in the new composition.2.The students with high language analytical ability can gain more from written corrective feedback than the students with medium language analytical ability under the condition where the direct written corrective feedback or the metalinguistic written corrective feedback is provided.3.Language analytical ability has different impacts on the learners' accuracy scores of the attributive clause under the condition where the direct written corrective feedback or the metalinguistic written corrective feedback is provided.In other words,when the students with high language analytical ability receive direct corrective feedback,their improvements in the marks are larger than those they make in the situation where metalinguistic corrective feedback is given.4.The chance to revise does not have an impact on the result of corrective feedback no matter for the learners with high language analytical ability or the learners with medium language analytical ability.In addition,the study sheds some light on teaching.First of all,the teachers ought to apply corrective feedback into their daily teaching properly.Second.the teachers need to use diverse types of feedback.Third,the students need to be taught how to make full use of the feedback they receive.At the same time,the study also mentions some suggestions for future studies,such as expanding the time of the experiment,extending the range of the experiment,enlarging the quantity of the experiment,involving other grammar structures and so on. |
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