The Effective Method of Corrective Feedback in English Language Learning

Abstract

Corrective feedback is a complex method with several functions. It has a very significant role in the realm of second language learning. The teachers’ styles (ways of learning), and the students’ perceptions are very important factors that should be considered in studying the effectiveness of CF. Forty students ( females and males) from all stages in the Department of English, college of Arts, University of Kufa have been subjected to the questionnaire of CF. Answers of the questionnaire reflect that whom the students prefer to be corrected by, when to be corrected, which errors they prefer to be corrected, and which types of CF they prefer to be followed by their teachers during correction. Data have been analyzed by using a Microsoft Excel program. The test shows the frequency among all statements. The percentages are taken according to the gender and stage of each student. As a result, the research shows that most of the students want their errors to be corrected by their teachers; they also believe that grammatical errors must be corrected, and they wish all their errors to be corrected. None of the students finds CF a negative method, but most of them strongly agree that it can improve their accuracy. Nearly all the students choose metalinguistic clues as the best type of CF; this can give them clear rules to be followed.