Giving feedback to language learners

Philip Kerr 

is a teacher trainer and ELT materials writer based in Vienna, Austria. He is the author or co-

author of titles in a number of coursebook series, including 

Evolve, Studio, Straightforward

 and 

Inside Out

. 

He is also the author of the award-winning 

Translation and Own-Language Activities

 and two ebooks, 

A 

Short Guide to Adaptive Learning in ELT

 and 

How to Write Vocabulary Presentations and Practice

. 

To cite this paper: 

Kerr, P. (2020). 

Giving feedback to language learners

. Part of the Cambridge papers in ELT series. 

[pdf] Cambridge: Cambridge University Press

Available at 

 cambridge.org/cambridge-papers-elt 

Recommendations

 

for further reading

There are a number of practical guides to correction for language teachers. Two are especially recommended:

•  Bartram, M. and Walton, R. (1991). 

Correction

. Hove, Sussex: LTP.

•  Edge, J. (1990). 

Mistakes and Correction

. London: Longman.

On positive, non-corrective feedback, there is a useful chapter in:

•  Scrivener, J. (2012). 

Classroom Management Techniques

. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 163–166.

More detailed discussion of feedback on speaking may be found here:

•  Kerr, P. (2017a). 

Giving feedback on speaking. 

Part of the Cambridge Papers in ELT series. 

[pdf] Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Available at 

https://www.cambridge.org/gb 

files/4515/7488/5712/CambridgePapersinELT_FeedbackOnSpeaking_2018_ONLINE.pdf

For feedback on writing, the following is highly recommended:

•  Lee, I. (2017). 

Classroom Writing Assessment and Feedback in L2 School Contexts

. Singapore: Springer.

23

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Bibliography

Alshuraidah, A. and Storch, N. (2019). Investigating a collaborative 

approach to feedback. 

ELT Journal

, 73(2), pp. 166–174.

Bartram, M. and Walton, R. (1991). 

Correction

. Hove, Sussex: LTP.

Biber, D., Nekrasova, T., and Horn, B. (2011). 

The Effectiveness 

of Feedback for L1-English and L2-Writing Development: A 

Meta-Analysis, TOEFL iBT RR-11-05

. Princeton: Educational 

Testing Service. Available at: 

https://www.ets.org/Media/

Research/pdf/RR-11-05.pdf

 [Accessed 30 November 2019]

Bitchener, J. and Storch, N. (2016). 

Written Corrective 

Feedback for L2 Development

. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.

Burkert, A. and Wally, J. (2013). Peer-reviewing in a collaborative 

teaching and learning environment. In Reitbauer, M., Campbell, 

N., Mercer, S., Schumm Fauster, J. and Vaupetitsch, R. (Eds.) 

Feedback Matters

. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang, pp. 69–85.

Campbell, N. and Schumm Fauster, J. (2013). Learner-centred 

feedback on writing: Feedback as dialogue. In Reitbauer, M., 

Campbell, N., Mercer, S., Schumm Fauster, J. and Vaupetitsch, R. 

(Eds.) 

Feedback Matters

. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang, pp. 55–67.

Dörnyei, Z. (2001). 

Motivational Strategies in the Language 

Classroom

. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Doughty, C. (2001). Cognitive underpinnings of focus on form. In 

Robinson, P. (Ed.)