Engagement with written corrective feedback by learners of Japanese as a foreign language at the beginner level in an intensive language program

Abstract

While written corrective feedback (WCF) has been studied extensively, engagement with WCF by students of less commonly taught languages, especially at the elementary level, has not yet received scholarly attention. To address this research gap, this case study explores how two learners of Japanese as a foreign language at the elementary level engaged with WCF, using the frameworks of Ellis (2010) and Mao and Lee (2022). In addition, the roles of individual and contextual factors were investigated. The participants included two beginner learners in an intensive language program. The data were collected through three multi-draft essays, retrospective stimulated recall, course documents, and class observation. The results reveal that the participants showed extensive overall engagement with WCF. However, each student responded to WCF differently due to individual factors, such as attitude toward WCF, and contextual factors, such as assignment type.

Keywords

• japanese as a foreign language
• written corrective feedback
• engagement; individual factors
• contextual factor
• contextual factors