The Relationship Between Cognitive Styles and Young Adult Learners’ Preferences for Written Corrective Feedback

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between learners' cognitive styles and their preferences for different types and frequencies of written corrective feedback and for different types of errors to be corrected. Data were collected from 60 English as a foreign language learners at intermediate and upper-intermediate levels. The instruments included the Ehrman and Leaver Learning Styles Questionnaire, and a questionnaire constructed by Amrhein and Nassaji (2010). The results indicated that there is a strong relationship between learners' cognitive styles and their preferences for a particular type of written corrective feedback and for different types of errors to be corrected; but there is no significant relationship between cognitive styles and learners' preferences for frequencies of written corrective feedback.Key words: Cognitive style, English as a foreign language, error type, written corrective feedback, young adult learners of English. Este estudio investiga la relación entre los estilos cognitivos de los estudiantes y sus preferencias respecto al tipo y frecuencia de la retroalimentación correctiva escrita, así como la corrección de distintos tipos de errores. Los datos se obtuvieron de 60 estudiantes de inglés como lengua extranjera en niveles intermedio e intermedio-superior. Los instrumentos de recolección de datos incluyen el cuestionario de estilos de aprendizaje de Ehrman y Leaver y un cuestionario diseñado por Amrhein y Nassaji (2010). Los resultados muestran que existe una acentuada relación entre los estilos cognitivos de los estudiantes y sus preferencias por un tipo particular de retroalimentación correctiva escrita y la forma como se corrigen distintos errores. Sin embargo, la relación entre los estilos cognitivos y la frecuencia de la retroalimentación no es significativa.Palabras clave: inglés como lengua extranjera, estilo cognitivo, jóvenes aprendices de inglés, retroalimentación correctiva escrita, tipo de error. IntroductionWriting is one of those skills that are considered to have a great importance in second language learning. According to Boughey (1997), writing cannot be naturally acquired; but it is learned through formal instruction. In the process of writing it is common for learners to make errors. As Brown (2000) argues, "inevitably learners will make mistakes in the process of acquisition, and that process will be impeded if they do not commit errors and then benefit from various forms of feedback on those errors" (p. 216). Therefore, the issue of corrective feedback comes into focus.A great deal of research has examined the effectiveness of written corrective feedback (WCF). On the one hand, a group of researchers believe that corrective feedback is ineffective, time consuming, and even harmful (Kepner, 1991;Semke, 1984;Sheppard, 1992;Truscott, 1996Truscott, , 1999. On the other hand, another group of researchers defend the use of corrective feedback and believe that giving feedback on students' written errors can help them improve the quality and accuracy of the...

The correlation between cognitive styles and written corrective feedback preferences among Iranian and Turkish EFL learners

“…The mean responses of the perception of synoptic students revealed that this group disagree with no correction. The results were consistent with the previous studies (Ehrman & Leaver, 2003;Moslemi & Dastgoshadeh, 2017).…”

“…The second question results indicated that there was a relationship between learners' cognitive styles and their preferences for different types of errors to be corrected. As similar as the first research question's findings, the findings of this research question were in line with the previous studies (Ellis, 2012;Moslemi & Dastgoshadeh, 2017;Robinson, 2002;Salih Tasdemir & Yalcin Arsalan, 2018). Robinson (2002) stated that individual factors (specifically affective and cognitive factors) as crucial factors mediate between instruction and L2 learning.…”

“…The findings of this research question were in line with the previous studies (e.g. Brown, 2007;Ellis, 2012;Irwin, 2017;Moslemi & Dastgoshadeh, 2017). Ellis (2012) confirmed that learning styles have a noticeable effect in the language learning process in general and they have a relationship with CF in particular.…”

“…It was found that the reflective learners have higher mean on reading test than impulsive ones. In addition, Moslemi and Dastgoshadeh (2017) aimed at examining the correlation between Iranian young adult learners' cognitive style written CF preferences. They found a strong correlation between students' cognitive style and their written CF preferences.…”

Investigating Learner Preferences for Written Corrective Feedback in a Thai Higher Education Context

“…A plethora of published research has examined the relationship between students' CF preferences and backgrounds (Jolley, 2019;Morris & Chikwa, 2016;Moslemi & Dastgoshadeh, 2017;Nurie, 2018;Parkes & Fletcher, 2017;Tasdemir & Yalcin Arslan, 2018;Yang, 2016). For instance, Yang (2016) discovered that L2 learners with a Confucian cultural background considered explicit correction of pragmatic errors as effective, whereas learners from a non-Confucian background did not concur.…”