Error Correction in the L2 Writing Classroom: What Do Students Think?

Abstract

Error correction research has focused mostly on teachers' strategies and their effects on student writing. Much less has been done to find out about students' beliefs and attitudes about teachers' feedback on errors. This study aimed to investigate L2 students' perceptions, beliefs, and attitudes about error correction in the writing classroom. Data were obtained from a questionnaire and from follow-up interviews. The findings showed that most students wished their teachers to mark and correct errors for them and believed that error correction was primarily the teacher's responsibility. The article ends with some pedagogical implications that can be applied in L2 writing classrooms.