To code or not to code
English language teachers seem unsure about the effectiveness of the feedback they offer their
students to help improve their writing. There is debate about whether to identify and correct errors,
or use a prompt and encourage the learner to reflect, which may lead to increased learning and
retention, but the research is inconclusive.
In this presentation we report our findings from a study into the effectiveness of two different types
of prompt for student self-correction in writing from English language learners with a range of
language competency levels.
First the process and reasoning will be explained. Secondly the results within each language level will
be reported, both improvement rates within one process task and over the period of the study.
Finally, a comparison of the error code effectiveness across the levels will be presented.