Learner Preferences for Teacher Corrective Feedback: A Survey Study of Arab Students from Qatar

Despite vast research into the effectiveness of teacher corrective feedback (TCF) in second language writing, little is known about its influence on students’ motivation in different contexts and settings. Where teachers complain about their students not responding to their feedback, students do not always find teacher feedback helpful and motivating. This study explores Arab students’ perceptions of TCF and the way it encourages them to continue working on their writing skills. In specific, this study uses survey methods to understand student views about the type, form and method of TCF that enhances their motivation. The findings reveal that Arab students expect their teachers to provide feedback that is corrective and self-explanatory in nature. In addition, students prefer handwritten feedback to oral and electronic, and are highly motivated after receiving their teacher’s feedback on their writings. The results of this study can benefit SLW teachers around the world to make their feedback more appealing to their students in specific contexts and enhance their motivation to make the most out of TCF.