How Do EFL (English as a Foreign Language) Teachers in South Korea Respond to Errors in Student Writing?

Abstract

The study investigated how both native English-speaking teachers (NESTs) and non-native English-speaking teachers (NNESTs) responded to errors in a sample Korean student's writing in an English as a Foreign Language (EFL) setting in South Korea and presents a quantitative analysis of the research question. The errors in the sample paper were grouped into four categories (i.e., expression, grammar, Konglish, and vocabulary) and analyzed separately. The different feedback styles of the participants were identified and analyzed. The data analysis in this study shows that NNESTs are more likely to provide direct corrections in their feedback, while NESTs do not directly correct errors, but they provide a longer letter of comments at the end of the feedback than NNESTs do. In addition, the NNESTs who share the same first language as their students corrected more Konglish errors in the sample student's paper than the NESTs did. Based on the research result, the type of EFL teaching recommended most is the collaboration of both NESTs and NNESTs. It is suggested that future research be done about the collaboration of NESTs and NNESTs as well as the ideal ratio of NESTs and NNESTs in an EFL setting.