Exploring Corrective Feedback in Real-time Classrooms: Factors Mediating Teachers’ In-class Corrective Feedback Decisions

Abstract: Corrective feedback (CF) is the teacher’s response to the language learner’s erroneous or non-target-like output (Ellis, 2006; Li, 2010). Empirical evidence has shown that CF can effectively facilitate language acquisition. When it comes to real-time classrooms, the teacher is the sole decision maker of CF from moment to moment; however, CF is often investigated after it has been provided. This literature review outlines four contextual factors of instructors’ in-class CF decision making: student’s proficiency, curriculum design, student emotions, and teacher cognition. The paper closes with further considerations for research on CF that include classroom-to-classroom differences, teacher education programs, and student perceptions of CF.