Voices of Correction: EFL Teachers’ Perceptions and Practices of Oral Corrective Feedback Strategies in China

Abstract

Oral corrective feedback (OCF) has long been considered an essential tool for English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners. However, there remains a gap in the study of EFL teachers’ perceptions and practices of OCF in college. This study examines Chinese EFL teachers’ perceptions and practices of OCF strategies in the tertiary education context to check the consistencies and inconsistencies between the two. Seven business English teachers from three universities participated in this study. A qualitative case study was designed to examine Chinese EFL teachers’ views on their OCF strategies, namely, their perceptions and practices of OCF strategies, as well as the (in)congruities between the two. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and classroom observations. Thematic analysis was conducted based on Ellis’s (2021) taxonomy of explicit and implicit OCF. The findings of this study revealed four key features. Firstly, Chinese EFL teachers adopted explicit, implicit, and combined OCF strategies to correct learners’ lexical, grammatical, and phonological errors, thereby enhancing their linguistic accuracy. Secondly, teachers’ selection of OCF varies with class timing and learners’ language proficiency. Thirdly, incongruities emerged between teachers’ perceptions and practices regarding recasts, explicit corrections, and elicitations. Fourthly, teachers used translanguaging, electronic feedback, and nonverbal strategies to enhance the effectiveness of OCF. This study highlights teachers’ flexible use of OCF and supplementary strategies to facilitate OCF teaching. Further studies could be conducted to effectively and appropriately use OCF in Chinese EFL instruction for English majors.