Written Corrective Feedback on EFL Students’ Online Speaking Tasks: Types and Lecturer Challenges

Abstract

Written corrective feedback (WCF) is conventionally associated with writing, yet recorded online speaking tasks create a setting in which lecturers may respond to spoken linguistic errors through written comments. This study identified the types of WCF evident in lecturers’ comments on students’ recorded online speaking performances and explored the challenges lecturers experienced when providing the feedback. A descriptive qualitative design was employed with two General English lecturers at a private university in West Jakarta. Data were generated through semi-structured interviews and document analysis of four individual speaking-task feedback documents; a preliminary questionnaire was used only for participant screening. Interview data were analyzed thematically with ATLAS.ti, while documents were classified using Ellis’s WCF typology. Five WCF categories were evidenced: direct feedback, indirect feedback, metalinguistic feedback, focused and unfocused feedback, and electronic feedback. Reformulation was not found. Pronunciation and grammar were the principal linguistic targets, while electronic feedback directed students to resources such as Google Translate and voice-enabled tools for independent pronunciation checking. Four challenge themes emerged: technical issues, time constraints, differences in students’ language proficiency and motivation, and lecturers’ emotional responses. The findings show that WCF can be adapted to recorded oral production, but its usefulness depends on linguistic targeting, platform reliability, manageable workload, learner readiness, and opportunities to clarify and act on feedback.