The Comparison of Direct Substitution Corrective Feedback and Indirect Coded Corrective Feedback on Improving the Writing Performance of Iranian Female EFL Twelfth-Grade High School Students

This study compared the short-term effectiveness of direct substitution feedback (DSF) and indirect coded feedback (ICF) on the writing performance of ۹۰ Iranian female EFL twelfth-grade students (aged ۱۷-۱۸) in Khoy, Iran. Participants were randomly assigned to DSF (n=۳۰), ICF (n=۳۰), and control (n=۳۰) groups. Over a ۱۰-week intervention, participants wrote weekly essays and received respective feedback. Writing performance was measured through pre test and post-test essays scored by two independent raters (inter-rater reliability: r = ۰.۸۹). One way ANCOVA with pre-test scores as covariate, followed by Bonferroni post-hoc tests, revealed that both experimental groups significantly outperformed the control group (DSF: p =.۰۲۳; ICF: p =.۰۰۹). However, no statistically significant difference was found between DSF and ICF (p =.۶۸, Cohen's d=-۰.۰۸, ۹۵% CI [-۰.۵۹, ۰.۴۳]). It is important to note that this absence of significant difference does not prove equivalence between the two approaches. The TOST equivalence testing results were non-significant, indicating that the study was underpowered for equivalence testing. Therefore, the finding should be interpreted as "absence of evidence of difference" rather than "evidence of equivalence." Due to the absence of a delayed post-test, conclusions about long-term retention cannot be drawn. The findings indicate comparable short-term effectiveness, though statistical equivalence was not established. Teachers may choose either strategy based on contextual considerations, but generalization is limited to the studied population.

کلیدواژه ها:

Direct Substitution Feedback ، Indirect Coded Feedback ، Written Corrective Feedback ، Error Treatment ، Iranian EFL Context ، ANCOVA