Language Teaching Research Quarterly

Over the last two decades or so, largely triggered by Truscott’s seminal paper (1996), there has been an exponential growth of research interest in written corrective feedback (WCF) in L2 contexts (for a review, see Reinders & Mohebbi, 2018). After almost three decades, Truscott still adheres to his strong stance regarding the ineffectiveness of WCF (see Mohebbi’s interview with Truscott, 2021). Extant WCF research has mainly focused on feedback scope (i.e. focused versus comprehensive WCF), WCF strategies (i.e. direct, indirect, and metalinguistic), and student uptake of WCF, with relatively less attention paid to teachers themselves who play an important role in the WCF process. As deliverers of WCF, the knowledge and beliefs teachers bring to L2 writing classes can have a significant impact on the ways in which students react to and engage with WCF. Teacher beliefs may also have a direct bearing on the way WCF is implemented, though teachers’ WCF practices may not necessarily reflect their beliefs. In recent years, concerns have been expressed about the lack of ecological validity of WCF studies that have taken place in controlled classroom conditions, as well as their limited pedagogical relevance (e.g. Atkinson & Tardy, 2018; Lee et al., 2021). By addressing the teacher dimension, this special issue aims to explore teachers’ knowledge, beliefs and practices regarding WCF in authentic L2 classroom contexts, with potentially relevant implications for real-world practices.