Automatic Corrective Feedback in Swedish EFL Writing. Student Attitudes and Error Patterns

Abstract

Automatic Corrective Feedback (ACF) is a writing tool found in most technological devices today, and is used extensively in the modern language classroom. The current study explores ACF in the Swedish context, where widespread use of technology and generally high levels of English proficiency create unique conditions for research on ACF. The aim of this study is to investigate Swedish upper secondary EFL students’ relationship with ACF when writing in English. The data used in this study includes a survey aimed at exploring Swedish EFL students' attitudes toward their own ACF use, and data analysis of collected writing samples to determine which types of errors Swedish EFL students rely on ACF to correct. The main findings show extensive ACF usage among the participants as well as high levels of trust and perceived helpfulness of the tool. The participants produce fewer errors when using ACF, but certain errors such as real word errors persist, which may indicate the learner has not automatised the correct forms. The participants were divided regarding perceived dependence on ACF, which may be influenced by factors such as self-regulation and linguistic ability. ACF may not facilitate the type of cognitive load needed for long-term learning, as indicated by the persistence of real word and other types of errors in the writing samples. The study concludes that ACF improves writing performance but does not guarantee language learning, and students may overestimate its effectiveness.