A strong role for gendered differences in communication has long been substantiated by sociolinguistic research. It is thus likely that gender also plays a role in how second language feedback is given by teachers and peers and how it is received by language learners. We provide an overview of the limited body of research examining the impact of gender on second language feedback. While several studies have shown differences in how learners receive oral feedback from male and female teachers and peers, conflicting results have been found, and little research has considered the role of gender in written corrective feedback. Further research is needed to clarify the role of gender on feedback, which cannot be understood without consideration of the complex interplay among learner gender, interlocutor gender, culture, task, and context. We call for (1) increased research in diverse educational and cultural contexts, (2) research that considers the role of gender in feedback provided in written as well as oral language use, (3) developmental studies investigating whether descriptive differences impact learning, and (4) consideration of the role of gender that goes beyond binary divisions, adopting qualitative and critical discourse analysis perspectives to understand how gendered language socializations impact second language feedback.

Feedback delivery in the form of written corrective feedback on linguistic errors in L2 learners’ written texts has been central to much of the L2 writing and second language acquisition literature since the 1970s. This chapter surveys the various feedback options together with explanations of their typical pedagogical purposes and what we know from the research literature and recent theoretical proposals about the ways in which the feedback options may facilitate or impede the L2 learning process. The chapter closes with a range of recommended pedagogical options based on the available literature.