A comparative study of the engagement with written corrective feedback of Chinese private college students

Abstract Previous research has explored how L2 students with one specific level of English proficiency engage with teacher written corrective feedback (WCF) underpinned by a tripartite dimensional construct of student engagement in the context of Chinese public universities. Yet, scant attention has been paid to how students of differing proficiency levels engage with teacher WCF in a Chinese private college context. Based on a quadripartite construct of student engagement, this case study has explored how L2 Chinese students with high proficiency (HP) and with low proficiency (LP) cognitively, affectively, behaviorally and agentically engage with teacher WCF. Data collected from multiple sources were examined, including drafts of student essays, teacher WCF, student immediate self-retrospective verbal reports and semi-structured interviews. The study has found imbalances among the four dimensions of engagement, with relatively high affective engagement and less extensive cognitive, behavioral and agentic engagement, which was mediated by the interplay of individual factors like language proficiency, writing self-efficacy and learner belief and contextual factors like student–teacher relationship. The findings contribute to an understanding of the multifaceted and dynamic nature of HP and LP students’ engagement with teacher WCF and provide some implications for both school administrators and teachers in Chinese private colleges.