The Impact of Error Treatment on Developing Productive English Skills in EFL Pre-Service Teachers: A Quasi-Experimental Study

Abstract

The English curriculum in Ecuador has undergone substantial reforms in the past decade, emphasizing communicative competence and learner-centered approaches. Despite these efforts, low proficiency levels in productive language skills—specifically writing and speaking—remain a concern among English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners. This quantitative study explores the impact of error treatment on the development of productive skills in pre-service English teachers at a pre-intermediate level. A total of 54 participants were selected and divided into control and experimental groups as part of a quasi-experimental design implemented over a 16-week period of regular English instruction. The experimental group received focused error correction through a range of pedagogical techniques, including immediate and delayed feedback, metalinguistic cues, and recasts, while the control group followed traditional instruction without targeted error treatment. Both groups were assessed through pre-tests and post-tests evaluating local and global errors in written and spoken performance. Statistical analysis using Student’s T-Test revealed significant improvement in the experimental group, particularly in the accurate use of grammar and vocabulary in communicative contexts. These results highlight the positive influence of structured corrective feedback on enhancing productive language skills and suggest its potential in preventing fossilization of errors. The results revealed a 49.6% reduction in global errors which block meaning, and a decrease of 46% in local errors which emphasizes the need for systematic and intentional feedback strategies in EFL instruction.

Keywords: Error treatment, Global errors, Local errors, Productive skills, Communicative competence