EFL/ESL Teaching and LearningMultilingual Education and PolicyLiteracy, Media, and Education

James Mckinley, H. Rose

2026.2.6RELC Journal

DOI: 10.1177/00336882261418341

Abstract

Feedback on multilingual writing is a central yet contested feature of English language education, historically guided by narrow, prescriptive norms. Drawing on our experience as researchers and editors in the fields of global Englishes and academic writing, this viewpoint article critiques conventional feedback practices that privilege prescriptive native-speaker standards and marginalise multilingual writers. We argue for a reconceptualisation of feedback as an inclusive, dialogic process that aims to improve rhetorical effectiveness and mirrors the linguistically diverse contexts within which the written language is used. The paper explores how teacher-, peer- and artificial intelligence-generated feedback can reinforce or resist normative bias, and examines the structural challenges that inhibit change, including high-stakes expectations and institutional pressures. We propose that feedback, when guided by global Englishes and translingual principles, and supported by emerging forms of critical digital literacy, can empower writers to participate confidently and equitably in global and academic discourses.

Citation format

MCKINLEY, James; ROSE, H. Towards inclusive feedback in multilingual writing: A global englishes perspective. RELC Journal, 2026, 57(1): 242–252.