# Evaluating Prompting Strategies for Grammatical Error Correction Based on Language Proficiency

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2402.15930 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2402.15930/

## Key facts

- Cited by 9 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 6 of its 12 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 24 Feb 2024.

## Builds on (most cited first, 6 of 6)

- [Language Models are Few-Shot Learners](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2005.14165/) (2020)
- [GECToR -- Grammatical Error Correction: Tag, Not Rewrite](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2005.12592/) (2020)
- [A Simple Recipe for Multilingual Grammatical Error Correction](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2106.03830/) (2021)
- [Is ChatGPT a Highly Fluent Grammatical Error Correction System? A Comprehensive Evaluation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2304.01746/) (2023)
- [Prompt-and-Rerank: A Method for Zero-Shot and Few-Shot Arbitrary Textual Style Transfer with Small Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2205.11503/) (2022)
- [Exploring Effectiveness of GPT-3 in Grammatical Error Correction: A Study on Performance and Controllability in Prompt-Based Methods](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2305.18156/) (2023)

## Built on by (most cited first, 9 of 9)

- [Multilingual Grammatical Error Annotation: Combining Language-Agnostic Framework with Language-Specific Flexibility](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2506.07719/) (2025)
- [Leveraging What's Overfixed: Post-Correction via LLM Grammatical Error Overcorrection](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2509.20811/) (2025)
- [MedErrBench: A Fine-Grained Multilingual Benchmark for Medical Error Detection and Correction with Clinical Expert Annotations](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2602.05692/) (2026)
- [Explanation based In-Context Demonstrations Retrieval for Multilingual Grammatical Error Correction](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2502.08507/) (2025)
- [FEANEL: A Benchmark for Fine-Grained Error Analysis in K-12 English Writing](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2511.22883/) (2025)
- [Encode Errors: Representational Retrieval of In-Context Demonstrations for Multilingual Grammatical Error Correction](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2606.15416/) (2026)
- [WrAFT: a Modularized Automated Writing Evaluation System for Argumentative Essays](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2607.14524/) (2026)
- [Accurate but Natural? Diagnosing Grammatical and Idiomatic Gaps in Japanese EFL Writing](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2608.09289/) (2026)
- [Larger Context Window, Fewer Overcorrections: Optimizing Prompts and Batching for Minimal-Edit Grammatical Error Correction](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2609.10810/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

The writing examples of English language learners may be different from those of native speakers. Given that there is a significant differences in second language (L2) learners' error types by their proficiency levels, this paper attempts to reduce overcorrection by examining the interaction between LLM's performance and L2 language proficiency. Our method focuses on zero-shot and few-shot prompting and fine-tuning models for GEC for learners of English as a foreign language based on the different proficiency. We investigate GEC results and find that overcorrection happens primarily in advanced language learners' writing (proficiency C) rather than proficiency A (a beginner level) and proficiency B (an intermediate level). Fine-tuned LLMs, and even few-shot prompting with writing examples of English learners, actually tend to exhibit decreased recall measures. To make our claim concrete, we conduct a comprehensive examination of GEC outcomes and their evaluation results based on language proficiency.