EFL Students’ Perceptions of Teacher Feedback and Intra-Feedback in Writing Essays

Abstract

This study examines EFL students’ perceptions of teacher feedback and intra-feedback in writing essays in an EFL university context. Traditionally, teachers who were considered more knowledgeable provided feedback to students' writing. Recently, peer feedback is considered as an alternative form of feedback, which involves a dynamic process of reviewing and discussing one another’s text in a writing class. Intra-feedback, another form of peer feedback, is a reviewer-oriented practice in which two reviewers discuss their comments provided individually on the composition of another student. This paper investigates 21 EFL students’ perceptions of teacher feedback and peer feedback using intra-feedback technique. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected using a questionnaire and follow-up semi-structured interviews. The results of the questionnaire indicated that students perceived teacher feedback to be most useful in improving the content, organization and language of their essays. From the interviews with the students, their preferences toward feedback provider, feedback focus, feedback provision and intrafeedback inclusion were elicited. Some pedagogical implications for the EFL writing instruction can be made including creation of opportunities for students to become aware of effective reviewing techniques, improvement of peer feedback quality and increasing students’ confidence and critical thinking.

Students’ Perspectives as Providers and Receivers of Peer Formative Feedback on Writing

“…The literature review points at several benefits of peer feedback for feedback providers. First, student providers assume the role of readers of texts of classmates, similar to their own texts, respond to them and evaluate them (Cho & MacArthur, 2011;Holliway & McCutchen, 2004;Kazemi et al,2018). Moreover, besides critical judgment of peers' assignments from the perspectives of evaluators, student providers become more responsible for learning, actively reflect on their own assignments and better understand the standards of assignments (Cho & MacArthur,2011;van Popta et al, 2017).…”

“…They also become aware of the problems and issues in their own writing and learn from peers' writing by comparing peers' writing to their writing (Huisman, Saab, van Driel & den Broek, 2018). Giving feedback is an opportunity for providers to learn from reading and evaluating peers' writing about their writing (Kazemi et al, 2018;Tian & Li 2019), reflect on their own writing and develop a better understanding of the quality of their writing (McConlogue 2015). In other words, giving feedback enables student providers to critically reflect on their texts or obtain critical insights into their own writing (Liu et al, 2001).…”

“…Moreover, students use strategies and ways of formulating and giving feedback, such as approaching their audience/readers, toning down their critiques and directness, and avoiding harshness in their comments in order to maintain good relationships with peers (Bradley, 2014). Giving feedback also fosters students' confidence (Kazemi et al, 2018).…”

“…Providing feedback engages students in different cognitive and metacognitive processes such as detecting or identifying problems in their peers' writing, diagnosing or interpreting them and providing solutions in the form of revisions (Cho & MacArthur, 2011) as well as critical thinking, mentoring and regulation (Liu et al, 2001). Besides, providers of feedback assume active roles in the learning process, became more responsible and committed to the task, practice the language, enjoy acting as decision-makers and evaluators (Kwok, 2008;Ion et al 2018) and learn how to construct their comments (Kazemi et al, 2018). It also requires students to provide explanations of the issues and problems in their peers' writing.…”

“…In the first and second stages, each group of 20 students (S1-20 & S21-40) acted as both providers and receivers of peer oral and written feedback on their essays. At the end of each stage, the researcher administered an electronic monkey survey that was developed from earlier research (Kazemi et al 2018;Ion et al, 2018;Tian & Li, 2019) and individual interviews with students acting providers and receivers of feedback. So after completing the two stages, each student has been already surveyed and interviewed twice: one time as a provider of and one time as a receiver of peer feedback.…”