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Does the Feedback Feed Forward? Student Response to and Views of Teacher Feedback in an EFL Academic Writing Class

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Revisiting the Assessment of Second Language Abilities: From Theory to Practice

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Abstract

Effective, timely feedback is a fundamental aspect of formative assessment. The core of formative assessment has been defined as comprising two actions: The student must recognize that a gap exists between the current performance and the desired one; and the student must engage in effective action to close the gap. Student knowledge and action in being aware of and attempting to close the performance gap are seen as pivotal in the feedback process. This chapter, based on a third-year EFL Academic Writing class at a university in Japan, focuses on how students respond to feedback provided on the first draft of a research essay, and also how they feel about the feedback process itself. The report compliments an initial research study (White, 2017) comprised of a teacher self-assessment of the types of feedback provided on 21 essay first drafts. This related report looks at how students responded to the feedback provided in their subsequent final draft. The report com pares the first and final drafts of student essays to make some determination of whether the feedback fed forward into a better final draft. The report also includes a student survey to ascertain student views on the effectiveness of the teacher feedback provided in helping them produce a better final draft for summative assessment. Examples of student writing, the feedback provided, and subsequent changes made are included in the report. The report concludes that, on the whole, student final drafts were stronger, better and more clearly written due to student response to the feedback provided. The feedback survey, completed by 23 students, also showed an overall high level of satisfaction with the feedback framework used in this EFL Academic Writing class.

Teachers need to view feedback from the perspective of the individuals engaged in the learning.

(Hattie & Temperley, 2007, p. 101).

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Correspondence to Eddy White .

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Appendix: Closed Gaps: Additional Global Errors Successfully Revised (N = 15)

Appendix: Closed Gaps: Additional Global Errors Successfully Revised (N = 15)

 

First draft

Feedback intervention

Final draft (response to feedback)

1.

To show the authority of the word is to show how the word is prosperous

?

Deleted from final draft

[Oral class feedback included my teaching point that deleting something can sometimes be a better writer decision that attempting revision]

2.

Therefore slang is a good means to express their thinking, feeling, and insistence freely

?

Therefore … thinking, feeling and emotion freely

3.

In other words, the attraction of slang and the inseparable connection between people …

What is this connection?

As stated in this essay, the attraction of slang and its capacity to strengthen the solidarity among group members …

4.

Because of slang’s fertility, people …

What does this mean?

Slang has a large amount of words, so it is possible to express one subject in several ways. People …

5.

Slang has mainly four characteristics which cannot see in the Standard one

[thesis statement]

R

There are mainly four characteristics for slang that shows its essence

6.

Finally, slang is made up of many purposes of usages

R

Finally, slang has some important characteristics

7.

Slang is over flowed in the world

R

Generally, slang is widely used by many people

8.

The second one is that it is informal, alive, and rebellious. [Paragraph topic sentence]

Second what?

+ Meaning? (alive)

The second characteristic is that it is informal and rebellious

[‘Characteristic’ has been inserted. ‘Alive’ deleted]

9.

Therefore, the use of slang may give interest to our communication

R

That is to say, it makes communication more interesting

10.

In this way, slang is a kind of trending …

? Is this a word?

In this way, slang is a kind of popularity that people use …

11.

In conclusion, slang is flourished by people. People use it for many reasons

?

In conclusion, people use slang for many reasons

12.

As has been mentioned, it was marijuana smoker who use the slang word ‘weed’

Why mention this again here?

[Deleted]

13.

The most important reason is that the use of slang can give people the opportunity to maintain their belongings

Meaning what?

The most … slang can give people the opportunity to enter a group and make a bond between their group members stronger

14.

There are some reasons why the use of slang … [thesis statement]

How many will you discuss? Tell the reader

There are three main reasons why the …

15.

By understanding the meanings of slang members can make their community easy and deepen familiarity

?

By understanding the meanings of slang, members can make their communication easy and…

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White, E. (2018). Does the Feedback Feed Forward? Student Response to and Views of Teacher Feedback in an EFL Academic Writing Class. In: Hidri, S. (eds) Revisiting the Assessment of Second Language Abilities: From Theory to Practice. Second Language Learning and Teaching. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-62884-4_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-62884-4_6

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