A Descriptive study of first-year university students reactions to teachers written feedback

Abstract

ABSTRACT Title; A descriptive study of first -year university students' reactions to teachers' written feedback Author: Fatma Elif Uzel Thesis Chairperson: Ms. Bena Gül Peker, Bilkent University, MA TEFL Program Thesis Committee Members: Dr. Teri S. Haas, Ms. Susan D. Bosher, Bilkent University, MA TEFL Program This research study investigated first -year university students ' reactions to teachers ' written feedback on their compositions and how learners actually use teacher feedback when revising. As another focus, learners' reactions and teachers' assumptions of these are compared. One hundred and twenty students and 23 teachers participated in the study. Data were collected through a student questionnaire, a teacher questionnaire and interviews. Data regarding the closed items of the questionnaires were analyzed using frequencies, means, standard deviations and percentages. For the analysis of open-ended questionnaire items and interviews, descriptive categories were developed from the data. The study had three research questions. The first research question was about learners' reactions to teachers' written feedback. The results suggest that learners' prefer both written and oral feedback. They find comments on organization and detailed comments most helpful while they think unclear and too broad comments are least helpful. Therefore, they would like theirinstructors to give clear, specific and detailed comments which focus mainly on organization. The second research question was about how learners use teacher written feedback when revising their compositions. The findings suggest that most of the students understand and consider their instructors' feedback when revising first drafts. However, the students who ignored them reported that they did not understand what their instructors' meant or they did not think a revision was necessary. Almost half of the students wished to receive additional feedback, such as oral comments, comments showing explicitly how to improve, comments on grammar and on vocabulary, and positive comments. The third research question was whether learners' reactions to teachers' written feedback was different from teachers' assumptions of these reactions. In general, teachers' assumptions match with what students have reported. Regarding some issues, some differences were also reported. Students who participated in this study insist on their need for detailed, text-specific and clear teacher written feedback supported by writing conferences. These findings suggest important pedagogical implications about feedback: training programs- -workshops- -both for students and teachers.