Abstract
The present chapter describes a study conducted to explore how Tunisian university EFL teachers provide feedback on their students’ writing assignments. More specifically, the study investigates (a) the type of feedback provided by the teachers, (b) the writing features they focus on and (c) the theories and/or beliefs (if any) which inform their feedback practices. Data was collected from semi-structured interviews with the teachers and a questionnaire to the students, as well as teachers’ written feedback on samples of the students’ essays. The findings reveal that teachers seemed to possess some theoretical knowledge about feedback provision. On some occasions, however, they failed to translate that knowledge into concrete instructional practices. The results also showed that the teachers mainly focused on the provision of written corrective feedback, which suggests that they view feedback more as directive or corrective. The paper concludes with a call for the improvement of feedback practices through the provision of training programmes to help teachers align their practices with the best feedback practices recommended in the literature or internationally used in other higher education institutions.
Keywords
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsReferences
Baker, A., Perreault, D., Reid, A., & Blanchard, C. (2013). Feedback and organizations: Feedback is good, feedback-friendly culture is better. Canadian Psychology/Psychologie Canadienne, 54(4), 260.
Bitchener, J., Young, S., & Cameron, D. (2005). The effect of different types of corrective feedback on ESL student writing. Journal of Second Language Writing, 14(3), 191–205.
Black, P., & McCormick, R. (2010). Reflections and new directions. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 35(5), 493–499.
Carless, D., Salter, D., Yang, M., & Lam, J. (2011). Developing sustainable feedback practices. Studies in Higher Education, 36(4), 395–407.
Chan, P., Konrad, M., Gonzalez, V., Peters, M., & Ressa, V. (2014). The critical role of feedback in formative instructional practices. Intervention in School and Clinic, 50(2), 96–104.
Chandler, J. (2003). The efficacy of various kinds of error feedback for improvement in the accuracy and fluency of L2 student writing. Journal of Second Language Writing, 12(3), 267–296.
Chappuis, J., Stiggins, R., Chappuis, S., & Arter, J. (2012). Classroom assessment for student learning: Doing it right-using it well. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
Ellis, R. (2009). Corrective feedback and teacher development. L2 Journal, 1(1), 3–18.
Ellis, R., Sheen, Y., Murakami, M., & Takashima, H. (2008). The effects of focused and unfocused written corrective feedback in an English as a foreign language context. System, 36(3), 353–371.
Evans, C. (2013). Making sense of assessment feedback in higher education. Review of Educational Research, 83(1), 70–120.
Evans, N. W., Hartshorn, K. J., McCollum, R. M., & Wolfersberger, M. (2010). Contextualizing corrective feedback in second language writing pedagogy. Language Teaching Research, 14(4), 445–463.
Ferguson, P. (2011). Student perceptions of quality feedback in teacher education. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 36(1), 51–62.
Ferris, D. (2006). Does error feedback help student writers? New evidence on the short- and long-term effects of written error correction. In K. Hyland & F. Hyland (Eds.), Feedback in second language writing: Contexts and issues (pp. 81–104). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Ferris, D., & Helt, M. (2000). Was Truscott right? New evidence on the effects of error correction in L2 writing classes. Paper presented at the American Association of Applied Linguistics Conference, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Hartshorn, K., Evans, N., Merrill, P., Sudweeks, R., Strong-Krause, D., & Anderson, N. (2010). Effects of dynamic corrective feedback on ESL writing accuracy. TESOL Quarterly, 44(1), 84–109.
Hattie, J., & Timperley, H. (2007). The power of feedback. Review of Educational Research, 77(1), 81–112.
Hyland, K., & Hyland, F. (2006). Contexts and issues in feedback on L2 writing. In K. Hyland & F. Hyland (Eds.), Feedback in second language writing: Contexts and issues. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Knight, P., & Yorke, M. (2003). Assessment, learning and employability. Maidenhead, UK: McGraw-Hill Education.
Lee, I. (2003). L2 writing teachers’ perspectives, practices and problems regarding error feedback. Assessing Writing, 8(3), 216–237.
Lee, I. (2007). Corrective feedback and learner uptake in English immersion classrooms at the primary level in Korea. English Teaching, 62, 311–334.
Lee, I. (2008). Understanding teachers’ written feedback practices in Hong Kong secondary classrooms. Journal of Second Language Writing, 17(2), 69–85.
Nicol, D. (2007). Laying a foundation for lifelong learning: Case studies of e-assessment in large 1st-year classes. British Journal of Educational Technology, 38(4), 668–678.
Poulos, A., & Mahony, M. J. (2008). Effectiveness of feedback: The students’ perspective. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 33(2), 143–154.
Qi, D., & Lapkin, S. (2001). Exploring the role of noticing in a three-stage second language writing task. Journal of Second Language Writing, 10(4), 277–303.
Russell, J., & Spada, N. (2006). The effectiveness of corrective feedback for the acquisition of L2 grammar. In Synthesizing research on language learning and teaching (pp. 133–164). Amsterdam: Benjamins.
Truscott, J. (2007). The effect of error correction on learners’ ability to write accurately. Journal of Second Language Writing, 16(4), 255–272.
Wanchid, R. (2015). Different sequences of feedback types: Effectiveness, attitudes, and preferences. PASAA: Journal of Language Teaching and Learning in Thailand, 50, 31–64.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Appendices
Appendix 1
Students’ Questionnaire About Feedback Practices in EFL Writing Courses in Tunisia
-
This questionnaire aims to collect background information about the way your teacher provides feedback on the essays or paragraphs you write for the writing courses at the ISLT. Your answers are very important and will be strictly confidential.
-
Please fill in the information requested.
-
This questionnaire includes three pages and may take about 10 minutes if you answer all the questions. Please return it to the person who gave it to you.
-
Thank you for your cooperation.
Appendix 2
Teachers’ Structured Interview About Feedback Practices in EFL Writing Courses in Tunisia
-
This interview aims to collect background information about the way you provide feedback on your students’ writings. Your answers are very important and will be strictly confidential. Please fill in the information requested.
-
This questionnaire includes three pages and may take about 10 minutes if you answer all the questions. Please return it to the person who gave it to you.
-
Thank you for your cooperation.
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Athimni, M. (2020). Feedback Practices in University English Writing Classes in Tunisia: An Exploratory Study. In: Ahmed, A., Troudi, S., Riley, S. (eds) Feedback in L2 English Writing in the Arab World. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-25830-6_6
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-25830-6_6
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-25829-0
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-25830-6
eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)