(Mis)alignment in Relation to Written Corrective Feedback: the Teachers’ Beliefs and Practices vs the Students’ Preferences in an EFL Context

Soufiane Trabelsi

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ijll.20210901.12

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(Mis)alignment in Relation to Written Corrective Feedback: the Teachers’ Beliefs and Practices vs the Students’ Preferences in an EFL Context

Soufiane Trabelsi

Published in International Journal of Language and Linguistics (Volume 9, Issue 1)

Received: 29 December 2020 Accepted: 19 January 2021 Published: 23 February 2021

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Abstract

This paper, which investigates written corrective feedback (WCF) in the context of English as a Foreign Language (EFL), will address two research questions: (a) to what extent are the teachers’ beliefs and practices regarding the provision of WCF on the students’ EFL writing aligned?; (b) to what extent do the students’ preferences match the teachers’ practices regarding WCF? The participants of the study were nine writing teachers and their 75 pre-intermediate and intermediate students in one General Foundation Programme (GFP) in Oman. Semi-structured interviews, classroom observation, student text analysis, and student focus groups were employed as the research instruments of the study to attempt to answer the research questions. The study revealed more areas of misalignment than alignment between the teachers’ beliefs and practices related to WCF. The areas of misalignment are related to the writing of praising comments, redrafting, the amount of feedback, the explicitness of feedback and the focus of feedback, whereas the areas of alignment are related to the identification and the correction of errors. In addition to that, the findings indicated that there were more areas of congruence than incongruence between the students' preferences and the teachers’ beliefs and practices regarding WCF. As for the areas of congruence, they are related to the explicitness of feedback, the amount of feedback, the source of feedback, and the correction of errors. The areas of incongruence, however, are related to the focus of the feedback and the writing of praising comments. The paper concluded by providing some implications for pedagogy related to WCF.

Published in	International Journal of Language and Linguistics (Volume 9, Issue 1)
DOI	10.11648/j.ijll.20210901.12
Page(s)	6-16
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

(mis)alignment, (in)congruence, Beliefs, Practices, Written Feedback, Error Correction, Peer Feedback

References

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[9]	Carless, C. (2006). Differing perceptions in the feedback. Studies in Higher Education, 31 (2), 219–233.
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[11]	Diab, R. L. (2005). EFL university students' preferences for error correction and teacher feedback on writing. TESL Reporter, 38 (1), 27-51.
[12]	Evans, N. W., Hartshorn, K. J., & Tuioti, E. A. (2010). Written corrective feedback: The practitioners’ perspective. International Journal of English Studies, 10 (2), 47-77. https://doi.org/10.6018/ijes/2010/2/119191
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[18]	Hyland, K. (2003). Second language writing. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
[19]	Hyland, K. & Hyland, F. (2006). Feedback in second language writing: Contexts and issues. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
[20]	Jeon, M., & Kang, I. (2005). Investigating student preferences in error correction in Korean-language teaching. The Korean Language in America, 10, 93-112.
[21]	Jodaie, M., & Farrokhi, F. (2012). An exploration of private language institute teachers‘ perceptions of written grammar feedback in EFL classes. English Language Teaching, 5 (2), 58-69.
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APA Style

Soufiane Trabelsi. (2021). (Mis)alignment in Relation to Written Corrective Feedback: the Teachers’ Beliefs and Practices vs the Students’ Preferences in an EFL Context. International Journal of Language and Linguistics, 9(1), 6-16. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20210901.12

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ACS Style

Soufiane Trabelsi. (Mis)alignment in Relation to Written Corrective Feedback: the Teachers’ Beliefs and Practices vs the Students’ Preferences in an EFL Context. Int. J. Lang. Linguist. 2021, 9(1), 6-16. doi: 10.11648/j.ijll.20210901.12

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AMA Style

Soufiane Trabelsi. (Mis)alignment in Relation to Written Corrective Feedback: the Teachers’ Beliefs and Practices vs the Students’ Preferences in an EFL Context. Int J Lang Linguist. 2021;9(1):6-16. doi: 10.11648/j.ijll.20210901.12

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@article{10.11648/j.ijll.20210901.12,
  author = {Soufiane Trabelsi},
  title = {(Mis)alignment in Relation to Written Corrective Feedback: the Teachers’ Beliefs and Practices vs the Students’ Preferences in an EFL Context},
  journal = {International Journal of Language and Linguistics},
  volume = {9},
  number = {1},
  pages = {6-16},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijll.20210901.12},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20210901.12},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijll.20210901.12},
  abstract = {This paper, which investigates written corrective feedback (WCF) in the context of English as a Foreign Language (EFL), will address two research questions: (a) to what extent are the teachers’ beliefs and practices regarding the provision of WCF on the students’ EFL writing aligned?; (b) to what extent do the students’ preferences match the teachers’ practices regarding WCF? The participants of the study were nine writing teachers and their 75 pre-intermediate and intermediate students in one General Foundation Programme (GFP) in Oman. Semi-structured interviews, classroom observation, student text analysis, and student focus groups were employed as the research instruments of the study to attempt to answer the research questions. The study revealed more areas of misalignment than alignment between the teachers’ beliefs and practices related to WCF. The areas of misalignment are related to the writing of praising comments, redrafting, the amount of feedback, the explicitness of feedback and the focus of feedback, whereas the areas of alignment are related to the identification and the correction of errors. In addition to that, the findings indicated that there were more areas of congruence than incongruence between the students' preferences and the teachers’ beliefs and practices regarding WCF. As for the areas of congruence, they are related to the explicitness of feedback, the amount of feedback, the source of feedback, and the correction of errors. The areas of incongruence, however, are related to the focus of the feedback and the writing of praising comments. The paper concluded by providing some implications for pedagogy related to WCF.},
 year = {2021}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - (Mis)alignment in Relation to Written Corrective Feedback: the Teachers’ Beliefs and Practices vs the Students’ Preferences in an EFL Context
AU  - Soufiane Trabelsi
Y1  - 2021/02/23
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N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20210901.12
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijll.20210901.12
T2  - International Journal of Language and Linguistics
JF  - International Journal of Language and Linguistics
JO  - International Journal of Language and Linguistics
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PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2330-0221
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AB  - This paper, which investigates written corrective feedback (WCF) in the context of English as a Foreign Language (EFL), will address two research questions: (a) to what extent are the teachers’ beliefs and practices regarding the provision of WCF on the students’ EFL writing aligned?; (b) to what extent do the students’ preferences match the teachers’ practices regarding WCF? The participants of the study were nine writing teachers and their 75 pre-intermediate and intermediate students in one General Foundation Programme (GFP) in Oman. Semi-structured interviews, classroom observation, student text analysis, and student focus groups were employed as the research instruments of the study to attempt to answer the research questions. The study revealed more areas of misalignment than alignment between the teachers’ beliefs and practices related to WCF. The areas of misalignment are related to the writing of praising comments, redrafting, the amount of feedback, the explicitness of feedback and the focus of feedback, whereas the areas of alignment are related to the identification and the correction of errors. In addition to that, the findings indicated that there were more areas of congruence than incongruence between the students' preferences and the teachers’ beliefs and practices regarding WCF. As for the areas of congruence, they are related to the explicitness of feedback, the amount of feedback, the source of feedback, and the correction of errors. The areas of incongruence, however, are related to the focus of the feedback and the writing of praising comments. The paper concluded by providing some implications for pedagogy related to WCF.
VL  - 9
IS  - 1
ER  -

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Author Information

Soufiane Trabelsi

Higher Institute of Business Administration of Sfax, University of Sfax, Sfax, Tunisia

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APA Style

Soufiane Trabelsi. (2021). (Mis)alignment in Relation to Written Corrective Feedback: the Teachers’ Beliefs and Practices vs the Students’ Preferences in an EFL Context. International Journal of Language and Linguistics, 9(1), 6-16. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20210901.12

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ACS Style

Soufiane Trabelsi. (Mis)alignment in Relation to Written Corrective Feedback: the Teachers’ Beliefs and Practices vs the Students’ Preferences in an EFL Context. Int. J. Lang. Linguist. 2021, 9(1), 6-16. doi: 10.11648/j.ijll.20210901.12

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AMA Style

Soufiane Trabelsi. (Mis)alignment in Relation to Written Corrective Feedback: the Teachers’ Beliefs and Practices vs the Students’ Preferences in an EFL Context. Int J Lang Linguist. 2021;9(1):6-16. doi: 10.11648/j.ijll.20210901.12

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@article{10.11648/j.ijll.20210901.12,
  author = {Soufiane Trabelsi},
  title = {(Mis)alignment in Relation to Written Corrective Feedback: the Teachers’ Beliefs and Practices vs the Students’ Preferences in an EFL Context},
  journal = {International Journal of Language and Linguistics},
  volume = {9},
  number = {1},
  pages = {6-16},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijll.20210901.12},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20210901.12},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijll.20210901.12},
  abstract = {This paper, which investigates written corrective feedback (WCF) in the context of English as a Foreign Language (EFL), will address two research questions: (a) to what extent are the teachers’ beliefs and practices regarding the provision of WCF on the students’ EFL writing aligned?; (b) to what extent do the students’ preferences match the teachers’ practices regarding WCF? The participants of the study were nine writing teachers and their 75 pre-intermediate and intermediate students in one General Foundation Programme (GFP) in Oman. Semi-structured interviews, classroom observation, student text analysis, and student focus groups were employed as the research instruments of the study to attempt to answer the research questions. The study revealed more areas of misalignment than alignment between the teachers’ beliefs and practices related to WCF. The areas of misalignment are related to the writing of praising comments, redrafting, the amount of feedback, the explicitness of feedback and the focus of feedback, whereas the areas of alignment are related to the identification and the correction of errors. In addition to that, the findings indicated that there were more areas of congruence than incongruence between the students' preferences and the teachers’ beliefs and practices regarding WCF. As for the areas of congruence, they are related to the explicitness of feedback, the amount of feedback, the source of feedback, and the correction of errors. The areas of incongruence, however, are related to the focus of the feedback and the writing of praising comments. The paper concluded by providing some implications for pedagogy related to WCF.},
 year = {2021}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - (Mis)alignment in Relation to Written Corrective Feedback: the Teachers’ Beliefs and Practices vs the Students’ Preferences in an EFL Context
AU  - Soufiane Trabelsi
Y1  - 2021/02/23
PY  - 2021
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20210901.12
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijll.20210901.12
T2  - International Journal of Language and Linguistics
JF  - International Journal of Language and Linguistics
JO  - International Journal of Language and Linguistics
SP  - 6
EP  - 16
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2330-0221
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20210901.12
AB  - This paper, which investigates written corrective feedback (WCF) in the context of English as a Foreign Language (EFL), will address two research questions: (a) to what extent are the teachers’ beliefs and practices regarding the provision of WCF on the students’ EFL writing aligned?; (b) to what extent do the students’ preferences match the teachers’ practices regarding WCF? The participants of the study were nine writing teachers and their 75 pre-intermediate and intermediate students in one General Foundation Programme (GFP) in Oman. Semi-structured interviews, classroom observation, student text analysis, and student focus groups were employed as the research instruments of the study to attempt to answer the research questions. The study revealed more areas of misalignment than alignment between the teachers’ beliefs and practices related to WCF. The areas of misalignment are related to the writing of praising comments, redrafting, the amount of feedback, the explicitness of feedback and the focus of feedback, whereas the areas of alignment are related to the identification and the correction of errors. In addition to that, the findings indicated that there were more areas of congruence than incongruence between the students' preferences and the teachers’ beliefs and practices regarding WCF. As for the areas of congruence, they are related to the explicitness of feedback, the amount of feedback, the source of feedback, and the correction of errors. The areas of incongruence, however, are related to the focus of the feedback and the writing of praising comments. The paper concluded by providing some implications for pedagogy related to WCF.
VL  - 9
IS  - 1
ER  -

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