The feedback process on academic writing in English: perceptions of university teachers

Abstract

Many studies in the field of academic writing have focused on studying written teacher feedback (WTF) on texts written by students of English as a Second Language (ESL). One line of research within this field has been the analysis of teachers’ and students’ perceptions and attitudes toward WTF. The objective of this qualitative investigation is to analyze teachers’ perceptions about their WTF practices with spanish-speaking students in the English Teacher Training Program at Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata, Argentina, on their written productions in ESL. Different writing instructors in the program were surveyed on several forms of TWF. Results show that teachers prefer holistic feedback on the organization and coherence of ideas as well as on linguistic aspects rather than selective feedback. Teachers also take into account the emotional impact on the students of their WTF practices, which are determined by factors such as lack of time and the clarity of the different kinds of comments. Finally, they agree on the educational power of TWF as they believe its conducive to learning and helps students become autonomous learners. These results reveal the importance of explaining to the students the WTF criteria prior to writing in order to make it more effective.