Tìm hiểu cảm nhận của sinh viên về cách sửa lỗi bài viết của giảng viên ở một số lớp học viết tiếng anh ở một trường đại học ở việt nam

HUE UNIVERSITY UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES FACULTY OF ENGLISH GRADUATION RESEARCH PAPER EXPLORING STUDENTS' PERCEPTIONS OF TEACHERS' CORRECTIVE FEEDBACK IN EFL WRITING CLASSES IN A VIETNAMESE TERTIARY CONTEXT Student: Nguyễn Thị Nhật Lý Student ID: 15F7011041 Supervisor: Nguyễn Thị Bảo Trang, Ph.D Hue, June 2020 i STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP This study is claimed to be my own work All the findings in this study are guaranteed to be original Nguyễn Thị Nhật Lý ii ABSTRACT The present paper aims to explore EFL students’ perceptions of their teachers’ WCF practices and their preferences for how WCF should be conducted in writing classes in a Vietnamese tertiary setting Data was collected from 97 English-major students by means of a questionnaire and follow-up interviews The results revealed that the students emphasized the importance of accuracy in writing, thus they expected higher frequency of WCF from teachers Most teachers were reported to provide marking criteria before assigning a writing task, and the students highlighted the necessity of being provided with marking criteria and/or with clear pre-writing instructions Students also reported that teachers employed comprehensive feedback more frequently than selective feedback The students’ preferences seemed to be divided as a number of them desired comprehensive marking while many others preferred teachers’ feedback to be more selective and purposeful Regarding treatment of repeated errors, they also suggested teachers to correct only first-time errors and indicated in some ways that an error has been repeated Furthermore, the students believed teachers used both direct and indirect correction techniques, both of which were largely favored by the students Moreover, teachers were reported to rarely use error correction codes Despite having difficulty understanding the correction codes, the students still wanted teachers to use them on the condition that teachers gave clear instructions beforehand The students also expected to obtain more feedback on the content and organization of their paper as compared to form-focused feedback which they perceived teachers had adequately provided Moreover, most students preferred handwritten feedback and teacher-student conferences, both of which were reported to be commonly practiced by teachers in writing classes, although some students acknowledged the benefits associated with efeedback Most students were aware of necessity of revising their papers upon reception of feedback, yet only half of them reported making revisions in response to teacher feedback Furthermore, the students believed it is both students and teachers responsibility to correct students’ writing and offered some suggestions to improve WCF practices The pedagogical implications pertaining to ways to enhance current WCF practices were also discussed iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank the following people for their support, without whose help this work would never have been possible: First and foremost, I gratefully acknowledge the help provided by my supervisor – Dr Nguyen Thi Bao Trang She is one of the most knowledgeable and dedicated lecturers I have known Despite her tight working schedules, she has guided me through every important step of this research, from instructing me how to find research materials to providing detailed feedback to several drafts of this paper as well as responding to every question that I had for it I am also grateful to all English-major students who have agreed to fill in the questionnaire and participate in the research interviews All of their responses provided invaluable resources for this research I also wish to thank my family, especially my mother, for their love and support when I carried out this research paper Last but not least, I would like to send my heartfelt thanks to the Faculty of English at Hue University of Foreign Languages for allowing me to conduct this research, which is a significant milestone in my academic life It is hoped that the outcome of this research will serve as a helpful reference to future research as well as contributing to the practice of WCF in the Vietnamese EFL context iv TABLE OF CONTENTS STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP ii ABSTRACT iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS iv TABLE OF CONTENTS v LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS vii LIST OF TABLES viii LIST OF FIGURES ix CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW Definitions of “error” and “written corrective feedback” The error correction debate 2.1 Studies rejecting teachers’ error correction .3 2.2 Studies supporting teachers’ error correction Research evidence on the effect of different types of WCF on improved accuracy7 3.1 Comprehensive (unfocused) versus selective feedback (focused) 3.2 Indirect versus direct feedback Students’ perceptions and preferences of teachers’ WCF .12 CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 16 Research methods 16 1.1 Questionnaire 16 1.2 Interviews .18 Data analysis 19 2.1 Questionnaire analysis .19 2.2 Interview analysis 20 Reliability and validity of the research 20 CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION .21 Students’ perceptions of writing accuracy .21 Students’ perceptions of frequency of teachers’ WCF provision 21 Students’ perceptions of teachers’ use of marking criteria 24 Students’ perceptions of focus of teachers’ feedback 25 v Students’ perceptions of how teachers conducted WCF 28 5.1 Students’ perceptions of extent of teacher WCF .28 5.2 Students’ perceptions of teachers’ correction techniques 32 5.3 Students’ perceptions of teacher’s use of error correction codes 35 5.4 Students’ perceptions of forms of feedback delivery 38 Students’ response to WCF upon reception 40 Students’ perceptions of whose responsibility to correct their writing 41 Students’ suggestions for the improvement of teachers’ feedback-giving practices 42 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION, LIMITATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 45 Summaries of key findings 45 Pedagogical implications .47 2.1 For teachers 47 2.2 For students 49 Limitations of the present study and recommendations for future research 50 REFERENCES 51 APPENDICES 55 Appendix – Questionnaire (English version) 55 Appendix – Questionnaire (Vietnamese version) 60 Appendix – Interview questions (English version) 65 Appendix – Interview questions (Vietnamese version) 67 vi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS EFL : English as a Foreign Language ESL : English as a Second Language SLA : Second Language Acquisition L1 : first language L2 : second language WCF: written corrective feedback vii LIST OF TABLES Table Examples of written direct feedback .10 Table Examples of written indirect feedback 10 Table 3: The questionnaire design 18 Table 4: Students’ perceptions of writing accuracy 21 Table 5: Students’ preferences for the extent of teacher feedback 29 Table 6: Students’ perceptions of teacher’s use of error correction codes 36 Table 7: Students’ extent of understanding error correction codes .36 Table 8: Students’ preferences for error correction codes 37 Table 9: Students’ responses to teachers’ feedback 41 Table 10: Students’ perceptions of whose responsibility to correct their writing 42 viii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: General approaches and specific methods of written error feedback Figure 2: Students’ perceptions of teachers’ frequency of giving WCF .22 Figure Teachers’ focus of feedback 26 Figure Areas of writing students wanted teachers to focus on 27 Figure Student’s preference for forms of paper-marking techniques 34 Figure Students’ preferred forms of feedback delivery 39 ix CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION In English as a foreign language (EFL) classrooms, writing instructors’ responsibility is to help their learners improve their writing proficiency For many language teachers, providing feedback, more specifically, correcting errors in students’ written work is among one of the fundamental parts of their job Yet, the effectiveness of error feedback and its contribution to the process of acquiring L2 (second language) continue to be a topic of debate among researchers (Chandler, 2003; Ferris, 1999; Truscott, 1996; Truscott and Hsu, 2008) Apart from the issue of whether error correction is effective or not, more research has been carried out to investigate the effects of different feedback strategies While studies by Ferris (2006) and Lalande (1982) advocated for indirect feedback, studies by Chandler (2003) found that direct feedback were superior in describing the type of errors (in direct feedback) in improving students’ writing accuracy However, it is possible that the varying results from different studies may be attributed to the differences in participants or research design and methodology In addition to research evidence regarding the nature and effects of corrective feedback, it is of great importance to consider students’ perceptions and preferences A number of studies have shown that L2 students value and expect corrective feedback from their teachers and the absence of such feedback can raise students’ anxiety and cause them to lose confidence in their teachers (Ferris, 1999a, 2003; Ferris and Hedgcock, 2005; Frankzen, 1995; Leki, 1991, as cited in Ferris, 2011) In fact, understanding the preferences and expectations of student writers can have important pedagogical implications It may reflect the extent of students’ comprehension of teachers’ correction practices Therefore, acknowledging their perceptions and preferences can help motivate and boost students’ confidence in writing and bring new perspectives to the teaching of EFL writing While it is apparent that there have been numerous studies supporting the value of written corrective feedback, there are fewer studies that investigate the students’ perceptions and preferences (Hamouda, 2011) Furthermore, previous studies on how students perceive error correction have been mainly carried out in ESL contexts for Silverman, D (2005) Doing qualitative research: A practical handbook Los Angeles: Sage Tangkiengsirisin, S., & Kalra, R (2016) Thai Students' Perceptions on the Direct Vs Indirect Written Corrective Feedback: A Thai University Context Arab World English Journal (AWEJ), 7(3), 161-176 Truscott, J (1996) The case against grammar correction in L2 writing classes Language learning, 46(2), 327-369 Truscott, J., & Hsu, A Y P (2008) Error correction, revision, and learning Journal of second language writing, 17(4), 292-305 Zamel, V (1985) Responding to student writing Tesol Quarterly, 19(1), 79-101 54 APPENDICES Appendix – Questionnaire (English version) My name is Nguyen Thi Nhat Ly I am a fourth-year student majoring in English Teaching at Hue University of Foreign Languages I am currently carrying out a graduation research paper that aims to find out college English–major students’ perceptions and preferences of their English teacher’s corrective feedback in writing classes I would like to invite you to participate in my research paper This questionnaire is a part of the research Please answer the questions with reference to how your teacher marks your writing in this academic year All your answers are highly appreciated; your personal information will be treated confidentially and only used for research purpose in my graduation thesis Participants’ background information Please tick the correct answer You are a _ student: (1) First-year (2) Second-year (3) Third-year (4) Fourth-year Gender: (1) Male (2) Female I Read each statement below and indicate the extent to which you agree or disagree Please tick the number that best represents your opinion 1: strongly disagree, 2: disagree, 3: neither agree or disagree, 4: agree, 5: strongly agree (1) It is important to you to have as few errors in English as possible in your written work 55 (2) It is important to you that your teacher informs you of marking criteria before you a writing test/ assignment (3) It is necessary for you to revise your writing based on the corrective feedback you receive from your teacher II Answer the following questions by ticking before the letter that indicates your response (4) How often does your teacher correct your writing? A Always B Often C Sometimes D Rarely E Never (5) Do your teachers give you marking criteria before you a writing test/assignment? A Yes B No (6) What area(s) does your teacher often pay attention to when they correct your writing? You can choose more than one answer A Grammatical errors B Mechanical errors (e.g spelling, punctuation) C Vocabulary choice D Coherence and cohesion E Task response (e.g how you address the requirements of the task) 56 (7) If you look carefully at some of the marks/comments your English teacher makes on your written, which one(s) you consider most important to look at? You can choose more than answer A Marks indicating errors in grammar B Marks indicating errors in vocabulary choice C Marks indicating errors in spelling D Marks indicating errors in punctuation E Comments on the ideas/content F Comments on the writing style G Comments on the organization of the paper (8) If there are many errors in your writing, what you think your English teacher should do? A Teacher should mark all errors B Teacher should mark all major errors but not the minor ones C Teacher should mark most of the major errors, but not necessarily all of them D Teacher should mark only a few of the major errors E Teacher should mark only the errors that interfere with communicating your ideas F Teacher should mark no errors and respond only to the ideas and content (9) If an error is repeated more than once in your writing, you think teachers should mark it every time it occurs or only the first time it appears? A Every time it occurs B Only the first time it appears (10) How you want your teacher to indicate an error in your written work? You can choose more than one answer 57 A The teacher crosses out/underlines/circles what is incorrect and writes in the correct words or structure B The teacher shows where the error is and gives a clue about how to correct it by yourself C The teacher only shows where the error is D The teacher ignores the errors in English and only pays attention to ideas expressed (11) Does your teacher use error correction codes (e.g “punc.” means punctuation error or “sp” means spelling errors) in marking your writing? A Yes B No If your answer is “Yes”, please answer question (5) If your answer is “No”, please go to question (6) (12) What percentage of your teacher’s correction codes (e.g V, Adj, Voc, Sp, etc.) are you able to follow and understand? A 76 - 100% B 51 – 75% C 26 – 50% D – 25% (13) Do you want your teacher to use correction codes (e.g V, Adj, Voc, Sp, etc.) in marking your paper? A Yes B No (14) Which method of giving corrective feedback you prefer? You can choose more than one answer A Handwritten feedback B E-feedback C Teacher-students conference/oral feedback 58 (15) What helps you most to learn from the errors marked on your paper and helps you avoid making that errors again? A Rewriting the whole paper B Rewriting only the sentence(s) in which an error/ error(s) appeared C Just reading through the paper carefully without rewriting anything D Doing nothing because you know you’ll probably just forget and make the same errors again no matter what you E Asking teachers questions about the corrective feedback that you receive F Other (please specify): (16) Which of the following you agree with? A It is mainly teachers’ job to locate and correct errors for students B It is mainly students’ job to locate and correct their own errors C It is both teachers’ and students’ job to locate and correct students’ errors THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR TIME AND CONTRIBUTION! 59 Appendix – Questionnaire (Vietnamese version) CÂU HỎI KHẢO SÁT Tôi tên Nguyễn Thị Nhật Lý, sinh viên năm tư chuyên ngành sư phạm tiếng Anh trường đại học Ngoại ngữ Huế Hiện tại, thực đề tài Khóa luận tốt nghiệp với mục đích tìm hiểu cảm nhận mong muốn sinh viên chuyên ngành Tiếng anh cách giáo viên sửa lỗi viết cho sinh viên chuyên ngữ Tiếng Anh lớp học viết Tôi xin trân trọng mời bạn tham gia vào nghiên cứu Bảng hỏi phần nghiên cứu Xin vui lòng trả lời câu hỏi sau cách liên tưởng tới cách mà giáo viên sửa viết cho bạn năm học Tôi xin trân trọng tất phản hồi bạn thông tin cá nhân bạn bảo mật, sử dụng cho mục đích nghiên cứu cho đề tài Khóa luận tốt nghiệp tơi *Thông tin người tham gia nghiên cứu Xin vui lịng đánh dấu thơng tin bạn Bạn sinh viên _ (1) Năm (2) Năm hai (3) Năm ba (4) Năm tư Giới tính: (1) Nam (2) Nữ I Hãy đọc câu sau rõ mức độ đồng ý hay không đồng ý bạn Vui lòng đánh dấu số thể ý kiến bạn 1: không đồng ý, 2: không đồng ý, 3: không ý kiến, 4: đồng ý, 5: đồng ý (1) Đối với bạn, việc có lỗi Tiếng Anh viết quan trọng 60 (2) Đối với bạn, việc giáo viên đưa tiêu chí chấm trước bạn làm kiểm tra viết tập viết quan trọng (3) Đối với bạn, việc chỉnh sửa lại viết dựa phản hồi nhận từ giáo viên điều cần thiết II Hãy trả lời câu hỏi sau cách đánh dấu vào đáp án thể ý kiến bạn (4) Giáo viên bạn sửa viết cho bạn theo tần suất nào? A Luôn B Thường xuyên C Thi thoảng D Hiếm E Không (5) Giáo viên bạn có đưa tiêu chí chấm viết trước bạn làm kiểm tra viết hay tập viết khơng? B Khơng A Có (6) Khi giáo viên sửa/chấm cho bạn, họ thường tập trung vào khía cạnh viết bạn? Bạn chọn đáp án A Lỗi ngữ pháp B Lỗi tả hay dấu chấm câu C Cách sử dụng từ D Sự mạch lạc gắn kết E Mức độ trả lời yêu cầu 61 (7) Nếu bạn nhìn cẩn thận vào số chỗ sửa lỗi/nhận xét giáo viên viết mình, (những) khía cạnh bạn nghĩ quan trọng Bạn chọn đáp án A Sửa lỗi ngữ pháp B Sửa lỗi cách dùng từ C Sửa lỗi tả D Sửa lỗi chấm câu E Nhận xét ý tưởng/nội dung viết F Nhận xét văn phong, cách viết G Nhận xét tổ chức, kết cấu viết (8) Nếu có nhiều lỗi sai viết bạn, bạn nghĩ giáo viên nên làm gì? A Giáo viên nên sửa tất lỗi sai B Giáo viên nên sửa tất lỗi sai lớn, không sửa lỗi sai nhỏ C Giáo viên nên sửa hầu hết lỗi sai lớn, không cần thiết tất D Giáo viên nên sửa vài lỗi sai lớn E Giáo viên nên sửa lỗi sai gây trở ngại cho việc triển khai ý tưởng F Giáo viên không nên sửa lỗi sai phản hồi cho ý tưởng nội dung viết (9) Nếu lỗi sai lặp lại lần viết, bạn nghĩ giáo viên có nên sửa lại lỗi xảy hay sửa lần đầu tiên? A Sửa lại lỗi xảy B Chỉ sửa lần (10) Bạn muốn giáo viên lỗi sai viết bạn cách nào? Bạn chọn đáp án A Giáo viên gạch ngang/gạch chân/khoanh tròn lỗi sai viết lại dạng từ/cụm từ 62 B Giáo viên vị trí lỗi sai đưa gợi ý để bạn tự sửa lại cho C Giáo viên đưa vị trí lỗi sai D Giáo viên bỏ qua lỗi sai tiếng Anh tập trung vào ý tưởng mà bạn thể (11) Giáo viên bạn có sử dụng kí hiệu sửa lỗi (Ví dụ: “punc.” thể lỗi phát âm hay “sp” thể lỗi tả) sửa bạn khơng? A Có B Khơng Nếu câu trả lời “Có”, trả lời câu hỏi (5) Nếu câu trả lời “Không”, tiến đến câu hỏi (6) (12) Bạn hiểu phần trăm kí hiệu sửa lỗi (Ví dụ: V, Adj, Voc, Sp, etc.) giáo viên? A 76 - 100% B 51 – 75% C 26 – 50% D – 25% (13) Bạn có muốn giáo viên dùng kí hiệu sửa lỗi (Ví dụ: V, Adj, Voc, Sp, etc.) sửa lỗi viết bạn khơng? A Có B Khơng (14) Phương thức đưa phản hồi cho viết bạn thích nhất? Bạn chọn đáp án A Sửa giấy B Sửa mềm máy tính C Trao đổi miệng giáo viên sinh viên (15) Điều giúp bạn học hỏi nhiều từ lỗi sửa viết giúp bạn tránh lặp lại lỗi đó? 63 A Viết lại toàn viết B Chỉ viết lại (những) câu có chứa lỗi sai C Chỉ đọc lại viết cách cẩn thận mà không cần viết lại D Khơng cần làm bạn biết quên mắc lỗi cũ cho dù có làm E Hỏi giáo viên câu hỏi liên quan đến lỗi sửa F Khác (vui lòng ghi rõ): (16) Bạn đồng ý với ý sau đây? A Việc tìm lỗi sửa lỗi viết cho sinh viên chủ yếu nhiệm vụ giáo viên B Việc tìm lỗi sửa lỗi viết chủ yếu nhiệm vụ thân sinh viên C Việc tìm lỗi sửa lỗi viết chủ yếu nhiệm vụ giáo viên lẫn sinh viên CHÂN THÀNH CẢM ƠN BẠN ĐÃ DÀNH THỜI GIAN VÀ ĐÓNG GÓP CHO KHẢO SÁT! 64 Appendix – Interview questions (English version) To what extent your teachers give error corrections to your writing? Do they correct all your errors or only some errors? Which extent of error correction you prefer? Why? If an error is repeated more than once in your writing, you want teachers to mark it every time it occurs? How often your teachers correct your writing? How often would you like your teachers to correct your writing? Why? How your teachers indicate the errors you make in your writing? Do they underline/circle/cross your errors and write the correct form or to only indicate errors and give you clues to correct the errors by yourself? How would you like your teacher to this? Why? What is another correction method your teachers use? Do they use correction codes (e.g V, Adj, Sp,etc.) in correcting your paper? If “yes”, are correction codes easy or difficult to use? Please explain more Would you like your teacher to use correction codes? Which area you think is more important: grammar and mechanic issues or content and organization of your paper? Or are they of equal importance? Why? What importance you think your teacher gives to each of these? Do your teachers mark you down a lot when you make grammatical mistakes? Or they mark you down when your writing lacks coherence, cohesion, etc.? How you feel about how much weight the teacher gives to each of these categories? Do your teachers inform you of marking criteria before you a writing test/assignment? What you think of the importance of this? In what manners your teachers give corrective feedback: handwritten feedback, e-feedback, or teacher-students conference? How you like these? Why? 65 How you utilize your teacher’s corrective feedback to avoid making the same mistakes in your future writing? Do you revise, rewrite, making notes, ask your teachers or your friends for help, searching extra resources such as the Internet or books? Or you just read through the feedback and nothing? Whose responsibility is it to correct errors in student writing? Why? 10 Do you have any suggestions for teachers in order to improve their corrective feedback practice? Please specify if you have any THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND CONTRIBUTION! 66 Appendix – Interview questions (Vietnamese version) CÂU HỎI PHỎNG VẤN Giáo viên bạn thường sửa lỗi bạn mức độ nào? Họ có sửa tồn tất lỗi sai hay vài lỗi sai? Bạn muốn giáo viên sửa lỗi mức độ nào? Tại sao? Giáo viên thường sửa viết cho bạn theo tần suất nào? Bạn mong muốn sửa viết theo tần suất nào? Tại sao? Giáo viên bạn thường lỗi sai viết bạn cách nào? Họ có gạch chân/khoanh trịn/gạch ngang lỗi sai viết lại dạng từ/ cụm từ hay chỉ lỗi sai đưa gợi ý để bạn tự sửa lỗi cho mình? Bạn mong muốn giáo viên dùng cách thức nào? Tại sao? -4 Ngoài phương pháp sửa lỗi giáo viên sử dụng? Họ có sử dụng kí hiệu sửa lỗi khơng (ví dụ: V, Adj, Sp,…) sửa viết cho bạn? Nếu “có”, bạn nghĩ kí hiệu sửa lỗi dễ dùng, dễ hiểu hay khó hiểu? Vui lịng giải thích thêm Bạn có muốn giáo viên sử dụng kí hiệu sửa lỗi khơng? Khía cạnh sau bạn nghĩ quan trọng hơn: vấn đề ngữ pháp kĩ thuật (ví dụ: tả hay dấu câu) hay vấn đề nội dung cấu trúc viết? Hay chúng quan trọng nhau? Tại sao? Bạn nghĩ giáo viên nhấn mạnh vào tầm quan trọng khía cạnh đó? Họ có trừ điểm nhiều bạn mắc lỗi ngữ pháp? Hay họ trừ điểm nhiều viết bạn thiếu mạch lạc thống nhất? Bạn cảm thấy độ nhấn mạnh giáo viên vào khía cạnh trên? Giáo viên có đưa tiêu chí chấm điểm trước bạn làm tập viết hay kiểm tra viết không? Bạn nghĩ tầm quan trọng việc này? Giáo viên bạn đưa phản hồi cho viết bạn theo cách thức nào: sửa giấy, sửa mềm máy tính hay thảo luận giáo viên sinh viên? Bạn thích cách thức nào? Tại sao? 67 Bạn làm cách để tận dụng phản hồi giáo viên để tránh mắc lại lỗi sai tương tự viết sau? Bạn có chỉnh sửa lại, viết lại, ghi chú, xin giúp đỡ từ giáo viên hay bạn bè, tìm kiếm tài liệu ngồi mạng Internet hay sách? Hay bạn đọc qua phản hồi khơng cần làm cả? Theo bạn việc sửa lỗi viết sinh viên nhiệm vụ ai? Tại sao? 10 Bạn có đề xuất để cải thiện việc sửa lỗi viết sinh viên giáo viên khơng? Nếu có, xin giải thích cụ thể CHÂN THÀNH CẢM ƠN BẠN ĐÃ DÀNH THỜI GIAN VÀ ĐÓNG GÓP CHO KHẢO SÁT! 68