An investigation into teachers positive oral feedback in eflclassroom at some upper secondary schools in thua thien hue

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HUE UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES PHAN THI THU HIEU AN INVESTIGATION INTO TEACHER POSITIVE ORAL FEEDBACK IN EFL CLASSROOMS AT SOME UPPER SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN THUA THIEN HUE SUMMARY MA THESIS IN THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING CODE: 60.14.01.11 HUE, 2018 The thesis has been completed at the College of Foreign Languages, Hue University Supervisor: Assoc Prof Dr Truong Vien Examiner 1: …………………… Examiner 2: …………………… The thesis will be orally defended at the Examining Board at the University of Hue Time: … / …/ ……… Venue: Hue University The original of the thesis is accessible for purpose of reference at: - The College of Foreign Languages Library, University of Hue - Information Resources Centre, University of Hue CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale Positive oral feedback is one of many communication forms where students receive feedback from their teacher who either corrects them implicitly or explicitly or asks them to clarify what they say Oral feedback usually occurs during a task It is sometimes underestimated because it is less formal, but it can be a very powerful and effective tool as it can be provided easily in the „teachable moment‟ and in a timely way There is no doubt about the role of teachers in giving feedback; nevertheless, how can teachers make best use of feedback in teaching so that their students make considerable progress? According to Nicol and MacfarlaneDick (2006), good feedback practice helps, among other things, to clarify what good performance is (goals, criteria, expected standards); it delivers high quality information to students about their learning; it encourages positive motivational beliefs and self-esteem, and it provides opportunities to close the gap between current and desired performance It is also important that feedback should be focused in order to avoid overwhelming the students with too much information (Alghazo, Bani Abdelrahman, & Abu Qbeitah, 2009) We also favor a blend between direct and indirect feedback (Hedgcock & Lefkowitz, 1996), beginning with direct outright feedback on mistakes and moving onto indirect feedback as soon as the learners are familiar with the name and the nature of the mistakes Briefly, this paper mainly presents the topic “AN INVESTIGATION INTO TEACHER POSITIVE ORAL FEEDBACK IN EFL CLASSROOMS AT SOME UPPER SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN THUA THIEN HUE” because of these above reasons 1.2 Research aims The aims of this study were to investigate the perceptions of high school English teachers towards positive oral feedback in EFL classrooms and the current practice of handling positive oral feedback in EFL classrooms 1.3 Significance of the study It is hoped that the findings of this study will provide high school English teachers with some insights into their perceptions towards positive oral feedback and the techniques of giving positive oral feedback in classrooms Besides, this study will make some contributions to other research papers in the scope of feedback for teaching method 1.4 Scope of the study The study on teacher positive oral feedback involved 50 English teachers from different upper secondary schools in Thua Thien Hue Province Therefore, the results of this study are restricted, which may not be generalized to other contexts 1.5 Organization of the thesis This study is divided into main following chapters: Chapter I presents the rationale for the study on the use of positive oral feedback in EFL classrooms, the purposes, the significance, the scope and the organization of the study Chapter II reviews background knowledge and theories related to the study Chapter III presents all the information associated to the research methodology, including the research questions, the research design, the participant and research site, the research instruments for data collection, the procedures of data collection and the procedures of data analysis Chapter IV reports and discusses the findings from the questionnaires the interviews and observations of high school English teachers‟ perceptions towards positive oral feedback and the techniques of handling it in English language teaching Chapter V summarizes the whole thesis in regard to the research questions with limitations, implications and suggestions for further study CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Theoretical backgrounds 2.1.1 Feedback in EFL classrooms Feedback, in education, in a teacher-student learning environment can be defined as “information given to learners which they can use to revise their inter-language” (Ellis, 1999:702) Feedback can be divided into different subcategories, depending on the purposes of teachers and also the language skill areas Feedback is vital in just about all learning contexts (Race, 2001) It is one of the most powerful influences on learning and achievement However, this impact can either be positive or negative Evidently, feedback aimed to move students from task to processing and then from processing to regulation is most effective Too much feedback within a level may even detract from performance 2.1.2 Oral feedback in EFL classrooms It is a powerful force for moving pupils on and will be the most regular and interactive form of feedback It is both direct (targeted to individuals or groups), but also indirect (others listen and reflect on what has been said) The main purposes of using different types of feedback might be one or many of these possible reasons: to acknowledge what pupils have learned and encourage them to reflect on and extend their learning still further; to recognize that pupils need time to reflect on their learning; to encourage pupils to pose further questions to clarify or further develop their own or each other‟s thinking or to encourage pupils to make next steps There are some types of teachers‟ oral feedback They are evaluative feedback, corrective feedback, descriptive feedback, interactional feedback, and motivational feedback 2.1.3 Positive and negative oral feedback Feedback can be divided into two types: positive and negative ones, depending on the purposes of the users in classrooms, depending on the objectives it serves in the classroom According to Schachter (1983 in Lynch, 1996), feedback can be both negative and positive (if it expresses either disapproval or approval) 2.1.4 Positive oral feedback Positive feedback is given by teachers to students to provide reinforcement in terms of learning Some studies believe that when the teachers give positive oral feedback to students, it may impact both on the learning process and final results of the students However, when teachers not give positive feedback orally and only give negative feedback to their students, or even not giving any feedback at all, it will cause the students to lose their motivation and become lazy to study whether it‟s at school or at home (Steels, 2000; Reigle, 2008; OECD, 2011; Seiwert, 2011) Therefore, teachers need to understand the use of positive oral feedback appropriately When positive oral feedback is given in the right manner, students can develop their skills Later on, when the students are used to getting positive oral feedback from teachers, they can learn by themselves and are not dependent on the teachers‟ explanation They know what is right and wrong and can develop their own knowledge 2.1.5 Related studies on the use of oral feedback in EFL classrooms A study conducted in the mid 1980‟s by Preston et al (1985) already gave some insights into what students‟ find to be effective oral feedback This study shows that students want to receive quite specific feedback and feedback they can relate or understand The researchers also state that teacher should use both positive and negative feedback, because critical but constructive feedback is seen as helpful, and positive feedback promotes good self-esteem (Preston et al 1985) Burnett (2002) investigated the relationships between feedback and students‟ perceptions of their relationship with their teacher and the classroom environment The results demonstrated that negative teacher feedback and effort feedback were related to their relationship with the teacher Students who reported a positive relationship with their teacher perceived that their teacher gave them extensive effort feedback and little negative feedback Additionally, students who reported that their classroom was a positive environment reported a positive relationship with their teacher and perceived that their teacher gave them a great deal of ability feedback Based on a study by Sugita & Takeuchi (2006), which presents the results of an empirical research examining the encouragements used by EFL teachers in EFL classrooms, it is concluded that elementary school teachers tend to give more encouragements than those at higher levels Also, high school teachers are more reliable to provide fewer encouragements Apart from teachers in junior high, teachers in senior high school and university directed more encouragements at individuals than at the whole class Marko J M (2007) conducted a study on the effectiveness of teacher oral feedback in an ESL/EFL classroom at the University of Oregon‟s American English Institute The finding showed that teachers‟ verbal feedback and praise had a significant positive impact on the learners‟ motivation and hence their achievements However, there is one unusual finding that one student did not prefer oral positive feedback unless she did a very good job A research by Mimi Masson (2012) conducted a research to determine how teachers can be a part of students‟ “growth” during the learning process Preliminary conclusions include students‟ self-reported beliefs about the positive impact of praise on their motivation, due in part to the sociocultural climate particular to the Japanese classroom setting Diana & Noha (2013) investigated what kind of oral feedback can be found in an EFL classroom and what attitudes both teachers and students have towards oral feedback The results show that the students were positive to oral feedback in the classroom, especially explicit corrective feedback On the other hand, this type of feedback was the least used one in the classrooms due to the teachers‟ believing that other kinds of oral feedback are more beneficial In 2014, Jenaro A conducted a research on “Positive oral encouragement in the EFL classroom, a case study through action research” Facilitated by action research as a case study, this paper reports on how oral encouragement increases motivation and thus oral participation in the classroom for a lowintermediate student As a side effect, oral encouragement in the form of praise also fostered students‟ self-confidence Finally, it was found that classroom management plays an important role along with oral encouragement and selfconfidence in order to increase oral participation Farah (2015) conducted a case study of seventh grade students at one of junior high schools in Bandung, Indonesia: “Teachers‟ praises and students‟ engagement in EFL classrooms” The study analyzed the use of praise and its influence toward students‟ engagement The result of this study showed that the way teacher gives praise to the students is in line with the theory of effective praise In conclusion, the use of praise would influence students‟ positive engagement if it was given properly Abbasi, A., et al (2015) emphasized the importance of positive oral feedback by conducting a study aiming at exploring the effects of teachers‟ verbal feedback and praise on students‟ achievements The findings showed that teachers‟ verbal feedback and praise had a significant positive impact on the learners‟ motivation and hence their achievements As a result of giving feedback and praise to the students and their effects on motivation and achievements, it can be argued that the more motivated students are, the more and the better they will learn With the same agreement, Al-Enzy, M.,& Jesudas, R (2016) carried out a study to discuss providing productive oral feedback on English language learners‟ learning process To conclude, the normally used and relied on methods of teachers‟ written feedback on exam performance are not effective If we really need to develop and promote students‟ language learning process, implementing new feedback strategy is very important Ramon (2016) conducted a study at a university in Chile, which presents teachers‟ perceptions about Oral Corrective Feedback It appeared that most of the teachers were not fully aware of the frequency and the amount of feedback they tended to provide and when to it, nor of the different types of correction they used Even though all the teachers acknowledged the importance of feedback, they expressed concerns about interrupting students and provoking negative affective responses The findings of this study contributed to the comprehension of teachers‟ perceptions on students‟ feelings and attitudes A study by Irawan & Salija (2017) was investigated the reasons for teachers‟ use of oral feedback and students‟ perception of oral feedback used by teachers in EFL classroom interaction in Indonesia The findings revealed that the teachers used types of oral feedback, namely evaluative feedback, corrective feedback, descriptive feedback, interactional feedback and motivational feedback The teachers employed oral feedback because of teachers‟ responsibility and obligation to provide it, the effective and efficient feedback, mode, the utility of oral feedback, positive effect to students, and consequences of none of oral feedback Mostly, the students were positively to oral feedback CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 3.1 Research questions What are the teachers‟ perceptions of giving positive oral feedback in EFL classrooms? What is the current practice of giving positive oral feedback in EFL classrooms by the teachers? 3.2 Research design This is a descriptive research design In this research, two research approaches are employed, which are quantitative and qualitative ones, in order to fulfill the purpose of the research 3.3 Participants and research site The participants of this study consisted of fifty English teachers at five different high schools in Thua Thien Hue All of the teachers were asked to complete the questionnaire, eight of them were requested to answer the individual interview 3.4 Research instruments In this research, with a view to finding the answers to these above research questions, the three following specific methods were used: questionnaire, interview and classroom observation 3.5 Procedures of data collection Administering the pilot of the questionnaires Administering questionnaires Administering the interviews Conducting class observation using the observation sheets 3.6 Procedures of data analysis The data collected from the questionnaires were submitted to SPSS computer program (version 20.0) for quantitative data analysis All responses to close ended items were entered for computer analysis Statistical analyses of the data were done according to the research questions Firstly, the Reliability Coefficient Analysis was carried out to verify the reliability of the questionnaire Secondly, a Descriptive Statistics Test was run to identify the mean score, the maximum, the minimum and the standard deviation of each item, each Subcluster and each Cluster in the questionnaire Thirdly, One-Sample T Test was run to compare the mean score and the scale to measure whether they were significant Then qualitative data from interview and classroom observation were analyzed to qualify the findings from the quantitative data analysis CHAPTER 4: RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS 4.1 Perceptions of high school English teachers towards the use of positive oral feedback in EFL classrooms 4.1.1 Findings from questionnaire data Table 4.1 Reliability of the pilot and post questionnaires Administering the questionnaire Number of respondents Reliability (Cronbach’s Alpha Coefficient) Pilot questionnaire 10 707 Post questionnaire 50 718 Table 4.2 Descriptive statistics of perceptions of high school English language teachers towards the use of positive oral feedback in EFL classrooms Descriptive Statistics N Min Max Mean SD Perceptions of high school English language teachers towards CLUSTER positive oral feedback in EFL classrooms 50 3.89 4.79 4.39 21771 SUBThe importance of positive oral CLUSTER feedback in EFL classrooms 50 3.88 5.00 4.44 27798 SUBAreas for positive oral feedback CLUSTER 50 3.43 4.71 4.28 30611 SUBWhen positive oral feedback can CLUSTER be given 50 3.50 5.00 4.49 34241 The results in Table 4.2 show that the mean score of Cluster was fairly high (M=4.39) This mean is much higher than the accepted mean for neutral level of agreement 3.0 among five-point scales Table 4.3 One-sample T test of the perceptions of English teachers towards positive oral feedback in EFL classrooms One-Sample Test Test Value = The perceptions of English teachers towards positive oral feedback in EFL classrooms T 45.368 Df 49 Sig (2tailed) Mean Difference 000 95% Confidence Interval of the Difference 1.39684 Lower Upper 1.3350 1.4587 As can be seen from Table 4.3, the mean score of Cluster (M=4.39; SD=.217) was significantly different from (t=45.368, df=49, p=.000) The results therefore supported the conclusion that the teacher had positive perception about the use of positive oral feedback in EFL classrooms 4.1.1.1 The importance of positive oral feedback in EFL classrooms Table 4.4 Descriptive statistics of perceptions of high school English language teachers towards the importance of positive oral feedback in EFL classrooms Descriptive Statistics Sub-cluster Items N Min Max Mean SD The importance of positive oral feedback in 1, 2, 3, 4, EFL classrooms 5, 6, 7, 50 3.88 5.00 4.44 277 The behaviour of a student affects classroom environment 50 4.22 582 Verbal positive feedback and praise have a positive impact on learners‟ motivation and hence their achievements 50 4.38 530 Most of students are in favour of POF in the classrooms 50 4.38 602 50 4.48 580 Oral feedback, especially ECF help to improve students‟ proficiency in learning English 10 Self-confidence plays a vital role in L2 learning Oral encouragement in the form of praise fosters students‟ confidence The use of POF will influence students' positive engagement if it is given properly If students are encouraged by the teacher, they are more likely to be motivated to learn 50 4.54 503 50 4.58 499 50 4.42 575 50 4.56 541 a second language In general, the mean score of Sub-cluster was very high (M=4.44, Min=3.8, Max=5.00), which is higher than the high level of agreement 4.0 The result indicated that the participants had relatively positive perceptions towards the importance of positive oral feedback in EFL classrooms 4.1.1.2 Areas for positive oral feedback Table 4.5 Descriptive Statistic of high school English teachers’ perceptions towards the areas for positive oral feedback Descriptive Statistics Sub-cluster Items N Min Max Mean SD Areas for positive oral feedback 9,10,11,12, 13,14,15 50 3.43 4.71 4.29 306 POF can be given in homework assignments 50 4.12 689 POF can be given in teaching grammar 10 50 4.32 551 POF can be given in teaching vocabulary 11 50 4.16 710 POF can be given in teaching speaking and 12 pronunciation 50 4.58 575 POF can be given in teaching listening 13 50 4.32 551 POF can be given in teaching writing 14 50 4.12 773 POF can be given in teaching reading 15 50 4.40 606 In conclusion, the mean score of Sub-cluster was high, indicated that the participants were in favour of certain areas for positive oral feedback, especially those related to oral skills and reading skills rather than writing skills 11 4.1.1.3 When positive oral feedback can be given Table 4.6 Descriptive statistics of high school English teachers’ perceptions towards the time to give positive oral feedback Descriptive Statistics Sub-cluster Items When positive oral feedback can be given 16, 17, 18, 19 POF can be given in the process of N Min Max Mean SD 50 3.50 5.00 4.49 34241 16 50 4.24 716 POF can be given after a writing or 17 speaking activity 50 4.68 587 POF can be given when homework 18 assignments are returned to students 50 4.48 544 50 4.56 577 conducting an activity POF can be given whenever you find it necessary 19 In conclusion, the mean score of Sub-cluster was high (M=4.49, Min=3.50, Max=5.00), which is higher than the level of agreement 4.0 The result indicated that the participants were in favour of certain time when positive oral feedback can be given 4.1.2 Findings from interview data In summary, the interview data indicated that all of the participants acknowledged the importance of positive oral feedback in English language teaching at a very high level This result is consistent with the data obtained from the questionnaires on teachers‟ perceptions towards positive oral feedback in EFL classrooms 4.2 Current practice of English teachers in giving positive oral feedback in EFL classrooms 4.2.1 Findings from questionnaire data 12 Table 4.7 Descriptive statistics of practice of giving positive oral feedback of high school English teachers Descriptive Statistics Items N Min Max Mean SD 50 3.50 4.63 4.05 29134 50 3.00 4.67 4.09 44172 50 3.33 4.83 4.08 33545 50 3.00 4.75 3.94 49374 20, 21,22, CLUSTER The practice of giving positive oral feedback of high school 23, 24,25, 26, 27,28, 29, 30,31, English teachers 32, 33,34, 35 SUB- 20, 21,22, The reality of using positive CLUSTER oral feedback SUB- 23, 24, 25 26, 27,28, Common patterns of positive CLUSTER oral feedback 29, 30, 31 SUBThe ways teachers provide CLUSTER positive oral feedback 32, 33, 34, 35 The results in Table 4.7 show that the mean score of Cluster (The practice of high school English teachers of giving positive oral feedback) was high (M=4.05) in comparison with the neutral scale 3.0 In general, this result shows that handling positive oral feedback in EFL classrooms of English teachers was also effective Table 4.8 One-sample t test of the practice of high school English teachers of giving positive oral feedback One-Sample Test The practice of high school English teachers of giving positive oral feedback Test Value = T 25.545 Df 49 Sig (2Mean tailed) Difference 000 1.05250 95% Confidence Interval of the Difference Lower Upper 9697 1.1353 As can be seen from Table 4.8, the mean score of Cluster (M=4.05, SD=.291) was significantly different from (=25.545, df=49, p=.000) The 13 results therefore supported the conclusion that the positive oral feedback delivery of EFL teachers is effective to a certain extent 4.2.1.1 The reality of using positive oral feedback Table 4.9 Descriptive statistics of the reality of using positive oral feedback Descriptive Statistics Sub-cluster Items The reality of using positive oral feedback POF makes my students feel more N Min Max Mean SD 20, 21, 22, 50 23, 24, 25 3.00 4.67 4.09 441 20 50 4.06 956 21 50 4.50 614 My students would like to be corrected mistakes and praised for their proficiency 22 50 4.26 944 My students perform better next times after given POF 23 50 3.96 880 POF my students receive make them feel comfortable 24 50 3.56 1.110 My students want to be praised for their efforts more than for their proficiency 25 50 4.24 822 motivated to learn My students would like me to give more positive feedback than negative one In summary, the mean score of Sub-cluster (The reality of using positive oral feedback) was fairly high (M=4.09), which is much higher than the neutral scale 3.0 This leads to the conclusion that both teachers‟ awareness and practice of handling positive oral feedback in EFL classrooms was positive despite the fact that there is a slight difference from theory to practice of giving positive oral feedback by EFL teachers 4.2.1.2 Common patterns of positive oral feedback Table 4.10 Descriptive statistics of common pattern of positive oral feedback Descriptive Statistics Sub-cluster Common feedback patterns of positive Items oral 26, 27, 28, 50 29, 30, 31 14 N Min 3.33 Max 4.83 Mean 4.08 SD 33545 I use verbal phrases like “good”, “good job”, “excellent”, “very nice”, “that‟s 26 50 4.38 697 I just say "thank you" after receiving the 27 answer 50 2.60 808 50 4.46 579 50 4.48 505 30 50 3.88 1.081 31 50 4.70 463 right”, “that‟s correct” and repeat the correct answer I tell my students that they are making progress and praise on the part they 28 well I nod when my students are either trying 29 to form or respond correctly I praise even for partially correct responses Repetition, reinforcement, praise, nodding, clapping and affirmation The conclusion that can be drawn is that it is necessary for high school English teachers to use positive oral feedback along with a variety of kinds of positive reinforcement with a view to helping their students feel more motivated as well as maintain excited about the lesson 4.2.1.3 The ways teachers provide positive oral feedback Table 4.11 Descriptive statistics of the ways of giving positive oral feedback Descriptive Statistics Items N Min Max Mean SD The ways teachers provide positive oral 32, 33, feedback 34, 35 50 3.00 4.75 3.94 49374 I give POF to a group of students 32 50 4.20 639 I give POF at my desk to single students 33 50 3.54 994 I give POF by going around the class 34 50 4.48 544 I give PF individually 35 50 3.54 1.164 Sub-cluster The data from Table 4.11 show that giving positive oral feedback by going around the class is the most preferable one used by English teachers Secondly, this result means that the majority of English teachers also give feedback with 15 group work‟s activities Furthermore, this result indicates that only half of the participants have the habit of giving feedback to single students or going around the class while giving feedback 4.2.2 Findings from interview data 4.2.2.1 The reality of using positive oral feedback All of the interviewees agree that they benefit a lot from the use of positive oral feedback and say that it is a powerful tool because it allows teachers to selectively encourage different aspects of students‟ Some of them claimed that thanks to positive oral feedback, their students have been making progress in both academic performance and behaviour 4.2.2.2 Common positive words or phrases used by teachers to give feedback on students’ performances The interview data showed that all the participants have a wide range of motivational phrases to praise their students whenever they perform well More importantly, it is necessary that positive oral feedback should be specific That is to say general praise addressed to students is unlikely to be effective for learning or for overall development of the self 4.2.2.3 Strategies to make positive oral feedback more effective in EFL classrooms All of the interviewees stated that giving positive oral feedback should be meaningful, sincere, appropriate and combined with other kinds of feedback if it is possible Some teachers considered giving positive oral feedback privately, which according to them, increases the potential for an honest exchange of ideas and an opportunity for the students to talk about his or her work 4.2.3 Findings from class observation data In conclusion, the observation data revealed these following points: Firstly, there was a slight difference from the perceived practice and real one in teachers‟ use of positive oral feedback The majority of teachers just gave general motivational phrases or said thank you after receiving their students‟ responses Even if positive oral feedback was given, it was repeated so many times, which led to the fact that students did not care about their teachers‟ praises 16 Secondly, it was similar to what has been found from questionnaire data, the amount of positive oral feedback was given the most frequently in teaching speaking skills and reading skills, which requires students‟ immediate responses Furthermore, there were a number of teachers who tried to combine using motivational feedback and clarifying or ask students to clarify what they did not well This made the classrooms more interesting and useful for their students‟ understanding Finally, positive oral feedback was often accompanied by positive facial expressions or gestures by English teachers during the lessons This is regarded as one common teaching strategy to make positive feedback more effective and interesting 17 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS 5.1 Summary of the key findings 5.1.1 Perceptions of high school English teachers towards the use of positive oral feedback in EFL classrooms Most English teachers at some upper-secondary schools in Thua Thien Hue showed positive perceptions towards the use of positive oral feedback in EFL classrooms To begin with, nearly all of the teachers acknowledged the importance of positive oral feedback in EFL classrooms They confirmed that thanks to positive oral feedback, their students are more motivated to learn English, more confident in contributing ideas or giving presentations and it also enhances their students‟ achievements to a certain extent Secondly, the majority of teachers agreed that positive oral feedback can be given in different aspects of English teaching, especially in teaching speaking and pronunciation, grammar, listening, reading Furthermore, it can be given at different periods of time during class, particularly after students complete a certain activity or performance 5.1.2 Practice of giving positive oral feedback of high school English teachers in EFL classrooms The practice of giving positive oral feedback in EFL classrooms of English teachers was not effective compared to their perceptions towards this First of all, the majority of high school English teachers stated that their students show good response to their positive oral feedback, which helps to make them more motivated in learning English as well as improve their performances However, the positive oral feedback from their teachers sometimes makes students feel uncomfortable Moreover, it is concluded from English teachers that students at high school level would like to be praised for their efforts One interesting finding from this study is that English teachers at high school level use a variety of strategies in giving positive oral feedback These include motivational phrases (general), nodding, repetition, clapping hands, reinforcement 5.2 Conclusion In this study, much attempt was made to investigate the perceptions and practice of high school English teachers towards the use of positive oral 18 feedback in EFL classrooms at some upper-secondary schools in Thua Thien Hue From the results of this study, it can be stated that high school English teachers in Thua Thien Hue Province showed positive perceptions towards the use of positive oral feedback in EFL classrooms The majority of them were highly aware of the importance and benefits of positive oral feedback in EFL classrooms However, the techniques of their giving positive oral feedback in EFL classrooms cannot satisfy their expectation 5.3 Pedagogical implications 5.3.1 For educational administrators First of all, school leaders and the English group leaders should focus more on mutual classroom observations Secondly, it is necessary that both school leaders and teachers have good awareness of it, whether to use it for students‟ effort or performances and make every preparation for it Especially, much attention needs to be paid to the use of positive oral feedback in teaching oral skills since this requires students‟ immediate interaction Finally, it is of necessity that the Ministry of Education and Training invest for teachers‟ professional development programmes, especially on techniques of giving positive oral feedback 5.3.2 For teachers of English First of all, English teachers should be more aware of the importance and advantages of positive oral feedback in English language teaching Secondly, English teachers should give more positive oral feedback in teaching, particularly in teaching speaking and reading It is also highly recommended that positive oral feedback should be given after students finish their performances, whether it is a correct or partially correct answer Furthermore, teachers should give more positive oral feedback than negative one as well as correct their mistakes if possible One more suggestion for English teachers is that positive oral feedback should be given as appropriately, sincerely and specifically as possible There should be a combination of giving positive oral feedback and other kinds of feedback so that students are more likely to have a sense of confidence as well as know what part they are not really good at so as to make progress 19 5.4 Limitations of present study Firstly, the result of this study is based on the responses from a small number of the participants, who are English teachers at five different uppersecondary schools in Thua Thien Hue Therefore, it is difficult to make some generalization of the results In addition, there were only eight high school English teachers who were chosen to interview, which leads to the fact that the results from these interviews are less likely to be representative for all high school English teachers in Thua Thien Hue If there were more participants participating in this study, the result would yield more diverse ideas, thus more interesting 5.5 Suggestions for further study Basing on the findings of this study, there are a number of suggestions the researcher would like to make for further research Firstly, further study should be conducted with larger population, who can represent the whole population of teachers in a particular context, which is more likely to gain more reliable results Besides, one suggestion for further study is that both positive and negative feedback should be investigated so that a broader picture of feedback giving is provided for the benefit of teachers and administrators Finally, studies on the impacts of positive and negative feedback on students‟ behaviours and proficiency can be conducted 20