How Writing Teachers’ Beliefs Influence Grading Practices

Author(s):  
Najoua Ben Hedia
2021 ◽  
pp. 136216882110576
Author(s):  
Xiaolong Cheng ◽  
Lawrence Jun Zhang ◽  
Qiaozhen Yan

As an important instructional affordance, teacher written feedback is widely used in second language (L2) writing contexts. While copious evidence has shown that such a pedagogical practice can facilitate L2 learners’ writing performance, especially their writing accuracy, little is known about how novice writing teachers conceptualize and enact written feedback in contexts of English as a foreign language (EFL). To fill this gap, we examined four novice writing teachers’ espoused written feedback beliefs and their actual practices in Chinese tertiary EFL writing classrooms. Based on data from semi-structured interviews and students’ writing samples, we found that they adopted a comprehensive approach to feedback provision, and were most concerned with errors in language, particularly grammar when providing feedback. These teachers almost reached a consensus in their beliefs about feedback scope and feedback focus, but they held varying beliefs about feedback strategies. Additionally, this study revealed the complexity of belief-practice relationships, in terms of the coexistence of consistencies and inconsistencies. Specifically, these teachers’ beliefs paralleled their practices in feedback scope, but their beliefs and practices mismatched with regard to feedback focus and feedback strategies. This article concludes with a discussion of the important pedagogical implications.


2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dyah Fitri Mulati ◽  
Joko Nurkamto ◽  
Nur Arifah Drajati

Examining EFL writing teachers’ beliefs is becoming an essential study since teaching is no longer being noticed merely in a behaviour term but rather as thoughtful behaviour as teachers are active, thinking decision-maker. This study addresses the teachers’ beliefs in the specific teaching writing strategy that is commonly used by the teachers in Indonesia to assist students’ writing, teacher written corrective feedback. It was designed as a case study surveying two teachers from a secondary school in Lampung as its respondents. This current study aims at (1) exploring teachers’ beliefs in providing teacher written corrective feedback both in the explicitness and the amount of feedback, and (2) describing the factors that shape teachers’ beliefs in providing written corrective feedback. The data were collected by using mixed-type questionnaire and interview adapted from Lee (2009) consisting of three items related to the beliefs in written corrective feedback, followed by the factors that shape the beliefs teachers may hold on. The findings show some underlie different beliefs regarding the explicitness and amount of teacher written corrective feedback between the teachers. However, they agreed that academic background in the secondary school and college was counted as the contributed factor that shapes their beliefs in providing written corrective feedback on students’ writing. Further, teacher added practical experience when they are teaching writing as her additional factor.


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