This paper contrasts students’ perceptions of feedback practices on written texts and their utilization of the feedback against formative assessment pedagogy. It uses observations of nine lessons of English writing in combination with semi-structured interviews of 39 first year upper secondary students in Norway. The findings show that students in general appreciate the feedback, but have diverging views about the different types and forms of feedback provided. The majority want to have one-to-one discussions with the teacher about their texts in addition to written feedback, and to receive more specific comments on both content and language. Most are content to use feedback in a delayed fashion, as a reference point for future writings. This is a result from the working routine in the classrooms where feedback in most cases comes with a grade – without a strict requirement to follow-up comprehensively, with the exception of correcting language errors. The findings highlight the primacy of form in the feedback provided and, in more than one way, poor quality formative feedback from the students’ perspective. It concludes that in order to maximize the formative potential of feedback there is a need to make it more usable, e.g. by giving it to ungraded texts and asking students to produce improved work based on feedback.

Abstract This paper presents a survey of student perceptions of feedback in English writing in a context where formative assessment is mandatory. The study comprises 329 first year upper secondary school students from seven schools in eastern Norway, and uses a survey to examine their perceptions of and experiences with feedback in EFL writing instruction. Overall, the findings reveal that students receive varied feedback, on language as well as global errors, but primarily to finished and graded texts. There is little use of feedback between drafts, or of oral conferencing and peer-feedback. While many students do not follow up feedback at all, those who do tend to focus on language error correction and less on global errors. However, student follow up in general, and of global errors in particular, increases markedly with unfinished and ungraded texts, possibly because of available time and teacher support during the revision process. This indicates that feedback utilization can be improved by setting aside classroom time to work with texts between drafts during which students can receive teacher support, and by making this an integrated part of English writing instruction. Key words: L 2 writing instruction, feedback/formative feedback, formative assessment, multiple-sourced feedback.   Elevers oppfatninger om og erfaringer med tilbakemeldinger de får i skriveundervisningen i engelskfaget i den vidergående skole Sammendrag Denne artikkelen presenterer en kvantitativ studie av tilbakemeldinger i engelsk skriveundervisning i en kontekst hvor formativ vurdering er læreplanfestet. Den undersøker hvordan 329 norske VG1-studenter fra syv videregående skoler i øst Norge opplever og følger opp tilbakemeldingene de får som del av engelskfagets skriveundervisning. Funnene viser at studentene får variert feedback, med god balanse mellom kommentarene på språkfeil som på mer generelle feil med teksten, men at tilbakemeldingene først og fremst gis til ferdige tekster med karakter. Det er lite bruk av feedback til uferdige, ikke karaktervurderte tekster, av muntlig veiledning og av feedback fra andre studenter. Mens mange studenter ikke følger opp feedback overhodet, øker oppfølgingen, av språkfeil og i enda større grad av såkalte «globale» feil, markant de relativt sjeldne gangene de får til å arbeide med uferdige, ikke karaktervurderte tekster. Dette tyder på at utnyttelsen av feedback kan bedres ved at elevene får arbeide med uferdige tekster og med lærerstøtte mens de reviderer, og dette gjøres til en integrert del av engelskundervisningen. Nøkkelord: L2 skriving, skriveundervisning tilbakemeldinger, formativ vurdering, vurdering for læring, ulike tilbakemeldingsmodaliteter