Malaysian ESL Teachers’ Practice of Written Feedback on Students’ Writing

Abstract

Feedback to students’ writing plays an important role as a scaffolding technique to help the students to improve their writing skills. With the introduction of school-based assessment and the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) into the new Standards-based English Language Curriculum (SBELC), teachers are expected to adapt the process writing approach in their classroom, where feedback is at the core of the process writing approach. This present study aims to explore Malaysian ESL teachers’ practice of written feedback in their writing classrooms. Two sample essays were used in this study. The sample essays were written by a Form Three student of a secondary school in Kuantan, Pahang, and a Form Five student from a secondary school in Manjung, Perak.The sample essays were sent to all secondary schools in Pahang, and teachers who teach the English Language at the schools were asked to mark the essay as how they would normally mark their students’ essays. The participants of this study were selected using purposive sampling. A total of 89 student sample essays with the teachers’ marking were returned, and the teachers’ feedback were analysed. This study found that most of the participants mark their students’ essays comprehensively and implicitly. However, some of the respondents did not give any feedback at all, and even if they did, the feedback would be retracted from the marking rubric. It has also been found that the respondents of this present study did not utilise comments on goals to work towards or specific activities for improvement. This paper further discusses the findings in view of the assessment of learning (AfL) and gives recommendations for future practice.

Formative assessment in K-12 English as a foreign language education: A systematic review

“…However, not all studies showed positive results. For instance, studies by Razali et al [ 3 ] and Kong et al [ 28 ] indicated that teachers did not regard written feedback as an effective classroom practice. This could be attributable to participants' favourable views on providing feedback in foreign language classes, a perspective supported by research emphasising the importance of attitudes and perceptions in assessment feedback.…”

“…Their study revealed that the quality of feedback and instructional dialogue have a positive relationship, yet there remain challenges in developing students' internal feedback and self-regulation abilities. Conversely, Razali et al [ 3 ] focused on teachers' practice of written feedback on students’ writing, revealing that some teachers gave no feedback, and even when they did, the feedback would be retracted from the marking rubric. Moreover, the teachers did not provide students with comments on how to improve their writing.…”

“…Contrarily, some novice teachers may feel uncertain about how to effectively design and implement formative assessment and may therefore rely on traditional summative assessment methods. This is demonstrated by the minimal amount and substandard quality of teachers’ feedback to students, wherein teachers continue to focus on identifying errors to justify their grades for student essays [ 3 , 28 ].…”

“…This type of assessment provides continued feedback that transcends mere outcome-focused measures. This dynamic approach enables educators to modify their teaching strategies in real time to better respond to students' needs [ 3 ]. In contrast, summative assessment differs considerably in its application [ 4 ].…”

Continuous professional development: Assessing teachers' experiences with the cascading training model

“…Teachers play a critical role in influencing student achievement (Hattie, 2009, cited in Pang & Wray, 2017. A recent analysis by Razali et al (2021) revealed that, while many teachers give detailed feedback on student essays, several others rely heavily on generic marking guidelines. Additionally, there's a noticeable gap in offering constructive suggestions or setting clear objectives for student improvement, indicating potential shortcomings in teacher training and development.…”