Feedback

Penny Ur

1.- What is feedback? Feedback is information that is given to the learner about his or her performance of a learning task, usually with the objective of improving this performance. It has two main distinguishable components: assessment (the learners is informed how well or badly s/he has performed) and correction (some specific information is provided on aspects of the learner’s performance).The principle in correction include information on what the learner did right, as well as wrong, and why, as honestly as possible in an atmosphere of support and warm solidarity.Any meaningful feedback is going to involve some kind of judgment. Try to make the attitude to this more positives; that mistakes are a natural and useful part of language learning.

2.- AssessmentTypes of evaluationFormative To enhance, not conclude a process.Summative Evaluates an overall aspect of the learner’s knowledge in order to summarize the situation.Test It is an arbitrary level which the learner is expected to have reached. They are not always

reliable or valid, they can be extremely stressful.Gathering informationTeacher’s assessment Subjective estimate.Continuous assessment Final grade is a combination of grades the learner received for various assignments during

the course.Self-assessment The learners themselves evaluate their own performance.Portfolio Gathers a collection of assignments.CriteriaCriterion-referenced What it is reasonable or desirable to demand from learners at the relevant point in their

development.Norm-referenced How well the learner is performing relative to the group.Individual-referenced How well the learner is performing relative his or her own previous performance.Assessment gradesLetters, words or phrases Learners ‘read’ them as definitive number-type grades, exactly as they read percentagesProfiles Describing the performance of an individual learner in more detail.

3.- Correcting mistakes in oral workYou might prefer not to correct in fluency work.Where the emphasis is on getting the language right, we may not always correct.When they have got most of an item right we may prefer not to draw attention to a relatively trivial mistake.Useful ways of corrections are given by the learner’s preferences.How the correction is expressed: encouraging, tactful correction, etc. Teacher sensitivity is needed here.

4.- Writing feedbackRed pen or another color. Maximally clear visible to the learnerIn essays, papers, other forms of self-expression use pencil in order to convey a less authoritative message (‘I’m suggesting’)Give some kind of assessment at the end (‘Good; well expressed’, for example)Chose the amount of mistakes you are going to correct. Correct all the mistakes which had to do with the target forms.Remark what is right and wrong.Give them a hint of how to correct their mistakes (informative feedback)

Paul Lyndsay

1. What are false cognates? Give an example in English of a word derived from another language and explain why it is often (or could be) misused.False cognates are words that are written in the same way, or very similar, in different languages, but they mean something different.e.g embarrass: ENGLISH, to cause someone to feel nervous, worried or uncomfortable.

Embarazada: SPANISH, Dicho de una mujer, o de una hembra de cualquier especie: Que ha concebido y tiene el feto o la criatura en el vientre.

2. When is the best time to correct students’ errors?The best time to correct students depends on the aim. If the aim is accuracy, as soon after the error occurred; if the aim is fluency, record the errors and deal with them after the activity has finished.

3. What are the three types of correction? Give one advantage and disadvantage of each.-Self correction: Adv. Encourage independence.

Dis. May not know how to correct it.-Student-Student: Adv. It may be easier to understand correction.

Dis. It may give incorrect feedback.-Teacher-Student: Adv. Errors are identified quickly and accurately.

Dis. Over-dependence can be created on the teacher.

4. What are some good ways to indicate that errors have been made?Good ways to indicate when errors have been made is by telling the student; using signals (with your face or body), using your finger, give the student the chance of correcting himself writing on the board, drawing arrows or using video or audio recording.

5. How can you avoid correction that causes negative effects on the learner?We can avoid correction that causes negative effects on the learner by highlighting the error instead the person who did it.

Jeremy Harmer

Feedback is not only correcting students, but also offering them an assessment.

A. Students make mistakes.Mistakes can be divided into three broad categories: 1. Slips (when they correct themselves); 2. Errors (when cannot correct themselves); and 3. Attempts (tries to do something but does not yet know the correct way of saying it)Two distinct causes for the errors to occur: -L1 interference: when L1 and English come into contact with each other there are often confusions which provoke errors in a learner’s use of English (Level of sounds, grammar, word usage, etc).-Developmental errors: over-generalization.

B. Assessing student performanceThe assessing can be explicit or implicit.Secondary students reported their need to understand the reasons for the teacher’s approval or disapproval.

Measured approval and disapproval which demonstrate a teacher’s interest in and attention to a student’s work may well result in continuing or even increased motivation.

Apart from test examsComments About students performance. When we want to give a negative assessment we might

do so by indicating that something has gone wrong e.g. “That’s not quite right”Marks and grades When students get good grades their motivation is often positively affected; bad grades

can be extremely disheartening.Demonstrate clear criteria for the grading we have given, with a marking scale, written or spoken explanation.Students need to be absolutely clear about what such grades mean.

Reports Clear indications of how well the students have done in the recent past and a reasonable assessment of their future prospects.

Students assessing themselves

Encourage them to reflect upon their own learning; it is a powerful tool for future development.Self-assessment can be made more formal in a number of ways.

Checklist They are especially revealing for other people who might be interested in a student’s progress, such as parents.

C. Feedback during oral workAccuracy: The study of a piece of grammar, a pronunciation exercise, or some vocabulary work.Fluency: To make a clear difference between ‘non-communicative’ and ‘communicative’ activities.Most students want and expect us to give them feedback on their performance.Speaking activities act as switch to help learners transfer ‘learnt’ language to the ‘acquired’ store.Intervention may sometimes be necessary, but it is nevertheless unfortunate, it often depends on how it is done, and, just as importantly, who it is done to.Correct people without offending them. Decide when and if to intervene at all.Teachers show students that a mistake has been made. They help the students to do something about it.

Showing incorrectnessRepeating Ask the students to repeat what they’ve said.Echoing We repeat what the student has said wrong emphasizing what was wrong.Statement and question

“That’s not quite right” “Do you think that’s correct?”

Expression Facial expression or a gesture to indicate that something does not quite work.Hinting Helping students to activate rules they already know. Depends upon the students and their

teacher sharing meta-language.Reformulation Repeat what the student has said correctly.

If the student is unable to correct themselves you should: Emphasize the part where the problem is, say the incorrect part correctly, and explain the grammar or lexical issue.We need to respond to the content, not just the language form.Gentle correction: if communication breaks down completely during a fluently activity, we may well have to intervene. By constantly interrupting the flow of the activity, we may bring it to a standstill.Recording mistakes: write down points they want to refer to later

Grammar Words and phrases Pronunciation AppropriacyDivide students into groups and have each group watch for something different.Students can tell us what they found easiest or more difficult.

It is not a good idea to say who made the mistakes, concentrate on those mistakes which were made by more than one person.

D. Feedback on written work The way we give feedback on writing will depend on the kind of task the students have undertaken, and the effect we wish to create.-Responding: say how the text appears to us and how successful we think it has been and how it could be improved. Show alternative ways of writing through reformulation. It has to be done sympathetically.-Coding; much neater, less threatening, and considerably more helpful than random marks and comments. Mark the place where a mistake has been made and use one of the symbols in the margin to show what the problem is. Concentrate on particular features of written English, focusing of a particular aspect of language.We want to affect our students’ language use in the future as well as commenting upon its use in the past.Feedback is part of a learning process.