EFL Learners' Response to Teacher Written Feedback: An Exploratory Cross-case Analysis

Abstract

Teacher feedback plays a central role in second language writing research. Although this area of enquiry has been extensively investigated, there is still limited research into learner engagement with the feedback as well as individual difference factors that mediate learner revision processes. Inspired by the ongoing debate around the effectiveness of teacher written feedback and the roles of individual learner factors in feedback activities, the current exploratory multiple-case study examined how two Vietnamese EFL learners of different proficiency levels revised their essays following written feedback provision. Data came from text analyses of the first and revised drafts written by the two case studies. The learners’ revision practices were analyzed using both quantitative and qualitative measures. Qualitatively, revision operations were identified using Min’s (2006) revision taxonomy to look at both micro-text-based and macro-text-based changes, while quantitative measures examined the accuracy, fluency, and complexity changes observed from students’ first to revised drafts. Findings suggest some interaction between learner proficiency, revision behaviors, and short-term writing improvement across different drafts within the same essay. Implications for feedback practices are accordingly presented.