Exploring the Effects of Screencast Feedback on Writing Performance and Perception of Chinese Secondary School Students

Abstract

Feedback has a pivotal role in language and literacy learning. With the ubiquity and advancement of technology, screencast feedback (SF) has emerged as a novel mode of feedback in the context of English as a foreign language (EFL) writing classrooms. Yet, there remains a paucity of evidence on the effects of SF on enhancing students’ English writing performance, particularly in Chinese secondary school settings. Thus, the current study aims to employ a mixed-method sequential explanatory design to investigate the impacts of SF on the writing performance of Chinese secondary school students and their perceptions toward SF. The sample consisted of 90 intermediate Grade 12 high school students from Southern China. While the experimental group received the SF, the control group received conventionally written feedback in their argumentative writings. Quantitative findings indicated that the posttest of the experimental group participants in terms of task achievement and coherence and cohesion in writing was higher than their pretest; however, there was no significant difference in enhancing lexical resources and grammatical range accuracy. Results also showed that the experimental group excelled over the control group regarding overall writing performance. Qualitative findings from semi-structured interviews in the experimental group revealed that most participants maintained positive perceptions of SF, as it strengthened student-teacher interaction, provided specific and longer feedback, and promoted students’ confidence.