Immediate text-based feedback timing on foreign language online assignments: How immediate should immediate feedback be?

Abstract

Immediate feedback has been considered a cornerstone of online language learning platforms. However, a closer reading of relevant research reveals that the definition of the term “immediate feedback” is inconsistent. Furthermore, findings from the STEM literature have not been well supported by other fields. As a result, clarification is required to assess which type of immediate feedback improves students’ performance in a computer-assisted learning environment. Moreover, research on the effects of immediate feedback outside of STEM classes should provide an enhanced understanding of whether the findings can be generalized. Therefore, this study investigated the effects of immediate feedback timing in online language learning exercises. The following three conditions were examined: no feedback, end-of-question feedback, and end-of-assignment feedback. A planned contrast test revealed that with a pretest as the covariate, students in the end-of-question feedback condition received significantly higher grades in the posttest compared with those in the end-of-assignment feedback condition. Furthermore, students with lower pretest scores required more attempts, although their learning progress was not significantly superior to that of students with higher prior knowledge. This study's findings provide insights into the use of immediate feedback for improving learning as part of foreign language classroom instruction.