Saudi Female EFL Teachers’ Cognition and Practices Regarding Online Corrective Feedback in Speaking Class

Abstract

The study of teachers’ cognition and classroom practices about online corrective feedback in English language teaching is a recent trend in research. However, there is a paucity of studies on teachers’ practices and cognition of online corrective feedback in speaking class. Therefore, this study attempts to bridge this research gap by investigating Saudi female English language teachers’ cognition and practices related to corrective feedback in an online speaking setting. The main question of this study is What are Saudi female EFL teachers’ practices and tacit beliefs about online corrective feedback? The participants of the study were five Saudi female teachers. This study applied a qualitative case study approach dealing with in-depth data collection instruments, including online class observations followed by face-to-face semi-structured and stimulated recall interviews, which interacted with each other through a practical argument process. The results revealed how the teachers’ online corrective feedback beliefs shaped their practices. The observational data revealed that all five teachers corrected most of their students’ errors using various online corrective feedback strategies. The observational data revealed that most teachers used output-prompting strategies more commonly than input-providing strategies, reflecting teachers’ interest in prompting self-correction discovery and reducing the students’ need for assistance. This study thus provides a deeper insight into the complexity of teachers’ cognitions and practices regarding online corrective feedback. Implications of the findings of this study in teacher education are highlighted, and recommendations for further research are suggested.