Abstract
Our main aim in this study was to compare encouraging feedback practices in Finnish general upper secondary foreign language classes and examine how students perceive language teachers’ assessment practices. The participants were 160 students of English, 95 students of Swedish, and 27 students of French from six general upper secondary schools. The data comprised one open-ended question and one Likert scale question with nine items. Both qualitative and quantitate methods were used to analyze the data. The results showed that content was the most important feature in feedback that was perceived as encouraging by students. The results further indicated that students considered teacher assessment practices to be primarily summative, but differences were also found between schools. The evidence from this study suggests that students appreciate teacher feedback, but do not perceive it to be an intrinsic part of teacher assessment practices. The importance of formative assessment and feedback should be more heavily emphasized in foreign language teacher education.
Highlights
The major objective in this study was to discern what kind of feedback encourages Finnish general upper secondary school students in foreign language classes
The data comprised one open-ended question on examples of encouraging feedback practices and one Likert scale question with nine items in which the participants indicated what is included in teacher assessment practices in language classes
There is some evidence that suggests that Finnish students would like to get more feedback during the learning process [34]. Taking these findings into account, we argue that foreign language teachers should pay more attention to the learning process of their students and ensure that they provide feedback on it
Summary
The major objective in this study was to discern what kind of feedback encourages Finnish general upper secondary school students in foreign language classes. We compared students’ perceptions of feedback in Swedish, English, and French languages classes. We examined what language teachers’ assessment practices encompass, according to students. The data comprised one open-ended question on examples of encouraging feedback practices and one Likert scale question with nine items in which the participants indicated what is included in teacher assessment practices in language classes. The core curriculum for general upper secondary education [1] advocates the notion of student-centered learning: students are active in their learning process, and learning is considered to be a consequence of goal-oriented and self-directed actions. All the teachers should provide their students with feedback during the learning process, and assessment and feedback constitute focal parts of teacher and student interactions
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