Feedback That Motivates Students: What Should Feedback Focus On?
Teacher’s feedback is unarguably one of the most important factors that influence
students’ language learning processes. Well-provided feedback can increase students’ motivation to a great extent, while inappropriately given feedback may lead to frustration. This research investigates the influence feedback has on L2 learners’ level of motivation. It aims at discovering which type of feedback motivates them the most. A questionnaire is used as an instrument to observe the relations between the focus of feedback and levels of motivation. It is completed by fifteen university students learning English in South Korea. The questionnaire consists of nine questions addressing students’ feedback experiences in their English classes. The participants are asked to answer which type of feedback motivates and frustrates them the most. The types of feedback are divided into five categories with a focus on ability, effort, progress, attitude, and potential, respectively. The respondents are also allowed to freely express their opinions on what makes feedback motivating and frustrating in general. The results of the study reveal that students regard the feedback to be most motivating when it addresses their learning progress. In contrast, they are most likely to feel frustrated when the feedback is given with a focus on their abilities. The findings of this study shed light on how feedback can bring significant change to students’ level of motivation in language classrooms.
About Yooju Sung:
Yooju Sung is a second-year student of the master program “English-Speaking Cultures: Language, Text, Media” at the University of Bremen. In 2014 she graduated from Soongsil University, Seoul, South Korea with a Bachelor degree of English Language and Literature and English Education. In 2016 she achieved Teacher Certification accredited by the Ministry of Education in South Korea and started her career as an English teacher at Yeon-pyeong high school, Incheon, South Korea. Her research interests lie in the field of language teaching, sociolinguistics, and language translation.