Student engagement with feedback on second language writing : case studies on four English majors in two Chinese universities

Abstract

While empirical research on feedback in second language (L2) writing has significantly contributed to our understanding of issues ranging from written corrective feedback to effective commentary strategies in the past few decades, few studies have looked at the construct of student engagement with feedback on L2 writing. It should be noted that feedback is not an end to itself, since it does not automatically lead to improvement in student writing. In order for feedback to have a positive impact on student writing, students need to engage with the feedback they receive on their writing to unlock its learning potentials. Among a small number of studies on student engagement with feedback on L2 writing, little attention has been given to the process of student engagement whereby students respond to different sources of feedback to make revisions. The investigation of student engagement with feedback has been mostly limited to student perceptions and attitudes, whereas student behavioral, affective and cognitive responses to different sources of feedback are under-explored. Not only does the current research on student engagement with feedback on L2 writing have a narrow focus, but the methodological considerations of researchers are also rather limited as most studies looked at groups of students with experimental design or controlled quasi-experimental treatment. Although these studies have yielded interesting findings, it is essential to note that a lack of detailed description of student engagement in natural settings keeps both researchers and practitioners in L2 writing from understanding how individual students interpret, perceive, and act upon the feedback on their writing in their everyday learning context. Adopting a multiple-case study design that incorporates both quantitative and qualitative methods, this longitudinal study aims to investigate the construct of student engagement with multiple sources of feedback on L2 writing. Four students from a cohort of 385 students at two Chinese universities were selected as the participants of the multi-case study after completing a questionnaire survey about feedback on English writing. The engagement with multiple sources of feedback on L2 writing is systematically studied via the analysis of (1) students’ written assignments and feedback thereof, (2) retrospective interviews, (3) reflective journals, and (4) teaching and learning documents. The findings show that the four participants received up to three sources of feedback including teacher feedback, peer feedback, and computer-generated feedback. It is suggested that they had various perceptions of the role and value of different sources of feedback on their L2 writing, which might be attributed to a multitude of individual and contextual factors. The four participants were found to demonstrate three interrelated dimensions of engagement with feedback: affective, behavioral and cognitive. They were categorized as four types of learners based on the extent to which they affectively, behaviorally and cognitively engaged with different sources of feedback on their L2 writing. The study concludes with major contributions to L2 writing, pedagogical implication, and directions for future research.