LEARNERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF TEACHER WRITTEN FEEDBACK COMMENTARY IN AN ESL WRITING CLASSROOM

The purpose of the current study is to examine Arab learners’ perceptions of teacher written feedback commentary in an ESL writing classroom. This study used a Think-Aloud Protocol (TAP) to examine learners’ perceptions of teacher WCF comments, involving fifteen native Arabic speaking ESL learners (11 male, 4 female) in three TAP interviews. The results of this study reveal that participants: 1) had a very high level of interest in teacher comments, 2) appreciated feedback that praised their good work, 3) complained about marginal comments that were not linked to specific errors with no line or arrow, 4) misinterpreted some teacher feedback comments.

Keywords: Identity, Investment, feedback commentary, praise