Examining the impact of video feedback as a teacher feedback method in English as a Second Language learners’ paragraph writing

Abstract

Feedback provision is one of the productive ways of realizing learner performance in English as a Second Language (ESL) context. However, there is a continuing dispute over the efficacy of feedback. Even though teacher written feedback is the most frequently used teacher feedback form, studies have determined that it is disparaging for certain causes. As the link between English teaching and learning processes and technology reinforces, numerous techniques have been evolved in the area of language teaching one of which is giving video feedback to ESL learners’ writings. Even though studies have been carried out to explore the potency of diverse feedback methods for writing, considering the dearth of research in exploring the pedagogical and practical appropriateness of video feedback for ESL writings in Sri Lanka, the present study intends to examine the impact of video feedback as a teacher feedback method in ESL learners’ paragraph writing. Hence, the study adopted a true experimental research design. The empirical data for the study was gathered through the comparison of 20 first year undergraduates’ multiple drafts of writing paragraphs and a questionnaire administered at the end of the study to the experimental group of the Department of Industrial Management at University of Kelaniya on a random sampling method. Over a five-week period, control and experimental groups were provided with written feedback and video feedback respectively. The gathered quantitative and qualitative data were analyzed using SPSS statistics and thematic analysis accordingly. The findings revealed that video feedback facilitated learners to incorporate higher level of corrections into their subsequent drafts than its written counterpart. In accordance with the descriptive analyses, majority of the participants believe that video feedback helps to improve writing skills, to pay more attention to instructor’s comments, to get a better understanding of how to revise the writing, to spend more time reviewing the individualized screencast feedback and to understand issues related to the content and language of the writing. In addition, majority of the participants stated that video feedback is constructive, feels more conversational and interactive and is an accessible, user-friendly method and it allows to build a sense of closeness with the instructor. Despite the positive viewpoints, technical difficulties, initial anxiety and being a costly process were identified as the potential drawbacks of the approach. Subsequently, the findings of this study revealed that an advanced and a novel form of technology integrated feedback is essential in every ESL learning environment as most learners are pragmatic with the practice of the video feedback as an eligible practice in ESL writing. The findings retrieved from this study convey that video feedback due to its positive features to eliminate the drawbacks of teacher written feedback and ability to create a technology-based atmosphere, can be used as an alternative for teacher written feedback and is a pertinent practice in ESL writing. Hence, further research is needed to perceive the viability of video feedback for large learner cohorts.