THE ROLE OF FEEDBACK AS A TOOL TO IMPROVE STUDENTS’ PERFORMANCE IN ENGLISH SECOND LANGUAGE (ELS) WRITING IN SOUTH AFRICA: KEY PRINCIPLES AND STRATEGIES
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Dr Mabila Thembinkosi
John Mamokhere
The existing literature in English as a Second Language (ESL) writing education has explored the role of feedback but often lacks a comprehensive examination of the specific characteristics of feedback that lead to meaningful improvements in student performance. While studies have addressed feedback timing, the format of feedback, and its content separately, there is a notable research gap in synthesizing these aspects to provide a holistic view of effective feedback practices in ESL writing contexts. Furthermore, the impact of technology and peer feedback on ESL writing remains an underexplored area in the literature. Effective feedback plays a pivotal role in enhancing students' performance in ESL writing. This research explores the nature of feedback in ESL writing contexts to identify the specific types of feedback that yield the most significant improvements in students' writing skills. Methodologically, this study is drawn upon a comprehensive review of existing literature. To understand the nature of feedback that improves students’ performance in ELS writing, the authors used a thematic content analysis approach to analyse existing literature from different datasets. The study adopted a Social Cognitive Theory (SCT), developed by Albert Bandura in 1986. The SCT provides a valuable framework for understanding how individuals learn and acquire new skills, including language skills like ESL writing. SCT emphasizes the role of social interaction, observational learning, and self-regulation. This study found that there is a lack of clarity in feedback. The feedback provided to students is often vague or general comments that fail to offer specific guidance for improvement. Therefore, this study recommends providing clear and targeted feedback. This can be done by ensuring that feedback is specific, clear, and directly related to areas that need improvement, offering actionable guidance.
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