Understanding oral corrective feedback in Chinese university EFL classrooms: a qualitative study of cognitive, affective, and relational processes

Feedback and non-feedback in an online Turkish L2 classroom: interactional patterns and teacher perspectives

Exploring teacher feedback and student participation in an Indonesian University EFL classroom: A qualitative study

Teacher feedback plays a central role in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classrooms because it supports students' language development and shapes the quality of classroom interaction. Although previous studies have extensively examined teacher feedback and classroom interaction, these areas have often been investigated separately, resulting in a limited understanding of how different forms of teacher feedback function within naturally occurring classroom discourse. This study investigates the connection between teacher feedback and student participation in an EFL class at an Indonesian university through qualitative discourse analysis utilizing the Initiation-Response-Feedback (IRF) model. Data for this research were gathered from four non-participant classroom observations. The audio recordings were transcribed verbatim and analyzed to examine how teacher feedback functioned within interactional sequences and influenced subsequent student participation. The findings identified three types of teacher feedback: corrective, evaluative, and interactional. Corrective feedback primarily functions as a repair, promoting immediate student uptake and linguistic accuracy. Evaluative feedback acknowledged students' responses but generally closed the interactional sequence. In contrast, interactional feedback functioned as a continuation move by encouraging follow-up responses, extended explanations, and additional interactional turns, thereby fostering sustained verbal participation. These findings suggest that teacher feedback should not only be understood as a pedagogical strategy for improving linguistic accuracy but also as an interactional resource that shapes the development of classroom discourse. This study contributes to EFL classroom discourse research by demonstrating how different feedback practices function within IRF sequences and offers practical implications for lecturers seeking to foster more interactive and participatory learning environments in their classrooms.

UNDERSTANDING ORAL CORRECTIVE FEEDBACK IN EFL SPEAKING CLASSROOMS: EVIDENCE FROM INDONESIAN VOCATIONAL STUDENTS

Oral corrective feedback linking speaking skills to communicative competence as an outcome of undergraduate students is still underexplored. Therefore, this study investigates oral corrective feedback on speaking skills among vocational college students. This study investigated vocational college students’ preferences for oral corrective feedback (OCF) in EFL classes. Using a mixed-methods design, the study involved students in non-English departments at a vocational college. An online questionnaire with Likert-scale scoring was used as Qualitative data to assess preferences for various OCF strategies. In contrast, semi-structured interviews for in-depth exploration are considered quantitative data. Questionnaire data were analysed using descriptive statistics (means and standard deviations), and interview results were thematically analysed. Findings indicated that students generally had positive perceptions of all types of OCF; however, elicitation, explicit correction, and requests for clarification emerged as the most preferred strategies. These forms of feedback were considered effective in improving comprehension of linguistic forms by promoting clarity and active engagement in the correction process. Interview results further revealed that students valued feedback that supported cognitive processing and confidence in speaking. In conclusion, this study highlights the importance of integrating direct and interactive feedback strategies in vocational EFL classrooms to support the development of language and communication skills in the workplace. These studies also offer pedagogical implications for language teachers and instructors to foster more adaptive and student-centred feedback practices.

Feedback literacy in EFL listening: structural associations and reported action strategies among Chinese university students and instructors

Feedback literacy describes the understandings, capacities, and dispositions through which learners recognize the value of feedback, make evaluative judgments, manage emotional responses, and take action. This mixed-methods study examined these four interrelated features in English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) listening among 1,901 Chinese non-English-major undergraduates and explored action strategies reported by students and 18 college English instructors. The student questionnaire comprised 20 researcher-developed items contextualized to EFL listening; 19 indicators were retained after one taking-action item showed a loading below 0.50. Partial least squares structural equation modeling was used to examine theory-informed associations, and student open-ended responses and instructor interviews were analyzed through qualitative content analysis. Internal-consistency and convergent-validity indices were acceptable, but the Fornell–Larcker criterion was not met, indicating substantial overlap among the four domains. Accordingly, structural results are interpreted as exploratory rather than as evidence of distinct constructs or causal progression. The reported paths were positive, with managing affect most closely associated with taking action. Student reports clustered around engaging with feedback, using technology-mediated practice, seeking authentic listening exposure, and self-assessing progress. Instructor reports emphasized specific and actionable feedback, structured reflection and goal setting, peer-supported learning, and technology-enabled follow-up. The findings suggest that feedback use in EFL listening involves intertwined cognitive, affective, and behavioral tendencies, but stronger scale validation, longitudinal designs, and direct observation of feedback uptake are required before causal or developmental claims can be made.

The Effectiveness of Critical Writing Feedback as Pedagogical Responses in English Writing Classrooms: Evidence from Bangladesh Secondary Schools Education

Writing feedback is essential because it helps learners recognize weaknesses, refine ideas, and revise texts purposefully. Yet secondary-school feedback often remains focused on surface errors rather than argument, organization, evidence, and critical engagement. This study investigated how critical writing feedback was implemented and perceived in Ethiopian secondary-school English classrooms and examined its contribution to students’ writing quality, critical engagement, and revision practices. A qualitative descriptive design involved 12 purposively selected English teachers. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and 24 non-participant classroom observations using validated interview and observation guides. The data were analyzed through iterative processes of data reduction, data display, conclusion drawing, and verification. The findings showed that feedback was predominantly teacher-led and concentrated on grammar, spelling, vocabulary, punctuation, and sentence construction. Higher-order feedback on ideas, coherence, argument, evidence, audience, and organization occurred less consistently, although teachers with process-writing experience used more dialogic questions and explanations. Students responded more positively to specific, respectful, and example-based comments than to vague symbols or corrective markings. Peer feedback, self-assessment, conferencing, and multiple-draft revision were limited by large classes, examination pressure, restricted time, uneven proficiency, and teacher workload. Teachers perceived moderate improvement in language accuracy, organization, critical engagement, and revision when feedback was prioritized, explained, and followed by redrafting. However, many revisions remained superficial. The study concludes that critical writing feedback is most productive when it is dialogic, criteria-based, emotionally supportive, and integrated with opportunities for revision. Teacher development and assessment policies should recognize feedback as a learning process rather than final correction.

SCAFFOLDING EFL SPEAKING PRACTICE: UNIVERSITY STUDENTS' ENGAGEMENT WITH GEMINI AI FEEDBACK

The rapid development of generative artificial intelligence in language education offers new opportunities to provide immediate and personalized oral feedback; however, its use as digital scaffolding in interactive communication practice remains underexplored. This study aimed to explore how undergraduate English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students engage with generative AI-mediated feedback as a digital scaffolding mechanism during interactive oral communication practice. This qualitative case study involved three intermediate EFL university students at Institut Pendidikan Indonesia Garut, West Java. Data were collected through multi-session oral interactions and semi-structured retrospective interviews and analyzed using Braun and Clarke's six-phase thematic analysis. Vygotsky's Sociocultural Theory and Schmidt's Noticing Hypothesis served as theoretical foundations for understanding scaffolding processes, linguistic awareness, and students' oral interaction development. The findings revealed that Gemini AI functioned as both an affective and cognitive scaffold during speaking practice. Affectively, interaction with AI created a low-anxiety practice environment with minimal social pressure, thereby enhancing students' willingness to communicate. Cognitively, immediate, clear, and objective feedback helped students recognize both linguistic strengths and errors. Linguistically, real-time feedback promoted explicit awareness of tense inconsistencies and lexical misuse while encouraging students to monitor articulation and regulate speaking rate. Despite a technological constraint involving premature turn-taking caused by the AI misinterpreting cognitive pauses as the end of an utterance, students demonstrated digital agency by employing strategic conversational fillers to maintain interactional continuity. Thus, Gemini AI can serve as a low-pressure practice environment that bridges students' readiness toward real-world oral interaction. ABSTRAK Perkembangan kecerdasan buatan generatif dalam pembelajaran bahasa membuka peluang baru untuk menyediakan umpan balik lisan yang cepat dan personal, tetapi pemanfaatannya sebagai perancah digital dalam praktik komunikasi interaktif masih memerlukan kajian lebih lanjut. Penelitian ini bertujuan mengeksplorasi keterlibatan mahasiswa Program Studi Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris dengan umpan balik berbasis Kecerdasan Buatan (AI) generatif sebagai mekanisme perancah digital (digital scaffolding) selama praktik komunikasi lisan interaktif. Penelitian ini menggunakan studi kasus kualitatif yang melibatkan tiga mahasiswa EFL tingkat menengah di Institut Pendidikan Indonesia Garut, Jawa Barat. Data dikumpulkan melalui interaksi lisan dalam beberapa sesi dan wawancara retrospektif semi-terstruktur, kemudian dianalisis menggunakan analisis tematik enam tahap Braun dan Clarke. Penelitian ini menggunakan Teori Sosiokultural Vygotsky dan Hipotesis Noticing Schmidt sebagai landasan teoretis untuk memahami proses perancahan, kesadaran linguistik, dan perkembangan interaksi lisan mahasiswa. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa Gemini AI berfungsi sebagai perancah afektif dan kognitif dalam praktik berbicara. Secara afektif, interaksi dengan AI menciptakan ruang praktik dengan tingkat kecemasan yang lebih rendah dan minim tekanan sosial sehingga meningkatkan kesiapan mahasiswa untuk berkomunikasi. Secara kognitif, umpan balik yang cepat, jelas, dan objektif membantu mahasiswa mengenali kekuatan serta kesalahan penggunaan bahasa. Secara linguistik, umpan balik waktu nyata mendorong kesadaran terhadap ketidaktepatan tense dan penggunaan leksikal, sekaligus membantu mahasiswa memantau artikulasi dan mengatur kecepatan berbicara. Meskipun terdapat kendala berupa pemotongan giliran bicara akibat AI salah menginterpretasikan jeda berpikir sebagai akhir tuturan, mahasiswa menunjukkan agensi digital melalui penggunaan penanda percakapan strategis. Dengan demikian, Gemini AI dapat berfungsi sebagai ruang latihan bertekanan rendah yang menjembatani kesiapan mahasiswa menuju interaksi lisan di dunia nyata.