Multiple-Draft/Multiple-Party Feedback Practices in an EFL Tertiary Writing Course: Teachers’ and Students’ Perspectives

Abstract

Based on various sources of data collection for a qualitative research project, the study reported in this paper set out to examine four teachers’ and sixteen students’ perceptions of a multiple-draft/multiple-party feedback approach to English as a Foreign Language (EFL) student writing. This approach had been implemented as a trial in a tertiary setting in Vietnam. Three sources of feedback at three phases were provided. These included (1) peer/group written and oral feedback on the students’ first drafts, (2) a teaching assistant’s written and oral feedback on their second drafts and (3) the lecturer’s written feedback on their final drafts. Content analysis of the data revealed that all participants valued this multiple feedback approach because of its practicality and the quality of the feedback which participants believed contributed to writing improvement. Based on the participants’ reactions, the study highlights the potential of multiple-draft/multiple-party feedback practices for improving English language writing in a tertiary context.