Text quality and changing perceptions of teacher feedback and affective-motivational variables: a study with secondary EFL students

Abstract

Introduction: Feedback can support students’ writing and has the potential to enhance writing motivation and reduce writing anxiety. However, for feedback to fulfill its potential, it has to be accepted by students and perceived as motivating. Methods: In this study, we investigate changes in less proficient English as a foreign language (EFL) students’ (N = 53) writing motivation and affect, as well as their perceptions of teacher feedback and how these relate to students’ argumentative text quality. Measurements were taken before EFL teachers attended a professional learning intervention on feedback (T1) and 8 months later (T2). Results: From T1 to T2, students felt that general feedback quality improved, their writing self-efficacy increased, and their writing anxiety decreased. However, no significant changes in text quality could be observed between T1 and T2, and students continued to struggle with creating structure and coherence in their texts. Regression analyses revealed that feedback perceptions and affective-motivational variables did not predict students’ text quality at T1. Yet at T2, students’ perception of general feedback quality and the effect of feedback on writing motivation were significant predictors of text quality; self-efficacy and writing anxiety were not. Discussion: Our results suggest that more attention needs to be paid to feedback’s motivational impact, especially among less proficient EFL writers.