The Effects of Face-to-Face vs. Digital Feedback in an EFL Writing Context: Comparison of Two Turkish State Universities

Year 2024, Volume: 24 Issue: 1, 389 - 411, 15.03.2024

Haticetül Kübra Er , Emel Küçükali

https://doi.org/10.17240/aibuefd.2024..-1340007

Abstract

The current research aims to explore the effects of Face to Face vs. Digital/Written Feedback on students' writing skills in an EFL Context; The participants are university students (N:38) from two state Turkish universities, at the School of Foreign Languages (Preparatory School) with a target language level of B2. The quantitative data was collected from the pre-test and post-test scores of opinion essay writings. The experimental group was exposed to face-to-face/oral feedback of hard copy papers, while the comparison group was exposed to digital/written feedback of soft copy papers. The qualitative data was collected from written interviews eliciting students’ perceptions of face-to-face and digital feedback. Quantitative data was analyzed through The Mann-Whitney U test and Wilcoxon S-R test due to non-normal data distribution. The qualitative data was analyzed via Content Analysis by using CLAN (Computerized Language Analysis) Program. The findings indicated that both digital and face-to-face feedback had a significantly positive effect on students’ writing skills, however, face-to-face feedback was significantly more effective than digital feedback. The interview findings were in line with the quantitative findings and revealed that Face to face feedback was found more effective than digital feedback because it provides communication, negotiation, immediate clarification and a better learning context for students.

Keywords

EFL Writing, Face-to-face Feedback, Digital Feedback

EFL Yazma Bağlamında Yüz Yüze ve Dijital Geribildirimin Etkileri: İki Türk Devlet Üniversitesinin Karşılaştırılması

Abstract

Mevcut araştırma, yüz yüze ve dijital/yazılı geri bildirimin öğrencilerin İngilizceyi yabancı dil olarak öğrenme bağlamında yazma becerileri üzerindeki etkilerini araştırmayı amaçlamaktadır; Katılımcılar Türkiye'deki iki devlet üniversitesinden Yabancı Diller Yüksekokulu'nda (Hazırlık Okulu) hedef dil seviyesi B2 olan üniversite öğrencileridir (n:38). Nicel veriler, ‘Opinion Essay’ yazılarının ön test ve son test puanlarından toplanmıştır. Deney grubu, basılı kağıtların yüz yüze/sözlü geri bildirimine maruz kalırken, karşılaştırma grubu, elektronik kopya kağıtların dijital/yazılı geri bildirimine maruz bırakıldı. Nitel veriler, öğrencilerin yüz yüze ve dijital geri bildirim algılarını ortaya çıkaran yazılı görüşmelerden toplanmıştır. Nicel veriler, verilerin normal dağılmaması nedeniyle Mann-Whitney U testi ve Wilcoxon S-R testi ile analiz edildi. Nitel veriler, CLAN (Computerized Language Analysis) Programı kullanılarak İçerik Analizi yoluyla çözümlenmiştir. Bulgular hem dijital hem de yüz yüze geri bildirimin öğrencilerin yazma becerileri üzerinde önemli ölçüde olumlu bir etkiye sahip olduğunu, ancak yüz yüze geri bildirimin dijital geri bildirimden önemli ölçüde daha etkili olduğunu göstermiştir. Görüşme bulguları, nicel bulgularla uyumluydu ve yüz yüze geri bildirimin, öğrenciler için iletişim, müzakere, anında açıklama ve daha iyi bir öğrenme bağlamı sağladığı için dijital geri bildirimden daha etkili bulunduğunu ortaya çıkardı.

Keywords

EFL Yazma, Yüz yüze Geri bildirim, Dijital Geri bildirim

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