Students’ Voice on the NET Formative Writing Feedback in Emergency Remote Teaching during the COVID-19 Period

Abstract

This study explored students voice on the value of the NET (native English teacher) feedback in EFL students’ collaborative essay writing. The NET feedback included video feedback and e-written feedback. A total of 43 EFL students volunteered to participate in this study. They completed two collaborative essays in the international EFL writing project in the COVID-19 emergency remote teaching semester. Students’ final reflections on the NET feedback were analyzed using content analysis to obtain the results. The findings showed that both video and e-written feedback was beneficial for all the participants in their essay writing improvement. The students in the video feedback group reported that their Chinglish expressions, lack of reading authentic materials, and run-on sentences were top 3 concerns in the NET feedback. The students in the e-written feedback group reported that grammar error, run-on sentences, and improving academic writing were top 3 concerns in the NET feedback. These findings help language teachers understand different feedback designs and consider the pros and cons of different feedback modes. The pedagogical implications of using formative feedback during the writing process in EFL teaching are provided.