Do students’ oral corrective feedback beliefs matter to teachers?

Abstract

This study explores the impact of students’ beliefs on teachers’ beliefs regarding oral corrective feedback through a targeted professional development programme. The programme comprised a one-day seminar during which eleven high-school EFL teachers were presented with and discussed the findings of a study of their students’ feedback beliefs, and follow-up experiential learning activities through reflective practice for eight weeks. Data were collected from multiple sources over eighteen weeks. The findings revealed that the teachers did not explicitly acknowledge the influence of their students’ beliefs, but the comments in the follow-up interviews and written reflections showed considerable changes in their views about the workability of immediate feedback, the appropriate choices of feedback types, and the interaction among contextual factors, learner factors, feedback types, and error types. These changes were in the direction of their students’ feedback preferences, which were also aligned with research recommendations. Implications for teacher professional development are discussed.