How to Keep Feedback Effective: Immediate Online Response
How to Keep Feedback Effective: Immediate Online Response

Summary/Abstract: Feedback is essential to any kind of learning, but its instrumental role in facilitating progress seems to be even more important in the language class. Teachers provide feedback with the purpose of helping the students either to improve specific points (pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, writing, etc.) or to plan their own learning. The teachers’ ability to offer effective feedback goes hand in hand with the encouragement of autonomous learning and the individualization of the teaching/learning process. Feedback is seen as a powerful teaching tool, but what really matters from the students’ perspective is that it should become an equally powerful learning tool. For this to happen, feedback needs to be accepted and acted upon. Whether the feedback recipients will feel motivated to improve or discouraged and disengaged from the learning process will depend not only on what feedback is given but on how it is delivered as well. This paper presents the findings of a questionnaire administered to two categories of students, Romanian students learning English and foreign students learning Romanian. The design of the questionnaire has taken into account the well-known fact that using the internet and mobile devices has become a second nature with the young generations. Consequently, the respondents have been asked to express their opinions and preferences regarding online feedback versus the traditional face-to-face one, which they receive on their performance in activities developing oral communication skills. The most challenging aspect of the research has been offering students a viable online alternative for immediate feedback, which is considered by the two teachers who have carried out the survey more effective than delayed feedback where oral activities are concerned.

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