卞晓云，任教于中央财经大学外国语学院，研究方向为外语写作教学、教学法、教师认知、教师发展。北京外国语大学文秋芳教授“产出导向法”虚拟专业学习共同体成员，曾参与第八批中国外语教育基金项目。

Teacher written feedback on second language (L2) students’writing

(hereinafter mainly referred to as “teacher feedback” for short) has been a

subject of researchers’interest since the 1980s (Bitchener & Ferris, 2012;

Ferris, 2003). However, research into it has mainly focused on the surface

level errors of student writing and there has only been a small body of research

addressing teacher feedback on non-error issues such as the organization and

content of student writing (Ferris & Hedgcock, 2014; Goldstein, 2001, 2006,

2016). This book directs its attention to non-error feedback and prioritizes

Chinese EFL (English-as-a-Foreign-Language) teachers’ feedback on the

argumentation-related issues in expository writing (hereinafter referred to

as feedback on “expository argumentation” or “EA feedback” for short,

e.g., teacher feedback on supporting evidence). By defining teacher feedback

from the sociocognitive perspective and focusing on EA feedback, this book

reports a study on the process during which teachers construct EA feedback

and students interpret that EA feedback (hereinafter mainly referred to as “the

feedback-and-interpretation process” for short). Reporting this study in this

book aims to extend the empirical, theoretical, and knowledge base of teacher

written feedback.

Specifically, the following three research questions (hereinafter referred to as

“RQ(s)” for short) were addressed in the study this book reports:

● RQ1: When constructing feedback, how does the Chinese EFL teacher

decide what EA concerns to focus on and how to deliver EA feedback?

● RQ2: When processing the teacher’s EA feedback, how does the

Chinese EFL student decide the extent to which it is accepted and

incorporated?

● RQ3: According to the student and the teacher, to what extent does the

process of constructing and interpreting EA feedback help students

improve, if it is considered effective?

This introductory chapter provides an orientation to the study this book

reports. It begins with stating the research problem (1.1). Then, the practical,

theoretical, and empirical rationales for the three RQs are explained (1.2.1–

1.2.3). Following the rationales that motivated the RQs is a description of the

research methodology (1.3), an explanation of the significance of the study

this book reports (1.4), and an outline of the organization of this book and the

composition of chapters (1.5)

 

Table of Contents

List of Tables .......................... Ⅰ

List of Abbreviations...................... Ⅲ

Chapter 1 Introduction ..................... 1

1.0 Introduction: An Overview ................. 1

1.1 Problem Statement .................... 2

1.2 The Rationales Behind the Study ............... 6

1.3 Overview of Research Methodology ............ 12

1.4 Significance of the Study ................. 13

1.5 Organization of the Book ................. 15

Chapter 2 Issues in Teacher Feedback.............. 16

2.0 Introduction ...................... 16

2.1 Development of Teacher Feedback: Questions......... 16

2.2 Theoretical Perspectives on Teacher Feedback and Its Importance . 23

2.3 Research on Teacher Feedback............... 44

2.4 Research Gaps and Emergent Issues............. 68

2.5 Chapter Summary .................... 72

Chapter 3 Research Design .................. 73

3.0 Introduction ...................... 73

3.1 Research Design: The Rationale .............. 73

3.2 Research Design: Defining the Term “Case Study” ....... 74

3.3 Research Design: Key Issues ............... 80

3.4 Chapter Summary .................... 116

Chapter 4 The Construction of Non-error Feedback........ 117

4.0 Introduction ...................... 117

4.1 What the Teacher Brought to the Feedback Process: Contextual

   Information ...................... 118

4.2 The Entire Feedback-Constructing Process the Teacher Went Through:

   Contextual Information.................. 129

4.3 The EA Issues the Teacher Actually Focused on ........ 129

4.4 Teacher Decision-Making: How the Teacher Decided Which EA

   Issues to Focus on.................... 133

4.5 The Feedback Delivery Approaches the Teacher Used ..... 136

4.6 Teacher Decision-Making: How the Teacher Decided on Feedback

   Delivery Approaches................... 144

4.7 Chapter Summary .................... 164

Chapter 5 The Interpretation of Non-error Feedback ....... 168

5.0 Introduction ...................... 168

5.1 What the Students Brought to the Feedback Process: Contextual

   Information ...................... 169

5.2 Student A’s Acceptance and Incorporation of EA Feedback.... 177

5.3 Student B’s Acceptance and Incorporation of EA Feedback ... 184

5.4 Student C’s Acceptance and Incorporation of EA Feedback ... 190

5.5 How the Students’ Acceptance and Incorporation of EA Feedback

   were Decided...................... 194

5.6 Chapter Summary .................... 223

Chapter 6 The Feedback Process: Its Effectiveness and Helpfulness . 227

6.0 Introduction ...................... 227

6.1 Effectiveness of the Feedback Process ............ 227

6.2 Helpfulness of the Feedback Process: Student Changes ..... 234

6.3 More Helpfulness of Non-error Feedback .......... 235

6.4 Chapter Summary .................... 242

6.5 Summary of All Findings ................. 243

Chapter 7 Discussion and Conclusion .............. 245

7.0 Introduction ...................... 245

7.1 Aims and Methodology of the Study ............ 245

7.2 Summary of Key Findings ................ 246

7.3 Contributions of the Findings ............... 249

7.4 Limitations and Future/Further Research ........... 302

7.5 Final Remarks ..................... 306

References .......................... 308

Appendices.......................... 334

Appendix A: Teacher Background Interview Guide ......... 334

Appendix B: Student Background Interview Guide ......... 336

Appendix C: Think-Aloud Protocol in the Training Session...... 338

Appendix D: Teacher Retrospective and Ongoing Interviews Guide .. 340

Appendix E: Student Retrospective and Ongoing Interviews Guide .. 342

V

Appendix F: Teacher/Student Final Interview Guide ........ 344

Appendix G: Teacher Think-Aloud Data Codebook ......... 346

Appendix H: Student Think-Aloud Data Codebook ......... 350

Appendix I: Student Writing with Teacher Comments ........ 357

Appendix J: Student Writing with Teacher Comments and Student-Written

Notes ......................... 360

Appendix K: Writing Prompts ................. 364