This study investigated the effects of direct and indirect
feedback strategies on English students essay writing performance at two
colleges of education in Zamfara State, Nigeria. The aim of this study was to
investigate students writing performance taught by direct and indirect feedback
strategies at Colleges of Education in Zamfara State. Some of the objectives
were to assess the difference in the mean of content, organization, expression
and mechanical accuracy performance
scores of students taught writing skill by direct feedback and indirect
feedback strategies at the Colleges. The Research design adopted for this study
was quasi experimental design. The
population of the study is 431 and this consisted of NCE II English students of
two Colleges of Education. A total of 60 students were selected 30 from each
college through multi stage sampling technique. The students were divided into
Experimental Group 1 and 2. Instrument
for data collection was a narrative writing topic. The WAEC and NECO scoring
procedure was adopted on students‟ essays. Some of the findings of this study
were that a significant difference was found in mechanical accuracy and whole
writing performances of students taught writing by direct feedback than those
taught by indirect feedback at the Colleges. The study concluded that students
given direct feedback performed better than those given indirect feedback on
the four components of writing and the overall writing performance. Therefore
the study recommended that direct and indirect feedback strategies should be
given to students on content and organization component of writing. Similarly,
direct feedback should be given to the students on expression, mechanical
accuracy and overall writing performance.
TABLE
OF CONTENTS
Title Page i
Declaration ii
Certification iii
Dedication iv
Acknowledgements v
Abstract vii
Table of Contents viii
List of Tables
and Figures xii
Definition of
Operational Terms xiv
Abbreviations xv
CHAPTER
ONE: INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background
to the Study 1
1.2 Statement
of the Problem 4
1.3 Aim
and Objectives of the Study 5
1.4 Research
Questions 6
1.5 Research Hypotheses
7
1.6 Significance
of the Study 8
1.7 Scope and Delimitation of the Study 10
CHAPTER
TWO: REVIEW OF LITERATURE
2.1 Conceptual
Definitions of Essay Writing 11
2.1.1 Essay Writing 12
2.1.2 Difficulties of English as Second Language
(L2) Writing 15
2.1.3 Teaching English as Second Language (L2)
Writing 16
2.1.4 Error Correction Feedback in Writing 19
2.1.5 Feedback and Essay Writing Performance 21
2.1.6 Problems and Prospects of Feedback 25
2.2 Types of Written Corrective Feedback 28
2.2.1. Positive or Negative Feedback 28
2.2.2 Focused and Unfocused Corrective Feedback 29
2.2.3 Recasts, Elicitation and Metalinguistic
Feedback 30
2.2.4 Peer Feedback 31
2.2.5 Computer-Mediated Feedback 32
2.2.6 Direct and Indirect Written Corrective
Feedback 32
2.3
Previous Empirical Studies 33
2.4
Theoretical Framework 57
CHAPTER
THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.1 Research Design 60
3.2 Population of the Study 61
3.3 Sample and Sampling Procedure 61
3.4 Instrumentation
62
3.5
Scoring Procedure 62
3.6 Validity of the Instruments 64
3.7 Reliability of the Instruments 64
3.8 Procedure for Data Collection 64
3.8.1
Treatment Procedure 65
3.9 Data
Analytical Techniques 67
CHAPTER
FOUR: DATA PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION
4.1 Analysis
of Pre Test and Post Test Scores 68
4.2
Answering Research Questions 69
4.3 Null
Hypotheses Testing 74
4.3.1 Null Hypothesis One 74
4.3.2 Null Hypothesis Two 76
4.3.3 Null Hypothesis Three 77
4.3.4 Null Hypothesis Four 79
4.3.5 Null Hypothesis Five 80
4.4 Findings of the Study 82
4.6
Discussion of the Findings 83
CHAPTER
FIVE: SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1 Summary 89
5.2 Conclusion
90
5.3 Recommendations 91
5.4 Suggestions for Further Studies 92
References 93
LIST OF APPENDICES
Appendix
A 104
Appendix
B 105
Appendix
C 114
Appendix
D 116
Appendix
E 118
Table 1: Gains from Literature Review 54
Table
2.1: Students‟ Population 61
Table
2.2: Sample Size of the Study 62
Table
2.3: Assessment Guide 63
Table 4.1: Analysis of Pre Test and Post Test Scores 69
Table 4.2:
Mean Content Performance Scores of Students Taught Writing by Feedback and Indirect Feedback 73
Table 4.3:
Mean Organization Performance Scores of Students Taught Writing by Direct Feedback and Indirect Feedback 73
Table 4.4:
Mean Expression Performance Scores of Students Taught Writing by Direct Feedback and Indirect Feedback 74
Table 4.5: Mean
Mechanical Accuracy Performance Scores of Students Taught Writing by Direct Feedback
and Indirect Feedback 75
Table 4.6 Mean
Writing Performance Scores of Students Taught Writing by Direct Feedback
and Indirect Feedback 76
Table 4.7 Independent Samples t-Test on Content
Performance Scores of students taught writing by Direct Feedback and Indirect Feedback 77
Table 4.8 Independent Samples t-Test on Organization
Performance Scores of Students Taught Writing by Direct Feedback and indirect feedback 78
Table 4.9 Independent
Samples t-Test on Expression Performance Scores of Students Taught Writing by Direct Feedback and
Indirect Feedback 79
Table 4.10 Independent Samples
t-Test on Mechanical Accuracy Performance Scores of Students Taught Writing by Direct
Feedback and Indirect Feedback 80
Table 4.11 Independent Samples t-Test on
Writing Performance Scores of Students Taught Writing by Direct Feedback and
Indirect feedback 81
LIST OF FIGURES
Fig 1: Diagrammatical Representation of the
Theory 58
Fig 2:
Diagrammatical Representation of Theoretical Framework of the Study 59
DEFINITION OF OPERATIONAL TERMS
Components
of writing: are essential parts that make up essay writing which are mostly
considered in assessing students‟ writing.
Content: Covers development of points in line with the given topic and specified
length.
Direct
corrective feedback: the teacher writes the correct linguistic form above a
student‟s writing error.
Essay
writing: is a short piece of writing dealing with a single subject in the
form of narrative, descriptive, argumentative or expository. `
Expression: Is
the grammatical accuracy in essay writing.
Feedback
strategies: is a corrective information given by teacher to students in
relation to a particular writing task. Is a strategy synonymous to information.
First
draft: is the first essay writing
attempt by a student.
Indirect
corrective feedback: the teacher indicates the location of an error by
underlining or encircling without providing the correct linguistic form.
Mechanical accuracy:
is punctuation and spellings, amalgamation or splitting of words.
Narrative essay
writing: is the type of essay that requires narration of past events.
Organization: Is the writer's ability to develop points
logically and sequentially
Second
draft: is the second essay writing
attempt by a student after teacher's corrective feedback.
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
CF Corrective
Feedback
ESL
English as a Second Language
TWCF
Teacher Written Corrective Feedback
L2 Second Language
EFL
English as a Foreign Language
SLA
Second Language Acquisition
NCE
Nigeria Certificate in Education
C
Content
E
Expression
MA
Mechanical Accuracy
W Writing
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background
to the Study
The process of teaching and learning
English as a second language (ESL) requires using different techniques to the
teaching of language skills. These skills are listening, speaking, reading and
writing. This study focuses on writing which is a productive skill in language
learning. Writing in the context of this study refers to acquisition of skills
that would improve the writing performance of students of English. Writing
performance means the ability of the students to communicate effectively in
different forms of writing tasks such as letter writing, essay writing, report
writing and writing article for publication. Writing is not simply a matter of
choosing words to convey meaning, it also requires systematic acquisition of
some basic skills that would enable students communicate their ideas
effectively.
Writing
consists of three essential parts which are introduction, body and conclusion.
Each part is as important as the other because they perform specific functions
towards organization of thoughts (Ekwueme-Ugwu, Adeniyi & Olaluwoye,
2017:70).
However, there are four areas of
focus while assessing students‟ writing tasks. These are content, organisation,
expression and mechanical accuracy (Ohakwe, 2018). Content in the context of
this study refers to the ability of the writer to develop points in line with
the given topic and specified length. Organisation in this study means the
writer‟s ability to present points logically and sequentially. On the other
hand, Expression means grammatical accuracy in writing. Mechanical accuracy is
the writer‟s ability to use punctuation marks, correct spellings and proper
tenses.
It is
appropriate at this juncture to define the following terms: direct and indirect
feedback strategies and essay writing as a task. Feedback can be defined from
various perspectives. Gezegin (2015) defines feedback as information that is
given to the learner about his or her performance of learning task usually with
the objective of improving this performance. Hattie & Timperly (2007)
define feedback as information provided by an agent with respect to one‟s
performance or understanding. Feedback in this study refers to the corrective
information given by a teacher to students or given by the students themselves
relating to a particular writing task. The purpose of feedback in any
teaching/learning situation is to assist the learners to perform better in the
next learning activity. However, feedback could be effective when learners
understand what it means and how to respond to it. Hence teachers‟ feedback
could be for reward or corrective purposes. Feedback could be provided directly
or indirectly. Direct feedback is a situation whereby the teacher writes the
correct linguistic form above a student‟s writing errors. Indirect feedback on the other hand is when
the teacher indicates the location of an error by underlining or encircling
without providing the correct linguistic form. However, feedback encompasses
the consequences of performance. Hattie & Timperley (2007:81) explained
further that a teacher or parent can provide corrective information or
encouragement. Likewise, a peer and a book can provide information to clarify
ideas; a learner could also check the answer himself to the correctness of a
response.
Essay
writing performance means the ability of the students to compose a piece of
writing on a given topic with relevant content and organization, good
expression and correct use of mechanical accuracy. Essay writing could be in
form of narrative, descriptive, argumentative and expository.
In the Nigerian educational system
learners of ESL are introduced to writing skills right from primary education
level. As the students progress into secondary education, they are also exposed
to different forms of writing. In tertiary educational institutions such as
Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, writing is regarded as product-oriented whereby
teachers assigned topics for students to make choices and write their first
draft. The teachers will mark the draft and return the scripts to the students
(Kamal cited in Yahaya, 2018). At this stage the forms of feedback given to the
students could be helpful in the next writing tasks.
It was based on the need for
effective writing, that in Colleges of Education, English students at Nigeria
Certificate in Education (NCE) level are exposed to more advanced forms of
writing. But, experience and observations on the writing performance of NCE
English graduates suggest that teaching of Composition and
Summary Writing courses is not
enough. It has not adequately exposed the NCE teacher trainees in acquiring the
necessary skills for handling writing tasks in their future career. Hence, the
writing performance of these students is still worrisome in the society. For
instance, a study by Yahaya (2018) established that organization in students‟
essay writing at Colleges of Education is apparently poor. It is important
therefore, to conduct further study to investigate how feedback strategies can
enhance essay writing by these college students, and to encourage ESL teachers,
particularly in Nigeria, to give attention to this approach. Hence, this study
investigated the effects of direct and indirect feedback strategies for
teaching essay writing to NCE English students in terms of content,
organization, expression and mechanical accuracy. The NCE English students
involved in the study are from two Colleges of Education in Zamfara State,
Nigeria. These Colleges of Education are Federal College of Education
(Technical), Gusau and College of Education, Maru. The students from these
Colleges are teacher trainees who are expected to acquire and use pedagogical
skills for proper teaching and learning of ESL at basic education level in
Nigeria. The selection of these Colleges was based on their common
characteristics in terms of educational environment and students‟
socio-cultural backgrounds. The students of English in the two Colleges of Education were used
as subjects of the study.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
Students of English at NCE level
in Nigeria are expected to acquire necessary skills in order to communicate
effectively in all forms of compositions. Such forms include letter and essay
writing, articles for publication and autobiography. However, Akano (2005)
observed that for over three decades the performance of students in essay and
letter writing has been consistently discouraging right from secondary schools.
Hence, developing good skills for effective writing is invaluable for the
students as they progress into future academic writing challenges.
In fact, the researcher‟s
experience and observations have shown that the writing performance of NCE
students of English is below expectations. This low performance could be due to
lack of acquiring the necessary writing skills in terms of content,
organization, expression and mechanical accuracy. The lack of acquisition of
necessary writing skills by these students of English could result into
continuous low writing performance even after their graduation at NCE level.
Consequently, this situation could have negative effect on their job
performance as teachers at basic education level.
From the available literature it
has been noted that different feedback strategies have been used to enhance
students‟ acquisition of language skills at various levels of education. Hence,
the use of direct and indirect feedback strategies for enhancing students‟
writing performance has not been given attention by researchers. Moreover, in
the Nigerian context these major components for evaluating students‟ writing
are not given considerable attention. This situation may also leads to
students‟ poor writing performance among students of English in Colleges of
Education. It is against this background that this study seeks to investigate
the effects of direct and indirect feedback strategies on NCE students of
English writing performance at two colleges of education in Zamfara State,
Nigeria.
1.3
Aim and Objectives of the Study
The aim of this study was to
investigate the performance differences of students taught essay writing
through direct or indirect feedback strategies at Colleges of Education in
Zamfara State. The specific objectives of the study were to
1. assess the difference in the mean of content performance scores
of students taught writing skill using direct feedback strategy and those given
indirect feedback strategy at Colleges of Education in Zamfara State.
2. assess the difference in the mean of organization performance
scores of students taught writing skill using direct feedback strategy and
those given indirect feedback strategy at Colleges of Education in Zamfara
State.
3. analyze the difference in the mean of expression performance
scores of students taught writing skill using direct feedback strategy and
those given indirect feedback strategy at Colleges of Education in Zamfara
State.
4. analyze the difference in the mean of mechanical accuracy
performance scores of students taught writing skill using direct feedback
strategy and those given indirect feedback strategy at Colleges of Education in
Zamfara State.
5.
analyze the difference in
the mean of the overall writing performance scores of students taught writing using
direct feedback strategy and those given indirect feedback strategy at Colleges
of Education in Zamfara State.
1.4 Research Questions
The following research questions were formed for
verifying feedback strategies for this study:
1. what is the difference in the mean of content performance scores
of students taught writing skill using direct feedback strategy and those given
indirect feedback strategy at Colleges of Education in Zamfara State.
2. What is the difference in the mean of organization performance
scores of students taught writing skill using direct feedback strategy and
those given indirect feedback strategy at Colleges of Education in Zamfara
State.
3. What is the difference in the mean of expression performance
scores of students taught writing skill using direct feedback strategy and
those given indirect feedback strategy at Colleges of Education in Zamfara
State.
4. What the difference in
the mean of mechanical accuracy performance scores of students taught writing
skill using direct feedback strategy and those given indirect feedback strategy
at Colleges of Education in Zamfara State.
5. What is the difference in the mean of the overall writing
performance scores of students taught writing using direct feedback strategy
and those given indirect feedback strategy at Colleges of Education in Zamfara
State.
1.5 Research Hypotheses
Five hypotheses were formulated as follows:
|
HO1
There is no significant difference in the mean scores of content
performance of
|
|
|
students taught
writing by direct feedback strategy and those given indirect
|
|
|
feedback strategy at
Colleges of Education in Zamfara State.
|
|
HO2
|
There is no significant difference in the mean scores of
organization
|
|
|
performance of students taught writing by direct feedback
strategy and
|
|
|
those given indirect feedback strategy at Colleges of
Education in Zamfara
|
|
|
State.
|
|
HO3
|
There is no significant difference in the mean scores of
expression
|
|
|
performance of students taught writing by direct feedback
strategy and
|
|
|
those given indirect feedback strategy at Colleges of
Education in Zamfara
|
|
|
State.
|
|
HO4
|
There is no significant difference in the mean scores of
mechanical accuracy
|
|
|
performance of students taught writing by direct feedback
strategy and
|
those
given indirect feedback strategy at Colleges of Education in Zamfara
State.
HO5
There is no significant difference in the mean scores of the overall
writing performance of students taught writing by direct feedback strategy and
those given indirect feedback strategy at colleges of education in Zamfara
State.
1.6 Significance
of the Study
This research work seeks to compare the effect of
direct and indirect feedback strategies on students of English writing
performance in Colleges of Education in Zamfara State. The study therefore
would have both practical and theoretical significance.
The findings of this study would be useful to
several stake holders in language teaching. These are English language teacher
educators, educational administrators, NCE curriculum planners and education
policy makers, pre-service and in-service teachers of English and researchers.
Specifically the findings of the study would serve as guide to English language
teacher educators on how best to use corrective feedback on students‟ writing.
Similarly, it would identify the corrective feedback that would best assist
students in correcting their future responses for better performance in
writing. It would also serve as a model for the teacher trainees to utilize the
knowledge for the improvement of their teaching career.
The research work would be useful to the Ministry of
Education and Zamfara State Universal Basic Education Board (ZSUBEB) who absorb
most of the teacher trainees after their studies. The results of this study
would also be useful to National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE) in
the pursuance of its mandate which is concerned with production of quality
teacher education in Nigeria. The findings would also be of benefit to quality
assurance unit of teacher training institutions whose major responsibility is
to ensure qualitative teaching and learning.
It is also hoped that researchers and teachers of
other disciplines would benefit immensely from this study. This is because the
findings are expected to make useful contribution to the body of literature on
teaching strategies and the teaching of English as a second language in particular.
In other words, the findings of the study would be disseminated for wider use
through conferences, seminars, workshops and publications of articles in
professional journals. This research work would also be of benefit to
researchers who want to investigate further on corrective feedback.
Theoretically, this study adopted Input Hypothesis
also known as Monitor Model founded by Krashen (1986) and Noticing Hypothesis
founded by Schimidt (1990). The study justified the relevance of Input
Hypothesis in the sense that second language learners need input beyond their
current writing performance. The study also justified the relevance of Noticing
Hypothesis in language teaching and learning strategies. This theory is concerned
with the notion that learners cannot learn the grammatical features of a
language unless they notice them. Noticing alone cannot be sufficient rather a
starting point for acquisition. Therefore the findings of the present study
have further validated previous studies that were hinged on Input Hypothesis
and Noticing Hypothesis. Hence, other researchers and teacher educators on
language education would continue to adopt the principles of Input and Noticing
Hypothesis for effective teaching and acquisition of writing skills to second
language learners.
1.7 Scope
and Delimitation of the Study
This study was carried out in two Colleges of
Education in Zamfara State, North-West Nigeria. These Colleges are Federal
College of Education (Technical),Gusau and College of Education Maru. The study
was on the two colleges of Education based on their closer affinity and their
common characteristics in terms of educational environment and socio-cultural
background. It was delimited to NCE II
students of ESL that offer Composition and Summary Writing courses. This is
because NCE I students are new into the system and NCE III are engaged with
teaching practice and research projects. The study was also delimited to Direct
and Indirect feedback strategies on students‟ performance in essay writing. The
study was specifically concerned with error correction on four components of
essay writing; content, organization, expression and mechanical accuracy. The
study was also delimited to two theories, Krashen‟s (1986) Input Hypothesis and
Schimidt (1990) Noticing Hypothesis.
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