The use of written feedback and conferencing in improving students' writing

Abstract

The use of written feedback and conferencing are crucial in the learning of English as a second language. If teachers and students can manipulate well the use of written feedback and conferencing, both parties will benefit. This research looks at the types of feedback given to ESL students and to investigate what are the students' responses towards the use of written feedback and conferencing session in the writing class. It also provides guidelines for teachers on how to give appropriate feedback and how to handle the conferencing session. The six respondents chosen for this research are students whose proficiency was below average in ESL writing. In this research, the researcher used the Writing Task, Questionnaire and Interview Questions to gain data from the respondents. The findings of this research show that the respondents gave positive responses towards the use of written feedback and conferencing session in ESL writing. The two types of feedback given to the respondents were feedback on content and feedback on form