Question

How do you provide quality feedback in the ESL classroom?

Answer 1

Feedback helps to bridge the gap between a student’s abilities and potential. Feedback should be used to encourage students to work hard and indicate what they need to focus on when they are having difficulty. Specifically feedback helps to:

• Create a Positive Classroom environment
• Accelerate learning
• Set attainable goals

Generally Speaking, Feedback often takes one of three forms: verbal, visual, or written.

Verbal Feedback Strategies

This is particularly great in classroom activities. This allows us to give immediate critique. By using Verbal Feedback strategies we let students know how they are doing and how there can be a smooth transition from one section to another. It is important to keep our reactions/feedback positive. If the students are giving incorrect answers, it is better to tell them to try again or reconsider their answers instead of directly telling them that they are incorrect. Short expressions such as “Great!” or “Good job!” can be used to praise students for correct answers. After completion of one section or chapter, you will move to next section. Before introducing the next chapter or section, it is always effective to summarize the last chapter or section and how students did in the last section. This will reinforce the fact that students should keep up the good work. You can even highlight a specific skill that a student has executed very well. Giving specific, real-time pointers allows students to immediately enact your guidance, making it memorable and effective.

Visual Feedback

Visual feedback can be of two forms. The first is any expression or gesture that we use with or without verbal feedback that indicates how students are doing in class. A smile or thumbs up would be one form of visual feedback. We can prompt students to reconsider their answers and self correct using visual feedback. Another form of visual feedback can accompany written evaluations. This may take the form of stickers, stamps, or even charts that reflect student accomplishments. We may choose to have a display in the classroom that visually represents how well the class is doing in reaching their goals so that students can see how much progress they have made and stay motivated.

Written Feedback

We as Teachers often have the opportunity to give students written feedback on homework assignments, on exams, and at the end of each term. These are great opportunities to point out what students did well and what areas they still need to work on. We should provide students with some suggestions of what they could do to improve.