Language Centres at a Crossroads

Feedback plays an essential role in student learning. It is relatively easy to provide learners with feedback in a face-to-face teaching setting. When they are at a distance, we need to reconsider the delivery of feedback, aiming to give learners high quality, timely and engaging feedback. Researches (Mahoney, 2019) have shown the advantages of using screencast feedback from both teacher and student observation which make it a good vehicle for delivering feedback to learners at a distance.

In this small-scale study, targeted learners studied Mandarin at equivalent CEFR B1 level and they received screencast feedback on writing assessments while on year abroad. Orlando (2016) suggested that surface-level writing issues should be done in text and leave screencast for substantive feedback. However, the marker in this study argues that it is necessary to provide language correction to low level language learners. Therefore, the screencast feedback in this study focused on detailed syntactical and lexical corrections.

To understand learner and teacher perceptions of this kind of screencast feedback and learner uptake, seven Mandarin learners and four teachers across four languages participated in the study. The data collected includes interview feedback from learners, and interview and online questionnaire feedback from teachers.

All learners agreed that screencast feedback enhanced their feedback experience, including easy access, perceived clearer and in-depth explanatory feedback and a sense of rapport. They appreciated the emotive aspects of video when the marker was not physically present and found hearing the marker's voice in the target language an extra benefit. However, the existence of such feedback did not lead to learners actively engaging with feedback. Regarding how the feedback should be presented in video, verbally, in written form or both, learner views varied. While the study shows learners' inclination towards screencast feedback and their need to have detailed explicit explanations in assessment feedback, it also reveals that despite recognizing the pedagogical value of this practice teachers were concerned about the process being time-consuming. The study indicates the necessity to further develop student feedback literacy to enable active uptake of feedback (Carless & Bond, 2018), even when it is in video format. In addition, it proposes that the institute should provide sufficient support to markers in adopting screencast feedback practice to meet student needs.

反馈在学生的学习中起着至关重要的作用。在面对面教学中给学生提供反馈相对容易，然而对于远程学生如何提供及时、高质量、有吸引力的反馈尚需探索。
本篇报告介绍如何用截屏视频给在海外留学的中文学习者提供评估反馈，重点在于词汇和句法的纠错。为了解学生及教师对这种评估反馈的看法，研究通过面谈和网上问卷调查的方式来收集数据。在展示截屏视频反馈在中文学习中的教学优势，分享学生的看法的同时，报告进一步讨论学生对这种反馈的参与以及他们对评估反馈的需求。此外，报告还从教师的角度来探究为学生提供这种反馈的可行性。
关键词：评估反馈，截屏视屏，截屏视屏反馈，中文学习，学生反馈参与

References:

• Carless, D. & Boud, D. (2018) The development of student feedback literacy: enabling uptake of feedback, Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 43:8, 1315-1325, DOI: 10.1080/02602938.2018.1463354
• Mahoney, P., Macfarlane, S. & Ajjawi, R. (2019) A qualitative synthesis of video feedback in higher education, Teaching in Higher Education, 24:2, 157-179, DOI: 10.1080/13562517.2018.1471457
• Orlando, J. (2016) A Comparison of Text, Voice, and Screencasting Feedback to Online Students, American Journal of Distance Education, 30:3, 156-166, DOI: 10.1080/08923647.2016.1187472

I started working for the Language Centre of Warwick University in 2005 when the first academic Mandarin module was established. From then on, I have been teaching various academic and lifelong learning Mandarin modules as a teaching fellow. Outside Warwick University, I also deliver the online Mandarin course for the Open University as an associate lecture starting from 2009. My research interests are in language teaching methodology, blended learning and student engagement.