The Value of Feedback in Promoting Learning in Higher Education: The case of EFL learners’ speaking skills

Abstract

This paper aims at reporting the results of a semester-long investigation undertaken at the Department of English of Abdelhamid Ibn Badis University of Mostaganem: (fall 2012- winter 2013). The research involved a population of about a hundred EFL students and ten ‘Oral Expression’ teachers. Data were gathered through questionnaires addressed to students and teachers, through semistructured and unstructured interviews as well as through the weekly observation of two teachers and their students during ‘Oral Expression’ classes. The focus in this article will be on the value of feedback as being a formative assessment technique initiated by the teacher, self –practiced by the learners or provided by peers. The results of the investigation have shown that some learners who have been introduced to the practices above cited are able to focus on areas of improvement. On the other hand, the research revealed that a number of students at the Department of English of Mostaganem University still hold the teacher as sole responsible for their assessment (and learning by extension) and are especially not aware of the formative practice of self and peer initiated feedback.