The Kroll article discusses the importance and the steps needed to teach writing to English Language Learners. She discusses that the two most important components of any writing course are the assignments and the methods for providing feedback on the evolution of student writing. These are important because to practice writing is the best way to learn it. And the feedback provided gives students the opportunity to measure whether or not they are on the right track. Kroll also states that the constants for ay writing classroom are lesson preparation, delivery of the lesson and assignment, the written work, and the feedback students are given on their work.
In this article, Kroll also discusses the evolution of teaching writing. In the early to mid 1900s, student writing took on a product based approach and later evolved into a process based approach. She defines the process approach as a cycle of writing, receiving feedback, and revising. In order to properly teach writing to ELL's, they must be placed in proper settings in which abilities are similar. When Kroll discusses the evaluation of placement tests, she discusses the 6 point TOEFL scale and the 100 point ESL English Composition Profile.
Kroll then goes on to discuss what steps should be taken before writing begins, such as brainstorming and clustering. She also discusses what the assignments are designed to do and how to deliver assignments in a way that students clearly learn the purpose of each writing assignment. She also gives six guidelines for the preparation of successful writing assignments.
Kroll also goes in depth about the type and form of feedback that students should be given on their writing.
Task: What type of feedback method(s) would you use when evaluating students writing? What factors contribute to the method(s) that you chose (i.e. age, ability etc)? Why do you feel that this is an important method of feedback for ESL writers?
When evaluating L1 and L2 students in a mixed classroom I would use a variety of feedback methods for my students. For example, I would provide written feedback on the paper itself, assessment, or any assignment therefore the student has the feedback attached to the original source. If there was a writing assignment of an L2 learner that required feedback, I would use a fun colored pen in order to contrast from the original color. I would also include positive feedback with the constructive criticism. I would write more than good job, but highlight the points I believe were excellent and why they were excellent. To the contrary I would inform the student of their errors and provide an example of how they could re-structure their error so that my correction was clear to them.
ReplyDeleteI think that age, academic level, language proficiency, type of course, and type of assignment are all factors that contribute to the methods of providing feedback.
I am not sure what you mean by "this is an important method of feedback" but in my response, I feel that is it most beneficial to provide the student with a variety of feedback. When the student has a large range of options to correct their errors and/or positive reinforcement to motivate their changes then they are more likely to not feel discouraged.
Elizabeth
There are a number of different feedback forms and methods that can be presented to the students, and I think it is very crucial that the methods can often be implied within the feedback. First of all, this is where personal attention comes in with our students. Not all L1 or L2 students are going to write the same way. First, we can introduce different methods to our class as a whole. I would concentrate on how to use the guide lines that often have the dash marks in the middle of the line for younger age students. For example, a K-1 class may concentrate on a letter everyday, or maybe even have a letter every week. The instructor can have them write sentences that contain that letter multiple times (example: for the letter s, Sam saw Sally swimming).
ReplyDeleteIt is important to remember that the idea of capital letters may be easy when you have grown up within the English language, but some languages are not structured the same way. So another method for a teacher to introduce to her class would be to combine capital letters with the lower case form of the same letter. This offers an immediate comparison. I would also focus on punctuation, as this is an area that often gets overlooked.
As far as feedback, I would make sure to have folders of each students' writing samples that are copied before being returned to the student. I would give each student back their work with corrections in a different color marker. I think it would be vital to have some of the writing rewritten, but also to have some of the corrections there for the student to just observe. This will take away from the idea that writing is a tedious process that always needs to be done over again, when really it is a tool for communication.
Lastly, it is important to instill those one sentence methods kids can use that go a long way. For example, rereading your work, checking your punctuation, or having a friend peer edit your work. These simple methods can go a long way!
Kim B.
I think the three methods mentioned in the article (oral feedpack, peer response as well as comments on papers) are all good methods of feedback and I would try to incorporate all of them into my classroom at one time or another. Everyone knows that the most standard form of teacher feedback is writing comments on a students paper. I think that this method is a good way of providing feedback but like the article said it is quite time consuming. In these cases it may be more appropriate to have a conference with each individual students and give them your feedback that way. I like that idea also because it gives students the opportunity to ask questions if they dont understand something. I also like the idea of providing students with tape recorded feedback so they can replay it again and again in case they forgot what you had said. Most importantly though when providing feedback to ELL students I feel is providing them with not only constructive criticism but things that they have done well. That way they won't get discouraged and think they are just bad at writing. Peer review is another technique that I think works well. We have been doing peer reviews in my classes since I was in elementary school and it has always seemed to be beneficial for everyone.
ReplyDeleteWhen evaluating student's writing, I would use oral responses and peer feedback. It is not as easy to use certain feedback methods you can orally. If a student used incorrect grammar in class, I would restate what they said, but emphasize the correction. While reading what they have written, it is more difficult to do something like that. That's why peer editing will work out nicely. If they read it to their partner, maybe they will catch it on their own while reading it aloud. If not, it would be good practice for the partner who is also an english learner. In spanish classes, We used to sit in groups of four and read our paper to each other. I remember it being very affective.
ReplyDeleteI agree that giving students feedback is very important. When I evaluate students I will be keen on several important factors. I will pay most attention to language proficiency. I will make sure I give constructive criticism accordingly. I want to be able to differentiate between a people who barely understand English making an honest mistake, or people who hardly proficient makes a lazy error. If the person is not proficient, I will make sure I explain what they did wrong. If the person is proficient and has an understanding of writing in English, I will not elaborate as much. I will make sure that they incorporated content matter and went through thorough analysis of the material they presented in their papers. I will make sure I emphasizing their strengths in their paper, as well as critique them on what they need work on.
ReplyDeleteI personally am not a fan of peer responses. From what I have experienced, peer editing was is not good for providing through constructive criticism. In my Japanese class I did a report on a novel we were studying. My classmates had great things to say about my report and focused on emphasizing on the strong points. However, they did not provide a critique. I received an 89%, which was satisfactory, however I felt that they sugarcoated too much. I will make a checklist of features that the students needed to check off. This will help guide students in peer editing.
I will also give them feedback orally. During class time I will have consultations which each student. This will go on during class when others are doing homework etc.
As far as age, I will sugarcoat a bit for students that are younger in age. People of high school level I will be a bit more frank. For both levels however, I will use colorful pens to make it more fun to read!
I will incorporate oral, written and peer editing. I will however, focus on written because my students will be able to reference back to it when they write papers on the future. These simple steps will make improving writing skills much easier for students!
I would use a variety of feedback methods. I think all of them serve a purpose and using a mixture of a few enriches students' understanding of their writing. For example, if I were teaching a class with more advanced learners, I may have them peer edit, but also open up the option for them to come in to my office hours to discuss their papers. Having done this in other content classes in college, I know many students do not take advantage of these types of offers. For the students who would like this type of feedback, I think the teacher should provide it.
ReplyDeleteThere are definitely a lot of factors that contribute to which method a teacher uses. Ultimately every class is different and having a variety of methods to choose from allows the teacher to adjust from year to year depending on the students' needs.
Although it is extremely optimistic (or even Utopian), I really do believe teachers should give students as much information as possible. Feedback should be organized however, to avoid 'corrective throw up'.
That's all.
I believe that oral feedback, written feedback, and peer feedback are all important methods to use in the classroom, and can each provide something different for the student. Regardless of ability level, I would definitely meet with each student individually to go over their work and to explain what should be changed. I would also mark corrections onto the papers themselves, then have the students go back and rewrite the parts that need to be corrected. While I believe peer editing can be extremely beneficial, a factor that would affect this for me would be the age and ability of the students. If the students are low ability, then peer editing may not be effective if the students are not clear as to what should be done. I feel that these methods are all equally important because they allow students to review their work in different ways.
ReplyDeleteI would use a variety of feedback methods if I was teaching an L1 and L2 course. Depending on the assignment,I would give written feedback that way the student can look back on it when needed. I would not only point out the parts that need work, but also the points that are well thought out and written on assessments, etc. I would say why it is good that way when the student reads over the comments, there are things that can encourage the students rather than discourage them. I would also use a different colored marker or pen so that the student can differentiate between the comments. I think that there are many factors in the type of feedback that should be given such as the age, language profiency, type of assignment and such. I think that for a student to benefit, there needs to be a variety of feedback and that one is not necessarily more important than another
ReplyDeleteI think using different forms of feedback are important for students. I also think that all of these forms, if used correctly, can really help students learn from their mistakes. I would try to use all of the feedback forms. Although writing on students' papers is very time consuming, I think giving them back a visual page of what they need to correct can help them fix their mistakes. Peer editing can be beneficial if students take it seriously. I've had some bad experiences in the past when students do not care enough to make corrections. However, if students care about improving their fellow students' writing, peer editing can be a great way for students to discuss their writing struggles.
ReplyDeleteI don't think a teacher should choose just one form of feedback, considering all students learn best through different ways.
I think that all of the feedback methods listed are beneficial when evaluating students writing. Writing comments on your student’s papers allows them to see where they made their mistakes and shows what your thoughts are. I always look at my teachers comments and take them into consideration and it is so helpful when the comments are on the same page as my work. But oral feedback is also a good method because it is not always easy to write your thoughts down on paper and show the writer exactly what you are thinking or what they need to do differently. So paper conferences with the teacher are more personal and you can communicate with the student and get them in the right directions. This is also an easier way for students to ask questions and feel comfortable gathering their ideas. The other method of peer responses has been used in almost all of my writing classes. I think it is a good way to share ideas with other students and at the same time it helps them improve their writing by finding flaws and correcting them or pointing out the strengths of the paper. All three methods are very beneficial. I feel though, that students may receive the most accurate feedback from teacher orally or with written comments. That way the students don’t have to second guess their corrections and know that its approved by the teacher.
ReplyDeleteI believe that peer feedback, oral feedback, and written feedback are all relevant forms of feedback for students (in that order). Through peer feedback, especially for ELL students, all students involved are benefited. "Grading" another students paper allows the students to increase their reading skills, and producing feedback and providing an explanation to the other student increases their social, conversational, and oral skills. Through oral feedback from the teacher, the student is able to understand the teacher's reasoning behind their corrections, or provide the student with additional suggestions that wouldn't normally be written down on the paper. Written feedback, though important, is my least favorite way to provide feedback to students on their writing. Oftentimes, teachers don't prefer to read and "grade" a lot of papers by their students, and therefore, provide as little written feedback as possible.
ReplyDeleteAlthough all three methods of feedback are beneficial to the students' improvement of writing skills, I feel that peer editing and oral feedback from the teacher are both equally as crucial. The teacher does have the final say in the grade that the student receives, however, peer review benefits both the student receiving the corrections from their peer, and the peer editing the paper as well.
Feedback is extremely important for second language learners so that they can learn the right way and go back and correct their mistakes. First, I would write a few comments on their paper, and go into depth about how they could fix that problem. I would then give them a day or two to go back and correct the issue and talk about why they had made that mistake. This is constructive criticism for the student. Age and academic level are definitely important in deciding what kind of feedback you give, because if someone has a lower language level, I would not expect them to fix their problems on their own, but would rather guide them through it step by step.
ReplyDeleteI think its important to provide a big variety of feedback in order to motivate them to fix their mistakes and to improve.
I would use many kinds of feedback for my students, including the three mentioned by Kroll. However, I think I would focus mainly on oral teacher feedback. This is suitable for students of all ages and abilities. As the teacher, I would be the one grading and setting expectations. Therefore, I should make it a priority to personally talk to them and give them feedback. While it is useful to have peer responses so the students can interact and speak together, I think feedback from the teacher is the most important. By talking to the students, I could identify their ideas and thoughts in their writing as well as more punctual or grammatical issues.
ReplyDeleteI would use several feedback methods when evaluating my students’ writing. One method is written feedback directly on the assignment. The advantage of this is that the feedback is placed directly by the area being commented on in the assignment and the students can look back on it whenever they need to. I would make sure that my writing is legible to help avoid any confusion that the students might have with regards to my comments. This is assuming that I am teaching a class with older students, or at least middle school aged students.
ReplyDeleteIf I were teaching a class where the students had a higher proficiency of English, I would still give written feedback, such as comments, but I would also use a system of symbols. These symbols would point out the mistakes, but allow the students to think about how to correct it themselves. For example, one symbol could be ‘the letter v’ written above a verb that is conjugated incorrectly. I would give the students a guide beforehand as to what the symbols represent, and would of course answer any questions that they have directly. I would also have the students write rough drafts to turn in first, then I would use my ‘symbol feedback system,’ and then allow them to fix any mistakes before turning in a final copy. I had a Spanish professor who used this method and it helped me pay closer attention to what I was writing.
I also like the idea of conferences with the students to go over their writing assignments more specifically, if time allows it. These conferences would allow the student to express their ideas and what they are trying to say and allow me to try and see where they are coming from. I feel that it would be productive in evaluating the main ideas of essays along with technical details such as grammar and punctuation. Judging from my own experience as a language learner, this method would be helpful to ESL/ELL students because sometimes it is easier to learn when one knows why they did something correctly, or is given an explanation as to why something is incorrect, compared to just saying, “This is a mistake. Period.”
Giving feedback depends on a number of factors. I think there are three major factors: gender (culture), age, and ability. Whether a teacher is giving feedback to a native speaker or English language learner I believe their gender (culture), age, and ability greatly effects what kind of feedback is given.
ReplyDeleteI don’t think there is one way that works for all situations. I think the more feedback given, in different forms, is most beneficial. For instance, when handing back homework to students (native or ELL) casually talking about the assignment that was done is great and then also handing them written feedback is also good. Thus, if a student is a stronger reader then they will appreciate the written feedback, but if the student is not a strong reader then he/she will appreciate the audible feedback.
When giving students feedback it is also important to understand the culture they are from. Different cultures (as well as family cultures) understand the roles of male and female in different ways. Thus, the most beneficial way to help students is to present feedback to them in ways that they will receive it and learn from it. It is then important to understand the culture he/she is from to best pick a method of feedback.
I would definitely do various forms of feedback for my students, because EL learners may be stronger in one area of the language than another. For instance, an EL student may be better at listening than reading. It would also be good for my L1 students because everyone learns in different ways, so the way they intake feedback could be different for each student as well.
ReplyDeleteI could do things like tell the student a comment about their assignment as I'm handing it back for those who prefer listening, and I could leave written comments on the paper for those who prefer reading. So this could be a huge factor that my feedback could depend on.
As for the last question in the task, it's very vague, but I think every form of feedback is important. Because even for that student who prefers to read over listen, I would imagine that the student isn't comfortable with listening because they are not very good at it and need to practice, and vice versa.
I would be sure to use different types of feedback methods, depending on the student's cultural background and proficiency level. These are two very important aspects because certain types of error correction can have a negative influence on a student's motivation and willingness to continue learning their L2. They may not be comfortable with participating in class if they fear saying something incorrectly.
ReplyDeleteI would make corrections on ESL learner's compositions so that they can be able to correct their mistakes. I will also point out the strong areas of the paper. I would not use a read pen because it makes the paper look like it has a lot of mistakes on it. Correcting the paper is a lot more private than correcting them in front of the entire class.
I feel that it depends on the student what type of feedback you give. For instance some students may do ok with you writing little notes on their papers and just correcting their grammar and such. Other students on the other hand might not learn this way and therefore it would be more beneficial to have a "conference" with the student and discuss errors that are reoccurring and help them grasps these ideas better. That is why i would use a wide range of types of feedback.
ReplyDeleteWhat factors contribute to this is that some students learn in different ways. One might get confused with the writing while another would have difficulties with you speaking to them. That is why it is important to cover all fronts and help the student out in the best way possible that will help them learn and grasp the material. I do think that age and level of immersion are factors. This is because for some students they may not take well to you just critiquing them and it would work better to do a face to face and one to one type of deal. Also if they are not that well into English yet it is important to make sure they are understanding what you are saying which is where the writing might help oppose to the talking. Again in my opinion it depends on the writer and where they are level wise and what works best for them.
When providing students with feedback I would try to incorporate a variety of response strategies since there is not one strategy in particular that has proven to be the best. One of the response strategies that I found informative was the tape cassette idea. I thought this idea was great because it took into account that ELL's may have a hard time during a teacher-student conference understanding certain points that the teacher made. The student may also feel intimidated by speaking with the teacher one-on-one. The tape recorder allows the student to feel more comfortable and it also gives the student a chance to replay the message whenever needed. However, it is still important to offer students one-on-one conferences, esp. in ESL classrooms because communication problems may be more likely to exist between the student and teacher.
ReplyDeleteI would not incorporate peer response until later on in the year when the students are more comfortable with feedback. I would also wait until I modeled peer response in the classroom first since EL students do not have the same "language competence as native speakers" (Kroll, p.228). I really liked Kroll's strategies for helping EL students learn how to work with peer response. Such as, having the class work on a paper as a whole, or having the students fill out a checklist as they go through the paper.
And lastly, when providing feedback on error correction I would take into account students' past work to make sure their mistakes were common simple mistakes or mistakes that showed little comprehension. As we discussed in class, it's important to keep in mind what students write (content) to show comprehension and not focus on the grammar as all-or-nothing.
Ideally, I would use oral feedback. I would meet with my students and discuss what they need to work. This would allow the student to ask questions about their writing and allow the teacher to explain what the student may have done wrong. The student can then ask for clarification if they do not understand the teachers’ verbal feedback. Yet, this is not realistic because it takes up a lot of time. I would always allow time for class for questions to be answered about feedback if I do not have time to meet with all of my students.
ReplyDeleteI also think that peer evaluation can be very effective if the teacher first teaches what is expected of the students and how to “peer evaluate”. I would give the students a task while peer evaluating. For example, find three things you liked and note anything that you thought was confusing, or just check specified grammatical errors that are being currently taught. This allows for discussion between students, which in turn increases language learning. This also enforces the idea that if a student is correcting another students writing, they are also improving their writing.
I would implement both oral and written feedback in the classroom. Spoken feedback makes sure that any unclear written feedback is understood and makes sure that students understand what needs to be fixed as well as how they can improve their written work, since written feedback can be ignored rather easily, as was pointed out in the class lecture. Written feedback is beneficial in that it clearly points out mistakes and strengths in written work, and it can easily be referred back to later when students reflect on and/or make changes to their later written work.
ReplyDeleteI would use oral and written response when evaluating students’ written work. I like peer feedback as a process for helping students critique their own writing, but I would not use peer feedback as a means for evaluating my students’ work. Peer feedback can be useful, but I realize it is not always valuable.
ReplyDeleteI think written are useful, because students can visually see the errors that they make in the paper. I like Elizabeth’s idea of correcting papers using a fun color. I think the typical red ink could be intimidating to some students. A less intense color could help students see the corrections as ways to improve their writing, instead of looking at them as just another means for grading. I like oral response for this reason as well. Oral response allows the teacher to respond to the students on a personal level, as well as giving them the opportunity to understand the students’ thought process. By doing oral response, teachers don’t just in give feedback, but also are able to interact with her or his students.
When working with ELLs, I think it is important to consider their language and writing ability. If a student has a LEP, they cannot be expected to perform the same tasks that the native English speaking students. When grading their papers, I don’t think there is anything wrong with modifying either the grading system or the assignment for them. I would definitely try to modify the activity before the grading system, but if I could not adjust the activity in a way that would assist the ELL’s language deficiency, then modifying the grading system would be necessary. I think ELLs need to be challenged like any other student, but ELLs also need the opportunity to experience success in the classroom.