2012/06/17

Grammar Feedback in Writing Instruction: Beyond the Yes/No Debate

Speaker: Paul Kei Matsuda

It is at once amazing and inspiring to learn that Paul Kei Matsuda once hated his English classes. Born, raised and educated primarily in Japan, there was a point at which his acceptance to high school was in jeopardy because of his English scores. Now, as a professor of English and Director of Second Language Writing at Arizona State University, Matsuda has become one of the most prominent names in the field of second language writing theory and written discourse.

Matsuda made a modest proposal to Gunma JALT attendees: stop evaluating student grammar. Much like Jonathan Swift's Modest Proposal, Matsuda's is shocking - particularly so in Japan. Unlike Swift's, however, Matsuda's proposal is not satirical.

First, Matsuda challenged the efficacy of grammar instruction and corrective feedback. While acknowledging that there is some little evidence to suggest that grammar feedback can contribute to long-term language development, Matsuda put forth that it is still nevertheless impossible for teachers to predict what kind of feedback is going to lead to particular language development. By continuing to evaluate student writing based on language development, Matsuda argued, teachers end up penalizing students for what they themselves cannot teach reliably.

What logically follows then is the alignment of teaching and assessment. Specifically, Matsuda proposed assessment without evaluation―that is, focus on formative rather than summative feedback―as a way out of the grammar-feedback dilemma. In the question and answer session that followed, Matsuda gave Gunma JALT attendees numerous ideas and examples of how he achieves this style of assessment his own classes. Something tells me that very few of his students hate their English classes.

Gunma JALT thanks Gunma University for co-sponsoring this month's JALT meeting.