Module 4

Module 4 is focused on checking comprehension and providing feedback.

After reading all the articles, watching all the videos, and searching all the suggested websites, create a page Module 4 in your portfolio, double click anywhere on the page, choose T to add text, and post the following on the page:

CREATE: This module introduced several different ways to provide corrective feedback. Based on your preference, choose one of the following tasks:

1. Are there any feedback strategies presented in this module which you have learned for the first time? If so, which ones? Create a list and describe how you would use these strategies with your learners.

OR

2. Are there any feedback strategies that you currently use, but are not presented in this module? What are they? Create a list and describe how you would use these strategies with your learners? Do these feedback strategies focus on correcting form or improving communicative skills?

Consider your teaching context and learner characteristics when thinking about this topic. Also think about if these feedback strategies focus on correcting form or improving communicative skills.

See example for a model:

• I learned the sequence of the whole class formative feedback. I used to correct errors or gave formative feedback in the form of writing my comments on students’ work. I think for a communicative English classroom, whole class formative feedback is something I will try.

• I learned the timing and expressions for giving encouragement and compliments. I think giving positive feedback often and in proper ways is really important to encourage students to speak in English.

• I really like the types of indirect feedback such as ‘giving a pause, recase, and requesting clarification’ to encourage students to self-correct their errors.

• I learned the way I give feedback depends on the kind of tasks that the students have done.

REFLECT: Type in 1-2 paragraphs to reflect on Module 4 (300-500 words). You may use what you have created, shared, and applied in the previous tasks.

See example for a model:

The greatest gain from this module was my new perspective on giving feedback. Before this module, I think I mostly thought about giving assessment scores or comments to my students to improve their further learning. In this module, I thought deeply about the process of giving feedback as an important part of the lesson (in real time) and the motivational factor that is included in giving feedback during classroom interactions. It is an important change because I used to focus mostly on giving error correction and lengthy comments to improve the students while not realizing that my comments or assessment would not cause more learning if my students were not involved in the process. It could be like a letter sent but not received or seriously read.

Now I think I have some tools and thoughts that I can use to make the feedback process more interactive and balanced in my English classrooms. I will be able to make use of the English expressions that I learned and practiced in this module. Also, I really liked reading Shveta Miller's article from Edutopia that informed me how to use sentence (response) frames to teach students to use some vocabulary grammatically correct and give corrective feedback in balanced and productive ways. I think her approach is clear and motivational for the students. I shared what and why I liked her approach in the chat group and how I will be able to try other step-by-step instruction of using a response frame in one of the grammar lessons in my textbook unit. Other teachers particularly liked the way the feedback approach allowed the teacher to clearly correct the students' errors. It also gave confidence to students by repeating the same structure and reviewing additional sentence frames. Some teachers also commented about the way it includes the chances of peer feedback and recitation to speak more English out loud during the lessons.