Work

Eye Tracking Analysis of EAP Student’s Regions of Interest in Computer-based Feedback on Grammar, Usage, Mechanics, Style and Organization and Development

Year: 2017
Type: article
Abstract: Much research has been conducted on the nature, role and effect of feedback. While it is generally claimed that feedback on L2 writing can improve learning, the role which feedback plays in the development of a learner’s writing remains unclear. An attempt can be made to infer the effect of feedback from a student’s subsequent written products, however the way in which a student engages with feedback messages and acts on them is hard to investigate, principally because this is generally an individual, private process, and so hard to externalise. The current study is concerned with using a range of methods for examining such student reactions to computer-based feedback, including eye-tracking data which provides a record of which errors and feedback messages the participants appear to read, in which order and for how long. The results suggest a marked tendency to focus on feedback on grammar, and on organisation and development. It is hypothesised that the former is due to participants’ perception of the role of grammar in writing in their EFL exam-oriented contexts. The latter appears to be the result of the nature of the computer-based feedback they received
Language: English
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W3025347488
FWCI:
Cites: 37
Cited by: 7
Related to: 10