This page has only limited features, please log in for full access.
Dr. Xiaolong Cheng is an Associate Professor at the School of Foreign Languages, Hubei University of Technology, China. He earned his Ph.D. degree in education (TESOL & Applied Linguistics) from the University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand. His research interests include second language writing, written feedback, and language teachers’ beliefs and practices. He has published research in System (Elsevier), Journal of English for Academic Purposes (Elsevier), Language Teaching Research (Sage), and Frontiers in Psychology (Frontiers Media) and has been serving as a reviewer for SSCI journals such as System, Frontiers in Psychology, and Language Teaching Research.
Writing is regarded as a crucial skill in English language curricula at the secondary and tertiary levels in the Chinese education system. Currently, Chinese teachers of English as a foreign language (EFL) often adopt a product approach to teaching EFL writing, in which they emphasize the quality of their students’ written products and show little concern with the writing process. To help L2 learners achieve sustainable development of their writing proficiency, teachers employ a comprehensive approach to correct their students’ language errors as a common practice. However, empirical studies regarding its efficacy on different dimensions of L2 writing are insufficient. This study intended to fill this lacuna in a Chinese EFL context, which investigated the effects of sustained comprehensive written corrective feedback (WCF) on accuracy, complexity, fluency, and content and organization quality of EFL students’ writing. Quasi-experimental in design, it involved a comparison group and a treatment group receiving four sessions of direct comprehensive WCF. Results show that such WCF contributed to writing accuracy and fluency over time. Our textual analysis further reveals that it particularly benefited students’ grammatical accuracy, reducing some rule-based grammatical error types. However, it showed limited effects on complexity, content, or organization of students’ writing. Interestingly, the comparison group did not improve any dimensions of their writing. Possible implications are also discussed.
Xiaolong Cheng; Lawrence Zhang. Sustaining University English as a Foreign Language Learners’ Writing Performance through Provision of Comprehensive Written Corrective Feedback. Sustainability 2021, 13, 8192 .
AMA StyleXiaolong Cheng, Lawrence Zhang. Sustaining University English as a Foreign Language Learners’ Writing Performance through Provision of Comprehensive Written Corrective Feedback. Sustainability. 2021; 13 (15):8192.
Chicago/Turabian StyleXiaolong Cheng; Lawrence Zhang. 2021. "Sustaining University English as a Foreign Language Learners’ Writing Performance through Provision of Comprehensive Written Corrective Feedback." Sustainability 13, no. 15: 8192.
While there is extensive literature on how classroom-based assessment (CBA) can be effectively put into practice, little is known about its implementation in L2 contexts, especially in the young English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) learner context. This study endeavored to investigate teachers’ CBA practices and factors that might exert influences on them. A purposive sample of three EFL teachers from two primary schools participated in this case study. Our thematic analysis revealed that the potential of CBA in supporting young EFL learners’ learning had not been fulfilled. The teachers failed to clarify such objectives and success criteria to their students. Despite the use of multiple assessments, the teachers relied heavily on formal assessments, with student-involving assessments being less frequently used. Moreover, there was a heavy reliance on norm-referenced assessment and evaluative feedback. It was also found that teachers’ CBA practices faced complex challenges related to teacher, student, context and system factors. Practical implications for how CBA can be effectively implemented in similar EFL contexts are discussed.
Qiaozhen Yan; Lawrence Jun Zhang; Xiaolong Cheng. Implementing Classroom-Based Assessment for Young EFL Learners in the Chinese Context: A Case Study. The Asia-Pacific Education Researcher 2021, 1 -12.
AMA StyleQiaozhen Yan, Lawrence Jun Zhang, Xiaolong Cheng. Implementing Classroom-Based Assessment for Young EFL Learners in the Chinese Context: A Case Study. The Asia-Pacific Education Researcher. 2021; ():1-12.
Chicago/Turabian StyleQiaozhen Yan; Lawrence Jun Zhang; Xiaolong Cheng. 2021. "Implementing Classroom-Based Assessment for Young EFL Learners in the Chinese Context: A Case Study." The Asia-Pacific Education Researcher , no. : 1-12.