The Impact of Constructive Feedback on EFL University Students’ Performance

Abstract

This descriptive study aimed to investigate the impact of constructive feedback on developing EFL university students’ performance. The sample of the study was 100 English-majored students chosen randomly using a stratified technique from the four levels of the department of English at the National University, besides 10 English language lecturers teaching English courses in the same university. To achieve the objectives of this study, the researcher used two questionnaires: the first one was for students containing 25 close-ended items, and the other one was for English language lecturers containing 24 close-ended items. The results indicated that students have positive perceptions towards constructive feedback in enhancing their learning and improving their performance. The lecturers also showed moderate delivery of constructive feedback to students, attributing this to some barriers such as the lack of time, interest, students’ sensitivity or resistance, and lecturers’ skills of providing constructive feedback. The study recommended that university lecturers should pay more attention to students’ emotional and mental needs when providing feedback to enable them to show their abilities and skills comfortably, and provide remedial action plans, suggestions, and solutions when needed.