Adult beginner distance language learner perceptions and use of assignment feedback

Abstract

This qualitative study examines perceptions and use of assignment feedback among adult beginner modern foreign language learners on higher education distance learning courses. A survey of responses to feedback on assignments by 43 Open University students on beginner language courses in Spanish, French, and German indicated that respondents can be classified into three groups: those who use feedback strategically by integrating it into the learning process and comparing it with, for example, informal feedback from interaction with native speakers, those who take note of feedback, but seem not to use it strategically, and those who appear to take little account of either marks or feedback. The first group proved to be the most confident and most likely to maintain their motivation in the longer term. The conclusion discusses some of the pedagogical and policy implications of the findings.

Keywords:

• modern foreign language adult beginners
• distance learning
• assignment feedback
• student response
• affective response
• motivation maintenance

Acknowledgements

We are grateful to María Fernández‐Toro, Linda Murphy, and Margaret Nicolson, whose comments did much to shape our ideas.