‘We lose a lot of value’: feedback on English for academic purposes speaking skills in online teaching in a UK-China joint-venture university

Abstract

Feedback practices for students’ speaking activities in an online environment are very different from those on-site. This study investigated online feedback practices for speaking skills in a Sino-UK joint-venture university, as well as teachers and students’ perceptions of the practices. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with four teachers and 11 students on a discipline-specific English for Academic Purposes (EAP) course. Overall, e-feedback was perceived as less effective than face-to-face feedback, which was mainly due to a lack of interpersonal ties. A range of specific e-feedback types was used; each type elicited both positive and negative perceptions, which were influenced by the nature of feedback type, opportunities for communication and psychological issues. This study concludes that for e-feedback to have the equal potential for clarifying expectations as face-to-face feedback, practitioners need to be well informed of the features of different types of e-feedback, and carefully choose the most appropriate type according to the learning outcomes and students’ preferences. Students also need to develop an e-feedback literacy to fully use such feedback.

Keywords:

• e-Feedback
• speaking
• remote learning

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Qingyang Sun

Dr. Qingyang Sun is an EAP lecturer at School of Languages, Xi’an Jiaotong - Liverpool University. Her research interests include academic writing, student engagement and feedback practices in EAP. She has published in high-impact journals such as Journal of English for Academic Purposes.

Zeyang Yang

Dr. Zeyang Yang is a lecturer in School of Education at Soochow University. His research interests include cyberpsychology, behavioural addiction, mental health, and e-learning.