Concha Furnborough

Adult Beginner Distance Language Learner Perceptions and Use of Assignment Feedback.

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.

Making the Most of Others: Autonomous Interdependence in Adult Beginner Distance Language Learners

Autonomy in language learning does not simply equate with independence, as language learning is a social activity that requires interaction with others. This also applies just as much to distance language learners, who need to reconcile independent language learning and interdependence with others. This article draws on findings from 43 mid-course interviews with adult beginner distance learners of French, Spanish, and German, and focuses on ways in which they engage with tutors and with other students, and the extent to which these interactions enhance their learning. It shows that many students are prepared to seek clarification from their tutors, but not strategic advice in areas of learning that are likely to be most problematic. It also highlights how feelings about working with other students can enhance or restrict progress toward autonomous interdependence. Finally, it considers ways for facilitating greater learner control in these key aspects of their studies.

Feedback on feedback: eliciting learners’ responses to written feedback through student-generated screencasts

Despite the potential benefits of assignment feedback, learners often fail to use it effectively. This study examines the ways in which adult distance learners engage with written feedback on one of their assignments. Participants were 10 undergraduates studying Spanish at the Open University, UK. Their responses to feedback were elicited by means of student-generated screencast (Jing®) recordings in which students talked through the feedback written by their tutors. The recordings were analysed in terms of the students’ cognitive, affective and metacognitive responses to the tutors’ feedback. Results show that, while students do engage with tutor feedback and make active efforts to integrate it, they sometimes use ineffective strategies, especially when tutor and student make different assumptions about the role of feedback. The richness of the data obtained from the Feedback on feedback (F on F) method suggests that it has the potential to promote much needed feedback dialogue between students and tutors.

Evaluating alignment of student and tutor perspectives on feedback on language learning assignments

ABSTRACT Feedback alignment is key to the effectiveness of formative feedback, but often tutors can only guess whether their feedback is consistent with students’ needs and expectations. This study aimed to identify areas of potential misalignment by bringing together self-reported data and feedback analysis. Two parallel surveys were conducted with 736 students and 96 tutors from a distance learning undergraduate programme in Language Studies to compare their self-reported attitudes and behaviours. Survey data were then triangulated through the analysis of 216 marked assignments using the feedback analysis categorisation tool (FACT) according to the orientation (focus on a weakness or a strength) and depth (layers of scaffolding) of feedback comments. Misalignment was most apparent in relation to feedback on strengths and mutual assumptions regarding feedback ownership. The findings support the need for a more dialogic approach to feedback and confirm the value of feedback analysis as a means of evaluating feedback alignment for sustainable assessment.

Sticking With Spanish: Reasons for Study and Motivation Maintenance in Adult Beginner Distance Language Learners

Abstract This paper examines the reasons for study of adult beginner distance learners of Spanish and the relationships between those reasons and motivation maintenance. A survey of 563 Open University UK students found motivational orientations distinct from those of young people in earlier studies. Adult learners who maintained their motivation also demonstrated a greater number of reasons for study. Their motivation embraced intrinsic and extrinsic, integrative and instrumental orientations, short-term and long-term ambitions, and an L2 self both ideal and realistically attainable. During their course module they focused more consistently than others on the language skills they had targeted, and expressed increased enjoyment of the learning experience. This study suggests that achieving ‘softer’ short-term goals encourages persistence towards longer-term goals which reflect the ideal L2 self.