FEEDBACK IN TEACHING A FOREIGN LANGUAGE

Abstract

The article deals with the analysis of foreign language teaching in respect of giving good feedback – commenting on the task and the language. Feedback is rightly considered to be a key part of teaching.
The term feedback can apply to a number of classroom situations and procedures, but here it refers to a range of techniques employed by the teacher to facilitate responses from the students to an exercise or task. There are alternatives to traditional whole-class feedback conducted by the teacher or teacher-nomination in a lockstep pattern. Traditional feedback is teacher-led, involves little communication between learners and tends to be contrary to current good classroom practice.
Feedback on an activity satisfies students’ expectations and needs, both as a measure of success or failure and as reassurance that they have completed the task properly. As tasks, in particular the practice exercise type, are in effect a form of test, feedback which indicates a degree of success can be motivating. Often an element of competitiveness enters into feedback which encourages learners to participate. The negative aspects of competition, together with the risk of demotivating some learners, can be reduced by the judicious use of nomination and sensitive management of feedback by the teacher.