Substantial research indicates that students' beliefs mediate learning strategies. Nevertheless, students' strategy-related beliefs about feedback and their mediation on strategies to act on feedback are insufficiently addressed. This case study aimed to examine: (1) students' strategy-related beliefs about feedback in L2 writing and (2) how beliefs mediated students' actions when a feedback intervention was implemented to facilitate students' use of feedback strategies. Data were collected from semi-structured interviews and reflective journals from 10 Year-1 participants who studied in an associate degree programme at a higher education institute in Hong Kong. Students' strategy-related beliefs about feedback encompass the evaluation of strategies about: (1) understanding feedback, (2) addressing areas for improvement, (3) seeking feedback, and (4) implementing feedback. Nine participants adopted a more comprehensive range of strategies to act on feedback consistent with their strategy-related beliefs. One participant, however, did not appreciate and use feedback. Pedagogical implications are discussed. Copyright © 2023 Routledge.

Purpose: This study adopted a mixed-method approach, including a classroom experiment and 24 in-depth interviews, to investigate the effects of two feedback techniques (coded focused and unfocused written corrective feedback) on ESL learners' writing in a self-financed tertiary institution in Hong Kong. Methodology: Three intact classes of 47 students served as the experimental and control groups; the control group only received feedback on content and organization, whereas the two experimental groups also received focused and unfocused linguistic feedback, respectively. The feedback intervention was conducted over an eight-week intensive summer course, focusing on three grammar errors (articles, singular/plural nouns and verb forms). Altogether, students wrote seven pieces, four of which were analysed for the present research. Results: The study found that students who received focused written corrective feedback (WCF) significantly outperformed the other two groups, though the effects varied across error types. Meanwhile, no significant differences were found between the unfocused and control groups. In-depth interviews explored how individual learners' metalinguistic understanding and engagement affect their intake of WCF. The results revealed that learners who received focused feedback developed a deeper understanding of the linguistic nature of specific error types. Learners with limited English proficiency were less likely to apply their linguistic knowledge to revise a task or write a new one. Conclusion: Because not all errors deserve equal attention, teachers and students should consider how feedback can be used more effectively, particularly in areas where comprehensive feedback is considered obligatory. When teaching students with limited language proficiency, it is recommended that, rather than providing a wide range of error corrections, teachers provide focused feedback complemented with carefully designed metalinguistic support. Copyright © 2022 National

Previous research on comprehensive/focused written corrective feedback (WCF) has been dominated by the experimental/quasi-experimental tradition, with low ecological validity and limited pedagogical relevance, and without sufficiently recognizing the complex issues that influence teacher WCF practices in authentic classrooms. To fill this gap, this study adopts an ecological approach informed by a complexity perspective to investigate two secondary teachers’ attempts at focused WCF in the Hong Kong EFL writing context. Data were gathered for one academic year from interviews with teachers and students, classroom observations, students’ writing, as well as pre-and post-writing tests. The findings suggest that focused WCF is feasible in authentic classrooms when it is aligned with writing instruction and provided on preselected error types and selective errors based on individual students’ needs, providing an impetus for teachers to strengthen their writing pedagogy and freeing them up to enhance feedback on other areas of student writing. The study points to the potential of focused, student-specific WCF in enhancing written accuracy as well as students’ engagement with revision, and concludes with implications for the pedagogy of WCF in similar contexts. Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

This study attempts to address the "teacher expertise gap" in L2 writing research, using "adaptive expertise" as a specific tool for understanding the notion of writing teacher expertise. Drawing upon language teacher education research and L2 writing research, and using teacher interviews and classroom observation as data sources, the study explores the expertise of three writing teachers from different schools in Hong Kong, as well as the factors that may have contributed to their expertise. The findings of the study show six key components of teacher expertise as demonstrated in the participating teachers, comprising integrated knowledge base about writing and teaching writing; student-centred pedagogy focusing on learner motivation and confidence building; professional visions, self-agency, and reflectivity; leadership in writing innovations; passion as teachers of writing and as writers; and ongoing teacher learning and progressive problem solving as pivotal to writing teacher expertise. The study suggests the rich, dynamic, and contextual nature of writing teacher expertise, which is influenced by teachers' cognitive engagements, social interactions, and affective experiences in their situated contexts. The paper concludes with implications for the teaching of writing and writing teacher education. Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

This study investigates students' perceptions about their teachers' adoption of a new way to use feedback in writing classrooms in two elementary schools in Hong Kong. The innovation comprises three feedback stages (i.e., pre-feedback, during-feedback and post-feedback) over the course of a teaching-learning cycle to maximize the potential of feedback to the learning effectiveness of the students. Data included student questionnaires, interviews with students and teachers, lesson observations as well as documentary analysis of teaching material. Results indicate that the students considered feedback delivery in the three stages as beneficial to their interest, confidence, motivation and self-perceived performance in writing. The article highlights the need to offer feedback in all three feedback phases to maximize its effectiveness and to offer a more positive learning experience to students.
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In this decade, assessment literacy has emerged as a significant research agenda. Yet, not much has been done to explore teacher assessment literacy in L2 writing. This study investigates what Hong Kong secondary school teachers know and think about, and how they practice classroom-based writing assessment through a questionnaire, telephone interviews, and classroom observations. The study qualitatively examines the extent to which sixty-six respondents achieved teacher assessment literacy from their perspectives, and which aspects of teacher assessment literacy needed further consolidation and why. Self-reported findings show that most respondents had pertinent assessment knowledge and positive conceptions about alternative writing assessments. Despite this, observation data indicate that some respondents had a partial understanding of assessment of learning (AoL) and assessment for learning (AfL), but not assessment as learning (AaL). In fact, when attempting AaL, the respondents could merely mimic its 'procedures' rather than internalise its 'essence'. Implications are discussed concerning how to develop teacher assessment literacy in L2 writing classrooms.
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Based on a well-recognized formative assessment strategy model (Leahy et al, 2005) and multiple analytical frameworks of teacher feedback, the present study investigated three teachers (a novice, an experienced, and a veteran teacher) with regard to their instructional, assessment, and feedback practices throughout the pre-, during-, and poststages of a second language (L2) writing instruction cycle. Adopting a case study approach, multiple data were gathered from interviews, lesson observations, teaching materials, students’ writing, and teacher written feedback. Cross-case comparisons were conducted to understand teachers’ formative assessment strategies, feedback practices, and their difficulties. The study found that the teachers engaged primarily with the pre- and post-writing stages. In the pre-writing stage, they conducted a variety of activities to prepare students for writing and to clarify target writing criteria. However, they tended to skip the during-writing stage. In the post-writing stage, all teachers adopted comprehensive error correction with the novice teacher giving more corrections than the other two. Only the experienced teacher required students to compose a second draft, the other two requiring only a single draft. Unlike the veteran teacher, the two younger teachers avoided writing negative comments and wrote many personalized comments probably in order to build relationships with students. In terms of feedback orientation, teachers paid more attention to what a student did and could do better in the task at hand than what a student could do in future tasks. Implications drawn from this research were presented in the form of a checklist for teachers, which integrated instructional and formative assessment strategies with the L2 writing instruction processes. Copyright © 2019 English Language Education Publishing.