A Proposed Model of Automated, Peer, and Teacher (APT) Feedback and Its Impact on L2 Learners’ Engagement and Writing Performance Changes Over Time.

Abstract

Enhancing the quality of teacher feedback to students' work is a challenge in L2 writing contexts, especially in Asian educational settings. L2 teachers generally have numerous responsibilities and might not have sufficient time to give focused feedback on content. This, in turn, might prevent substantial progress in L2 writing. A novel approach has the potential to solve this particular issue by combining various sources of feedback. In this context, Automated Writing Evaluation (AWE) tools can ensure accuracy, while peer feedback can address various aspects of accuracy and content. This approach frees up teachers to concentrate more on the content and ideas. Such a model, which incorporates automated, peer, and teacher feedback (APT), not only enhances writing improvement at both the surface and meaning levels, but also increases the engagement of L2 learners. This is because it goes beyond traditional feedback techniques that stretch outside the conventional red-pen corrections, fostering a far more enriching and supportive learning environment.

By following a mixed-methods design utilising students’ essay writing drafts, pre-test and post-test, observation notes, focus groups, reflective journals, and post-study questionnaire, the integrated data findings suggested the following. First, the APT has decreased the feedback items/errors the students produce in their essays over time. Moreover, they become able to make longer essays with fewer errors. In addition, the APT collaboration work on L2 students’ essays was relatively successful. Although every source overlapped a little with the other at the beginning, over time, every source acted uniquely complementing the other and providing a comprehensive model for improving the L2 writing. This improvement would not be possible if the students were not engaged. Despite some influencing factors that affect certain students’ engagement with the model, the findings showed that the use of three sources facilitated a positive behavioural, cognitive, and affective engagement gradually in the L2 writing context.