Volume 16, Issue 2 August 2020, pp. 85–105 
Regular Papers
Postgraduate instructors’ formative feedback on EFL students’ assignments in email communication: A gender-based study
Ghaleb Rabab'ah1, Souad Belgrimet2
1 University of Sharjah, United Arab
Emirates 
2 The University of Jordan, Jordan
DOI: https://doi.org/10.29140/jaltcall.v16n2.188
Abstract
The present study seeks to delve into the intricacies of feedback strategies adopted by male and female Jordanian EFL postgraduate university instructors when responding to their students’ assignment submissions and inquiries via asynchronous communication mode, namely email communication, to see if there are any significant differences in their use of these strategies due to the gender of the instructors (male vs. female). A corpus of 180 emails was put under investigation (90 sent by male teachers and 90 sent by female instructors). These were analyzed quantitatively using a t-test to capture if there are significant differences in the use of formative feedback strategies between male and female Jordanian efl instructors. The analysis was couched within a set of frameworks which all provided different types of corrective feedback, namely, Schute (2008) and Narciss and Huth (2004). Subsequently, a qualitative analysis followed in order to show how and why teachers implement a given formative feedback strategy. The findings indicate that female instructors employed more formative feedback strategies in comparison with their male counterparts. The most frequently used strategy among female teachers was direct feedback, the provision of cues and information tutoring, while male teachers made more use of questioning and in a number of emails, they provided no feedback. In light of the findings of the present study, some pedagogical implications might come to the fore.
Copyright
© Ghaleb Rabab'ah, Souad Belgrimet
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Suggested citation
Rabab'ah, G., & Belgrimet, S. (2020). Postgraduate instructors’ formative feedback on EFL students’ assignments in email communication: A gender-based study. The JALT CALL Journal, 16(2), 85–105. https://doi.org/10.29140/jaltcall.v16n2.188
Related Articles:
EFL learners' peer negotiations and attitudes in mobile-assisted collaborative writing
Shiou-Wen Yeh, Cheng-Ting Chen
Language Education & Assessment Published: 30 April, 2019, Volume 2(1), 41–56.
Interculturality as collaborative identity management in language education
Claudia Borghetti
Intercultural Communication Education Published: 30 April, 2019, Volume 2(1), 20–38.
Washback of ACTFL's Integrated Performance Assessment in an intensive summer language program at the tertiary level
Jason Martel
Language Education & Assessment Published: 31 August, 2019, Volume 2(2), 57–69.
Critical intercultural communication education: cultural analysis and pedagogical applications
Sofia A. Koutlaki, Zohreh R. Eslami
Intercultural Communication Education Published: 29 December, 2018, Volume 1(3), 100–109.
L2 motivation in ESP and EGP courses: An investigation of L2 motivational selves among learners of English in Saudi Arabia
Aser Nazzal K. Altalib
Australian Journal of Applied Linguistics Published: 30 April, 2019, Volume 2(1), 1–16.
Advancing intercultural learning in world language education: Recent developments in pre-service teacher education in the U.S.
Paula Garrett-Rucks
Intercultural Communication Education Published: 29 December, 2018, Volume 1(3), 110–122.
An investigation of learners' use of CAN and COULD
Lauren Whitty
Australian Journal of Applied Linguistics Published: 30 April, 2019, Volume 2(1), 32–46.
Integrating multimodal technologies with VARK strategies for learning and teaching EFL presentation: An investigation into learners' achievements and perceptions of the learning process
Yow-jyy Joyce Lee
Australian Journal of Applied Linguistics Published: 30 April, 2019, Volume 2(1), 17–31.
Teaching pragmatics: Nonnative-speaker teachers' knowledge, beliefs and reported practices
Christine Savvidou, Maria Economidou-Kogetsidis
Intercultural Communication Education Published: 30 April, 2019, Volume 2(1), 39–58.
Factors affecting immigrants' host country language proficiency: Focusing on the differences between migrant workers and marriage-migrant women in South Korea
In Young Yang, Seongseog Park, Sungjun Lee, Byeonggon Min
Migration and Language Education Published: 30 April, 2020, Volume 1(1), 14–30.
