The different possibilities and obstacles regarding feedback : A qualitative study on how upper secondary school teachers of English choose to work with feedback on students' written production

Abstract: In Swedish schools, teachers are expected to aid their students through feedback to help them develop their different abilities. The feedback itself can be provided differently depending on several different factors in and out of teachers’ control. Most commonly, teachers provide input either through written or oral feedback. Today, with the fast progression of digital tools, teachers also have the opportunity to provide feedback digitally. Therefore, it was of interest to conduct a study examining what feedback methods Swedish teachers of English choose and the reason for their choice. It was also of interest to examine if the teachers’ methods could be backed up by current research. To understand the teachers’ perceptions and experiences, a qualitative study was conducted through semi-structured interviews with five Swedish upper secondary school teachers who currently teach English. The results showed that the teachers work in different ways regarding feedback on students’ written production. While all respondents work digitally with written comments for shorter assignments, some respondents also print out students’ text to mark by hand regarding confidential essays. Further, results showed that all respondents provide written feedback. However, one teacher provides oral feedback through one-to-one conferences as routine, and an additional three teachers give their students the option to receive oral feedback if needed. Moreover, the most common reasons for the teachers’ methods were student appreciation, gaining a positive student-teacher relationship, and available time. All teachers’ methods could be backed up by current research. What can be concluded from this study is that all methods for feedback are more or less efficient and that efficiency sometimes has to do with factors other than the method. Further, Swedish teachers seem to lack time for feedback, especially oral feedback.