Exploring the impact of teacher feedback modes and features on students' text revisions in writing

Whether and how feedback when provided in different modes affects students' text revisions continue to be important questions for research. Therefore, the present study investigates the quantity and quality of students' integration of teacher feedback in relation to its modes and features. The feedback was given through the oral/spoken mode in a face-to-face (FTF) classroom environment and in three digital modes: text, recorded audio and audio-visual modes. Feedback was classified into imperative, correction, question, suggestion, statement and combination. Data collected from the instructor's four modes of feedback and essays of 30 learners in a Saudi university were coded and analyzed. Findings show that students took up 83.52% of the teacher feedback provided to them with quality of integration measured at 68.46%. The quantity and quality of students' integration of teacher feedback varied across the four modes with the audio-visual feedback being most integrated in text revisions while the text feedback was least integrated. Results also show feedback features, including suggestions, questions and imperatives, were more integrated by students than others. Based on the findings, useful pedagogical and research implications are offered.