A case study of an EFL writing teacher's belief and practice about written feedback

This study reports an EFL writing teacher/researcher's self-study of her beliefs and practices about how to provide written feedback. She critically examined entries of her reflection journal, learning log, and written comments to reflect on her beliefs and practices over time. A content analysis of the journal and log entries revealed four guiding principles underlining her beliefs about how to give feedback at the beginning of the semester. They were clarifying writers' intentions, identifying problems, explaining problems, and making specific suggestions. These principles underwent a hierarchical change toward the end of the semester. This structural change instigated a corresponding priority shift in her comments – from fixing students' problems to understanding their intentions. A quantitative analysis showed congruity between her beliefs and practices at the beginning and end of the semester. Reasons for this congruity included public articulation and demonstration of her beliefs in class and increasing procedural knowledge about how to provide feedback.