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THE EFFECTS OF USING EMAIL ATTACHMENT AS A TOOL
FOR OFFERING TEACHER FEEDBACK ON LEARNERS' WRITING SKILLS
SAMIRA YADOLLAHI KAKH
UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MALAYSIA
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“I hereby declare that I have read this project report and in
my opinion this project report is sufficient in terms of scope and
quality for the award of the degree of Master of Education
(Teaching English as a Second Language)”
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THE EFFECTS OF USING EMAIL ATTACHMENT AS A TOOL FOR OFFERING
TEACHER FEEDBACK ON LEARNERS' WRITING SKILLS
SAMIRA YADOLLAHI KAKH
A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the award of the degree of
Master of Education in ''Teaching English as a Second Language"
Faculty of Education
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia
October 2010
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I declare that this thesis entitled "The Effects of Using Email Attachment as a Tool for
Offering Teacher Feedback on Learners' Writing Skills" is the result of my own research
except as cited in the references. The thesis has not been accepted for any degree and is not
concurrently submitted in candidature of any other degree.
Signature:
Name: Samira Yadollahi Kakh
Date: October 2010
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I dedicate this thesis in honor of my late
English teacher Mr Koorosh Shahriyari who taught me
"to think" rather than "how to think".
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AKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Above all, I want to thank God for getting me through life these past two
years. I would like to thank my parents who not only tolerated my absence, but also
supported me while I was away from home.
Additionally, I would like to thank my esteemed supervisor, Associate
Professor Dr Wan Fara Adlina Wan Mansor for her help, and feedback. I am greatly
indebted to her, because this study could never have been completed without her astute
guidance and moral encouragement.
Furthermore, I like to express my heartfelt thanks to Roohollah for his
undying help, and encouragement.
With love and gratitude,
Samira Yadollahi Kakh
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Abstract
This study aimed at investigating the effects of using email attachment as a tool
for offering teacher feedback on writing skills of four high intermediate Iranian English
learners who are the applicants for higher education in Universiti Teknologi Malaysia
(UTM). Therefore, the following objectives were set to outline what should be achieved
as a result of conducting this research: i) to investigate whether offering teacher
feedback through email attachment develops or improves learners' writing skills, ii) to
identify the learners' perception and attitudes toward receiving teacher feedback on
writing drafts through email attachment, and iii) to identify the suitable types of teacher
feedback on different kinds of errors which contribute to better quality drafts. Data were
collected through these research methods and instruments: First through participant
observation, which the teacher-researcher of the study observed closely how participants
reacted to the feedback. Second the teacher reflected on the types of errors learners
made, the efficiency of given feedback, and how the respondents' writing skills
developed over time. Third, the students' were guided to write reflective diaries. The
participants reflected on their experience in participating in the writing course. Fourth,
three structured email interviews were implemented and questions were emailed to each
participant during the six weeks. Learners had to answer some questions that focused
mainly into the use of email attachment for delivering feedback. Unordered meta-
matrix, site-ordered effects matrix, and time-ordered meta-matrix were used to classify,
categorize, and cluster the data gained from the instruments. The results of the study
show that making use of email attachment as a means of delivering feedback accelerates
the process of writing, motivates the learners to revise writing drafts more frequently,
and enhances frequent communication between teacher and students which reduces the
affective filter and improves confidence. The findings also show that there is no single
type of feedback that can help the students to produce quality drafts. Hence, teacher
feedback is effective when tailored to errors and learners.
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Abstrak
Kajian ini bertujuan mengkaji kesan penggunaan lampiran e-mel sebagai
perantara maklumbalas guru berhubung kemahiran menulis empat pelajar Iran yang
mempunyai tahap sederhana tinggi Bahasa Inggeris yang juga merupakan pemohon
untuk pendidikan tinggi di Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM). Oleh itu, objektif-
objektif berikut telah dirancang untuk i) mengkaji samada maklumbalas guru melalui
lampiran e-mel mampu meningkatkan kemahiran penulisan pelajar, ii) mengenalpasti
persepsi pelajar dan sikap pelajar terhadap maklumbalas guru ke atas deraf penulisan
yang diterima melalui lampiran e-mel dan iii) mengenalpasti kesesuaian jenis-jenis
maklumbalas guru terhadap kesalahan dalam membaiki kualiti deraf penulisan pelajar.
Data telah dikumpulkan melalui metodologi kajian dan instrument berikut: Pertama,
melalui „participant-observation‟ yang mana „teacher-researcher‟ atau guru-penyelidik
membuat pemerhatian keatas tindakbalas pelajar terhadap maklumbalas guru. Kedua,
guru-penyelidik membuat refleksi yang mana kebanyakannya mengenai jenis kesilapan
yang dibuat pelajar, kecekapan maklumbalas yang diberikan, dan bagaimana kemahiran
penulisan responden berkembang dari semasa ke semasa guru terhadap kesalahan
penulisan, efisiensi maklumbalas yang diberi, dan bagaimana kemahiran penulisan
pelajar meningkat dalam masa tersebut. Ketiga, diari reflektif pelajar yang mana para
peserta dibimbing dalam merefleksikan pengalaman mereka ketika kursus penulisan.
Keempat, tiga temubual berstruktur dibuat iaitu soalan dihantar melalui e-mel kepada
setiap peserta selama enam minggu tersebut. Pelajar perlu menjawab beberapa soalan
yang berfokuskan kepada penggunaan lampiran e-mel sebagai perantara maklumbalas.
Tidak berturutan meta-matriks, laman berturutan kesan matriks, dan masa berturutan
meta-matriks digunakan untuk menklasifikasi, menkategori dan menghimpunkan data
yang diperolehi dari semua instrumen. Hasil kajian menunjukkan bahawa penggunaan
lampiran e-mel sebagai perantara penghantaran maklumbalas mempercepatkan proses
penulisan, memotivasikan pelajar untuk menyemak semula draf penulisan dengan lebih
kerap, dan meningkatkan kekerapan komunikasi di antara guru dan pelajar yang mana
ianya mengurangkan penapisan afektif pelajar dan meningkatkan keyakinan diri.
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LIST OF TABLES
PAGE
TITLE TABLE NO.
51 The Relationship between Research Questions and Data Collection
Instruments.
3.1
58 The Relationships between RQs, Instruments, and Data Analysis
methods
3.2
61 Participants' Comments and Questions Unordered Meta- Matrix
4.1
63 Time-ordered Meta-Matrix that Shows the Focus of Teacher
Feedback on Content
4.2
65 Time-ordered Meta-Matrix That Presents the Feedback on Form
4.3
75 Unordered Meta-Matrix that Shows Writing Problems Experienced
by Participants before This Study
4.4
79 Site-Ordered Effect Matrix: The Relationship between Using Email
Attachment as a Tool for Offering Teacher Feedback and the
Positive Attitude of the Participants
4.5
85 Unordered Meta-Matrix: The Importance of Teacher Feedback
While Writing in English
4.6
87 Unordered Meta-Matrix: Participants' Ideas about the Outstanding
Characteristics of Using Email Attachment
4.7
89 The Cross Verification of the Collected Data 4.8
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LIST OF FIGURES
FIGURE NO. TITLE PAGE
1.1 A Brief Illustration of Statement of the Problems
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1.2 Conceptual Framework of the Study
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3.1 Research Design
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3.2 The Contents of The First Email
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3.3 Procedure of Email Communication Between the Learners and
The Instructor
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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
Abbreviation Expression
CALL - Computer Assisted Language Learning
CMC - Computer-Mediated Communication
ELT - English Language Teaching
F-2-F - Face to Face
FL - Foreign Language
L1 - First Language
L2 - Second Language
MW - Microsoft Word
UTM - UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MALAYSIA
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LIST OF APPENDICES
APPENDIX TITLE PAGE
A Correction Charts (McMahan & Day, 1988) 114
B Nesamalar Chitravelu's (1995) Marking Code Table 116
C Improved Correction Chart for Offering Coded Feedback 117
D Assessment Scale for Written Work 121
E Introductory Email 123
F Structured Email Interview No#1 124
G Structured Email Interview No#2 125
H Structured Email Interview No#3 126
I A Complete Process of Doing a Writing Task 127
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Introduction
Perhaps musing on the difficulties of mastering the writing skill is the most
common grumble that can be heard from learners in the process of learning English
as a second language. Many people describe their attempts at writing as "failure",
and many others complain writing in English is hardly easy or spontaneous for them
because normally they have enough ideas to write, but not enough control of the
language system to express what they want to convey comprehensively and
academically satisfactory. In short, students generally have great difficulty
becoming confident English writers.
Writing is detached from a wide range of expressing possibilities in speech
such as inability to exploit pitch and tone of voice, stress, and body movements.
Moreover, “error treatment” which is one of the key issues in second language
teaching can be offered to the learners‟ errors while speaking by instructors or even
their peers in the form of synchronous feedback to repair breakdowns in
communication (Ferris, 2001). During these interpersonal activities that arise
throughout face-to-face (f2f) communication learners can clarify and revise ideas
whenever they face clarification requests. This particular kind of interaction which
has become known as the „negotiation of meaning‟ concerns the conversational
exchanges that arise when the two parties in a conversation try to prevent or remedy
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a communicative impasse (Ellis, 1999). Whereas, when it comes to writing, learners
have to compensate for the unavailability of all these advantages.
In addition, for many of the learners, the inability to adjust the balance
between meaning, process, and form in writing is daunting. Poor handwriting,
grammar, punctuation, and spelling difficulties, as well as poor organization of the
ideas are the most common roadblocks that the students may face when they write in
English.
Nevertheless, students have to master the difficulties of learning to write in
English for ample reasons such as pedagogical and academic purposes. To
accomplish that, teachers are responsible for designing writing activities to provide
appropriate instructional adaptations and accommodations. These activities should
reflect the ultimate goal of enabling learners to write whole texts which form
connected, contextualized, and appropriate pieces of communication (Hedge, 2005).
Deliberately forgetting about the controversy over how to teach writing, and
the effectiveness of different kinds of writing error treatment (Kepner, 1991;
Truscott, 1999; Ferris, 1999), there would be absolutely inevitable global problems
in language teaching classrooms such as lack of sufficient time to support learners
individually (Jackson & Matthews, 1996), having a diversity of reluctant and
motivated learners in a classroom, and also a combination of students with different
goals, needs and level of proficiency, which may influence the decisions of teachers
about the implementation of writing activities.
In recent years, these global factors affect language teachers‟ use of
computers in classroom settings as useful teaching tools that can improve ways of
teaching by offering students a variety of language inputs and expand their learning
experience in a learner-centered environment (Park & Son, 2009). Alongside, the
present study intends to examine the effects of using email attachment as a tool for
offering teacher feedback on learners' writing skills.
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In this chapter, the background and purpose of the study are justified. Also
specific statement of problems, objectives of the study, research questions,
significance of the study, theoretical framework, and operational definitions of terms
are covered.
1.2 Background of the study
Adult English learners may have many reasons for wanting to write in
English. They may need to write to carry out functional tasks such as filling out
forms, taking a message, or writing email messages. Educated ones may need to
acquire writing skills to apply for overseas international universities, to succeed in
academic studies, or to advance in a job. Thus, it seems that offering the same
writing instruction to all students does not fulfill their goals completely. In addition,
for many learners practice writing enhances their language acquisition. In fact, when
learners put their thoughts on paper and share them with others, they practice and
activate the language structures and vocabularies they are learning in the classroom,
but limited classroom time does not allow them to experience this precious chance
often. Moreover, students are always in need of motivation and suitable environment
to relish doing writing tasks regularly. So, it looks like teachers can make use of
students‟ needs and expectations to contribute to a model of individualized,
supportive instruction to keep the students motivated in order to practice.
Effective teaching demands teachers to make distinctions between students
who want to be corrected; those with low self-esteem who need to build confidence
before being exposed to corrective feedback, and talented students who need a
slighted assistance to come up with a precise writing production. Such knowledge
about the demands of students would help teachers to design outside-of-classroom
supplementary activities.
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Providing appropriate assistance or outside-the-classroom supplementary
activities to different students may be good reasons for the teachers to get involved in
technology-enhanced language teaching. Computer technology offers teachers
immense possibilities in delivering the instruction. Moreover, the role and kind of
technology, the goal of activities, and the amount and form of support offered by the
teachers all can be determined by the specific goals and needs of the learners.
However, in addition to having the knowledge of linguistics, teachers require to
know some basic knowledge about what new technologies offer and how they can set
up and manage a new learning environment.
Although it is better for the teachers to keep up with the rapid development of
technologies to be able to select a suitable and innovative one to make use of it in
ELT classes, some simple and popular technologies such as email system which does
not need something more than basic knowledge about computer and internet can
greatly make change in language instruction. The basic skills that the teacher and the
learners required to be familiar with are:
a word processing program such as Microsoft Word (MW)
how to access the internet and web mail
how to attach (upload) and download files
According to Waite et al. (2003) interaction and feedback are the two
essential components of the process teaching and learning which can improve the
success of learning. Exchanging emails between teachers and learners is a useful
medium to share ideas and reflections as well as asking and offering feedback and
help. This simple technology can facilitate learners‟ writing practice outside the
classroom. Word processors allow the teachers to correct, edit, and provide feedback
on the learners‟ digitally submitted work. The writing which is typed in a word
processor document can be easily manipulated, saved, copied, shared, and stored.
The integration of e-learning environment and technology into traditional
ways of teaching and learning, affects the teacher-learner relationship. Establishing
supportive and caring relationships is important to students‟ success, and this process
is generally easier when communication is both positive and encouraging (Reisman,
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1984). Similarly, email communication enables learners to interact with the teacher
when the limited instruction time does not allow f2f communication. However, as it
is discussed later on this online interaction between teacher and the students prepare
the students to become less dependent on teachers (Rozgiene, Medvedeva, &
Strakova, 2008).
Email is a very useful tool for getting in touch with the learners. It can bring
different benefits to different learners. It can be used to replace some f2f time with
learners, because the growing student numbers, widening participation, and
overloaded materials with ample tasks do not let the teachers to provide sufficient
support for the students during the classroom time. In fact, the role of the teacher as
a facilitator, guide, and even consultant remains fundamental during online learning
process. Especially in the initial stages of being exposed to these kinds of courses,
students may need a clear guidance and feedback to be able to carry out the activities
and get used to them.
The learners can access the activities, feedback or guidance at their own
paces and time which address their respective needs and attitudes. Instructing via
email may have the potential to fulfill the individual expectations or needs of the
learners with different motivation and commitment. This individualized learning
support which offers a practical, pragmatic, awareness-raising source enhances
students‟ independent learning, as well as self-study (Race, 2005). This kind of
instruction provides the students the chance to design their individual study plan and
to select appropriate aims and tools to reach them.
1.3 Statement of the Problem
Since teaching students how to communicate effectively and accurately is the
major goal of the majority of English courses, writing is often slighted in language
classes. This ignorance can be seen more obviously in countries such as Iran in
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which English is not the medium of written communication in office affairs, and
where educational systems do not ask students to learn academic English writing as
well. Thus, when the need to learn this skill is not there, learners hardly get
motivated to relish learning it. In fact, the tendency to give the oral skills major
attention, and consider writing less important and useful among the four language
skills may lead to the conclusion that writing can be sacrificed to spend more time on
the other three skills (Chastain, 1988).
However, people are usually not considered fully educated in a language
unless they know how to write in that language (Chastain, 1988), and a great number
of students who are eager to continue their education overseas need to acquire
academic writing skill in a short time to fulfill the requirements of the target
universities which they want to apply for. In fact, lack of writing proficiency in
English is one of the major difficulties faced by the students who are eager to
continue their education overseas. In this case, students need to acquire the
knowledge of the target language system as well as the skills to express their ideas.
In other words, writing activities should emphasize on writing to communicate, and
in the same way to focus on the language itself to enhance conveyance of meaning.
As Spack (1984) says during writing instruction students should acquire the facility
to manipulate the grammatical forms accurately and also consider the readers and the
effect they want to achieve. Learners cannot achieve these goals unless they have
sufficient control of the writing system and the grammar to be understood.
Nevertheless, the ability to have control of the writing system and grammar
cannot naturally be acquired. There is a belief that in order to gain proficiency in
writing, students need to practice a lot. In fact, practice is the most effective and
viable way for students which lead to successful pieces of written works, and
improved writing skills (Hedge, 2005). Zamel (1983) states that "by doing research
on what learners do in the process of writing, we can learn what they still need to be
taught". Therefore, using process writing as suggested by Flower and Hayes (1981a)
may help the learners to understand better the process of writing, as well as consider
feedback from the teacher which is crucial to improve writing skills.
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Errors are the inevitable part of language learning, and errors in learners'
writings are not exceptions to this. Error-treatment apart from choosing which
technique (teacher editing, self editing, peer editing) is a time consuming process.
This definite characteristic makes it rather difficult for the teachers to apply error-
treatment in ELT classrooms where there is always lack of time to fulfill the
requirements of the syllabus.
In addition to lack of time, some of the issues raised are lack of students'
confidence in writing in English, and the way the teacher actually delivers the
feedback and treatment. In other words, practice writing even in the first language
(L1) involves some risk-taking, thus it is important for students to be confident risk-
takers. Appreciating the learners' efforts and valuing the message they are trying to
express over the form and grammar by teachers are significant in this regard
(Hoch,?). That is, students‟ feelings should be taken into consideration, in a sense
that students‟ self-concept and belonging needs should be avoided to sacrifice
(Stevick, 1976) in favor of linguistic correctness.
More importantly, when it comes to insufficient class time which may reduce
the students‟ chance to experience a supportive learning environment of the
classroom (Jackson & Matthews, 1996); many teachers decide to assign homework
devoted to writing. Doing writing tasks at home would give this opportunity to the
students to work at their own pace, and support can be offered to the learners in the
form of written feedback later on. Although encouraging the students to write in
English outside the classroom is a worthwhile activity as it gives the students to
practice and develop their competence and confidence, the delay between doing the
task and receiving the feedback may reduce the efficiency of it.
Considering what has been said, the three major pedagogical areas in
teaching writing which are: i) teaching writing can be consistent with the students‟
needs and goals if it is done in a way to give the students on time error feedback
(Khitam et al., 2009), ii) supporting students affectively (emotionally) is as
important as correcting them cognitively (Newmark and Reibel, 1968), and iii) lack
of enough time in integrated English teaching programs to fulfill all the necessary
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requirements and particulars in teaching writing, provide a background for doing the
present study to foster supplementary writing activities by contemplating the
mentioned issues. Figure 1.1 shows briefly the issues presented in statement of the
problem.
Figure 1.1 A Brief Illustration of Statement of the Problems
1.4 Objectives of the Study
This study is carried out to meet the following objectives:
(1) To investigate whether offering teacher feedback through email
attachment develops or improves learners' writing skills.
(2) To identify the learners' perception and attitudes toward receiving teacher
feedback on writing drafts through email attachment.
(3) To identify the suitable types of teacher feedback on different kinds of
errors which contribute to better quality drafts.
1.5 Research Questions
Based on the objectives, this study asks the following questions:
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(1) In what ways does the use of email attachment for offering teacher
feedback on learners' drafts develop or improve learners' writing skills?
(2) What are the learners' perception and attitudes toward receiving teacher
feedback on writing drafts through email attachment?
(3) What type of teacher feedback on each kind of error contributes to better
quality drafts?
1.6 Significance of the Study
The current study aimed to foster English Learners' writing skills by using
email attachment as a tool for offering contribution and feedback on learners'
sequential writing drafts. It was also one of the main goals of the study to promote
students' attitude toward learning to write in English by developing a writing
platform where they can be enthusiastic and confident about writing, and can leave
the writing course as confident academic writers in English.
It was hoped that the findings of this study later on would allow the students
to learn more about being independent in their attempts to write in English, where
they become more aware of their audience and the mistakes they make in their
writing. From the writing teachers‟ point of view, providing feedback -which is
delivered as email attachments during the process of writing a composition- for
specific students who are in need of help, could be an alternative activity that can be
done outside of classroom. Apart from that, such facilitation could provide the
students with sufficient attention, support and feedback that teachers could rarely
provide if this is done in the classroom.
More particularly, the findings of this study can be used as a framework to
design and plan individualized online writing courses for students with special
demands. Such writing instruction is especially efficient for the learners who are too
busy to attend language classes; disabled learners that their special body situations
hinder their presence in face to face classrooms, and those who have to acquire
English writing skills in a limited time.
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1.7 Scope of the Study
This study focuses on the improvement of the participants' writing skills
through a process-writing approach. The improvement of their error awareness and
their reaction and perception toward receiving feedback on writing drafts as email
attachments are the other concerns of this study.
In this regard, four high Intermediate English learners were chosen as the
participants of the study. These English learners were Iranian applicants for higher
education in Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM). In choosing these students, their
needs to learn academic writing in English and their desire to participate in the study
were taken into consideration.
1.8 Theoretical Framework
Theoretical framework of the study tries to demonstrate the basis of
conducting this research by identifying the elements of literature review in order to
attain the objectives of the study. Figure 1.2 shows the conceptual relationship
between the factors that may influence the students‟ writing skills in English. It
provides a schematic description that shows on-time supportive guidance, types of
feedback that the teacher offers to the learners, and students' needs and goals –which
can affect students' writing skills in English- should be taken into account when
planning process writing as an instructional approach.
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Summary of Findings
Global technology developments have changed many aspects of teaching and
learning in educational systems. The effect of technology on students and teachers
interaction is one of the features of these changes. Email undoubtedly, is one of the
most handy and user-friendly systems that can facilitate the communication between
students and teachers. Email not only provides fast and cheap communication, but
also encourages informal communication (Shanmuganathan, 2003).
In ELT environments email can advance or even change traditional writing
instruction. Using email as a tool for delivering instruction needs the students to use
a word processor, especially when they are asked to send their drafts as text
attachments. While email automatically records and archives all the files, word
processors such as MW, accelerate the process of writing by making easy the acts of
deleting, editing, and replacing. MW also helps the teachers and the students to
review the drafts by Track Changes. Track Changes allow users to edit or comment
on text in an organized and noticeable way.
Teacher feedback is a vital aspect of writing instruction and highly essential
to ensure the success of an online course. While email makes the writing instructor
available at anytime for the students, supportive corrective feedback which can be
individualized based on students' needs and goals improves the quality of the drafts
and students' motivation.
Providing different kinds of feedback to treat different errors related to form
or content leads the students to produce quality drafts. The study shows that coded
feedback and descriptive feedback are highly efficient in motivating the students to
revise their drafts for several times. Here, email as a method of delivery plays an
important role. It reduces reasonably the time between writing a draft and receiving
teacher feedback which engage the students in practice writing and editing more
frequently.