Abstract

This study conducts a critical discourse analysis of verbal feedback patterns used by teachers in English as a Second Language (ESL) classrooms. The research focuses on four types of feedback: explicit corrective feedback, implicit corrective feedback, clarification-based feedback, and interactive feedback. The study finds that explicit corrective feedback, where teachers directly point out errors, is critical for students who may struggle with error recognition. Implicit corrective feedback and clarification-based feedback, on the other hand, guide students towards self-correction, fostering learner autonomy and deepening their understanding of English language rules and conventions. Lastly, interactive feedback, which promotes a dialogue between the teacher and the student about the student's performance, encourages active participation and self-reflection in students. These different feedback patterns, when employed judiciously and in balance, can greatly enhance language proficiency, confidence, and self-directed learning in ESL students. The study underscores the importance of effective verbal feedback strategies in shaping language learning experiences and outcomes in ESL classrooms.

Key Words

Critical Discourse Analysis, Verbal Feedback, ESL Learners, Interactive Feedback, Corrective Feedback

Introduction

Language in the classroom serves as much more than just a straightforward means of knowledge transmission. It is a complicated, multifaceted phenomenon that bears layers of context and meaning, influencing how students interact with their environment (Abdelrady & Akram, 2022). Along with instructing, it also works as a social tool, quietly elevating some views while marginalizing others. In the context of English as a Second Language (ESL) classrooms, where varied cultural backgrounds, linguistic abilities, and learning objectives combine to create a dynamic and nuanced linguistic environment, this special role of language is heightened (Akram & Abdelrady, 2023).

Power dynamics in this environment are unavoidable. The teacher has power because they are the students' primary influencers (Akram et al., 2021). Thereby, it is vital for teachers to be developed professionally (Akram et al., 2022). The way people speak and how they express themselves can have a big impact on the learning environment. In ESL classes, when students are studying the language of instruction, this power dynamic is much more obvious. As their English language proficiency grows, they become more dependent on the teacher for language modelling and more open to the language use of their teacher.

Key to this dynamic is the verbal feedback patterns used by teachers. These patterns include the language teachers use, the tone they adopt, the setting in which they provide feedback, and the harmony between compliments and criticism they achieve (Solhi & E?inli, 2020). These feedback patterns may have a significant impact on the students and the learning environment. They have the power to influence whether students see the classroom environment as nurturing and encouraging or threatening and critical.

Key to this dynamic is the verbal feedback patterns used by teachers. These patterns include the language teachers use, the tone they adopt, the setting in which they provide feedback, and the harmony between compliments and criticism they achieve (Shieh, Reynolds, & Ha, 2022). These feedback patterns may have a significant impact on the students and the learning environment. They have the power to influence whether students see the classroom environment as nurturing and encouraging or threatening and critical. For instance, a teacher who frequently utilizes constructive criticism and positive reinforcement can create an atmosphere that encourages pupils to take risks, builds their self-esteem, and is more motivating (Pradhan & Ghimire, 2022). On the other side, a teacher who places a lot of emphasis on mistakes and provides critical comments can foster a fearful and anxious environment, which could obstruct learning. It's significant because these feedback patterns have the ability to reflect and support broader social and cultural norms, especially those that pertain to authority and power. This can relate to both the cultural origins of the teacher and the pupils in an ESL classroom as well as the prevailing social mores of the setting (Mahmood, 2022).

In English as a Second Language (ESL) classes, feedback is a critical component of the learning process and serves a number of functions that all support the student's overall growth. Firstly, feedback acts as a means for fixing mistakes. Students learn to recognize their flaws and rectify them when they make linguistic mistakes through the teacher's feedback. Students need this immediate or delayed corrective feedback to help them understand the grammar and syntax of the English language, which will eventually improve their language skills (Mahalingappa, Polat, & Wang, 2022).

Second, feedback serves as a means of encouraging others. Recognizing students' efforts, accurate responses, or advancements by teachers not only validates their efforts but also promotes a sense of accomplishment and increases their drive. This encouraging feedback might be helpful in developing a passion for learning and a positive outlook on picking up the English language (Ioannou & Tsagari, 2022).

Furthermore, feedback fosters participation in learning. Students are urged to reflect on their learning process, pinpoint their strengths and flaws, and take responsibility for their development rather than merely being passive recipients of knowledge. This promotes the growth of critical thinking abilities and creates a setting that is more active and learner-centred. Lastly, the assessment remains essential for the management of classrooms. Teachers establish expectations, create norms, and direct student conduct through feedback. Students can succeed in a structured learning environment where they are aware of the expectations placed on them (Van Der Kleij & Adie, 2020).

Although feedback fulfils these crucial purposes, its format and manner of delivery may unintentionally perpetuate current power structures. Teachers hold a position of authority by nature, and the manner they provide feedback can either support this hierarchy or work to bring it into balance. For instance, feedback that is primarily top-down, authoritative, and corrective can highlight the disparity in power between the teacher and the students. On the other side, encouraging student voice, dialogue, and constructive feedback can promote a more inclusive learning environment (Wirantaka, 2019).

Additionally, the type of feedback might influence how kids develop their identities. Teachers subtly convey information about students' talents, their location in the classroom, and their value as learners by the language they use, the tone they adopt, and the aspects of their work they choose to highlight. These signals have the potential to change students' identities and self-perceptions over time, potentially enhancing or limiting their sense of self-efficacy and belonging. Similarly, Khan, M.A, et al. (2017) said that the direction of print media is ambiguous and the said media is acting as a tool in the hands of capitalists to fulfil their agenda i.e. to attract more and more people to their products and to earn more and more money. There is another instance in, Bhutto, J. and Ramzan, M. (2021) have elucidated that media works for the pacification and it has a collusive stance which is decorated in the agenda of power. Furthermore, Ramzan, M., & Javaid, Z.K., (2023) have expressed that there is a cognitive stance in the use of political language always. 

In essence, feedback in ESL classrooms is a multifaceted tool with far-reaching impacts on learning outcomes, classroom dynamics, and student identity formation. As such, teachers must be mindful of their feedback practices and the potential implications these may have on their students.

We hope that by embarking on this voyage of investigation into the nature of teacher-student interactions in English as a Second Language (ESL) classrooms, we will add depth and complexity to the current body of knowledge in this field. By closely investigating teachers' verbal feedback patterns in this context, we hope to shed light on the often-subtle ways in which language can shape the learning environment and alter students' experiences and identities. Specifically, we aim to demonstrate how feedback can be used to balance power dynamics, validate diverse student identities, and foster a sense of belonging and self-efficacy among students. By doing so, we aim to promote a vision of ESL education that emphasizes not only language acquisition but also the development of an inclusive and empowering learning community. With these objectives in mind, the research seeks to address the following questions:

1. What are the most prevalent verbal feedback patterns, ESL teachers employ in the classroom?

2. How do students perceive and respond to different types of teacher feedback?

Method

Participants

Five prestigious English language schools that all use the Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) method participated in the painstakingly planned study. This approach to teaching, which is well-liked for emphasizing interaction as the vehicle and endpoint of language learning, offered an engaging background for the study of teacher feedback patterns in the ESL classroom.

Participants were carefully chosen using a purposeful sampling methodology, which is well suited for its deliberate focus on persons who are extremely educated about or acquainted with the phenomena of interest. The study's main participants were five female English language instructors. These individuals were not chosen at random; rather, they were chosen intentionally because of their extensive classroom experience. Each participant has spent five to seven years negotiating the complexities of English language instruction, accumulating a wealth of practical knowledge and fine-tuned teaching methodologies. They were significant contributors to the research due to their breadth of expertise, providing nuanced, personal perspectives of feedback techniques in the ESL classroom.




Instrument

The investigatory portion of the study was distinguished by an experiential method, with the researcher acting as an observer within the fabric of the classroom environment. Each teacher was observed in their regular teaching environment during a single class session, which lasted roughly 45 minutes. This real-time observation provides a raw, unfiltered view of the classroom dynamics, capturing the unpredictability and truthfulness of the interactions between teachers and pupils.

The discussions throughout these sessions were painstakingly documented utilizing audio devices to assure the correctness and permit in-depth analysis. This method recorded not just the feedback's substance but also the nuances of the teachers' delivery - tone, emphasis, tempo, and other aural cues that contribute to the overall effect of their communication.

Following the observations in class, the audio recordings were meticulously transcribed, transforming the rich aural data into a textual format that could be comprehensively studied. This transcription technique retained the integrity of the classroom exchanges, giving a solid foundation for the subsequent stages of analysis.




Ethical Concerns

The four teachers who participated in the study were anonymized to protect their privacy and the objectivity of the investigation. Rather than using their names, each participant was given a unique identification number: 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6. This number coding enabled unambiguous differences between participants in the analysis while keeping their individual identities private.




Data Analysis

The model of critical discourse analysis by Fairclough (1995), was used to analyze verbal feedback patterns, ESL teachers employ in the classroom.

Results

Three main themes have been identified using critical discourse analysis, which is listed below:




Correction based Feedback

Corrective feedback is a vital technique in language training, particularly in the setting of ESL (English as a Second Language). It is a response from the teacher informing the learner that an error has happened and offering the right form or structure. Corrective feedback can assist students in identifying their mistakes and so improving their language-learning process. It was also discovered by Wirantaka (2019) that students preferred receiving feedback in the form of pointing out flaws because the teacher gave the appropriate form of correction right away. Teachers, on the other hand, are discouraged from providing excessive feedback through error correction because, according to Amara (2015), error correction is harmful to students because it allows students to know the correct form without allowing them to participate in the learning process, making them dependent on the teacher. 

Upon analysis, two types of corrective feedback were identified by the researcher, which include explicit and implicit.




a) Explicit Corrective Feedback

The teacher directly conveys to the student that they have made an error and provides the proper form in explicit corrective feedback. This strategy is simple and provides no room for doubt regarding what was wrong or how to fix it. The pattern of explicit corrective feedback emerged as a type of corrective feedback, whose instances are given below:




Example 1

T: [1] What did you do yesterday?

S: [2] I go to the park.

T: [3] You mean, "I went to the park"?

S: [4] Yes, I went to the park.

T: [5] That's correct! What did you do there?

S: [6] I play soccer.

T: [7] Remember, for past activities we say "played." So, you would say, "I played soccer."

S: [8] I played soccer.

T: [9] Excellent! Keep practising the past tense.

The teacher is giving specific corrective feedback in this interaction to assist the student comprehend and correct their use of the past tense. The teacher points out the error and gives the right form, and the pupil repeats the revised statement.




Example 2

T: [1] What kind of animals do you like?

S: [2] I like dog.

T: [3] You mean, "I like dogs"?

S: [4] Yes, I like dogs.

T: [5] Good! Any other animals you like?

S: [6] I also like cat.

T: [7] Remember, when talking about more than one animal or thing in general, we use the plural form. So, you should say, "I also like cats."

S: [8] I also like cats.

T: [9] That's right, well done!

The teacher gives explicit corrective feedback in this interaction to aid the student in understanding and addressing their error with plural noun usage. The teacher corrects the sentence and points out the error. The student repeats the amended sentence. This is an excellent example of explicit corrective feedback.

This approach is also identified by the findings of Tavakoli and Zarrinabadi (2018), who specified it as the best approach for students in an EFL context.




b) Implicit Corrective Feedback

The nature of implicit corrective input is more subtle. The teacher highlights an error but does not explicitly supply the right form. Instead, the teacher encourages the student to recognize and remedy the fault on their own. The pattern of implicit corrective feedback emerged as another type of corrective feedback, whose instances are given below:




Example 1

T: [1] So, what did you do over the weekend?

S: [2] I goed to the cinema.

T: [3] You "goed" to the cinema?

S: [4] No, I went to the cinema.

T: [5] That's correct! What movie did you see?

S: [6] I watches the new superhero movie.

T: [7] You "watches" the new superhero movie?

S: [8] No, I watched the new superhero movie.

T: [9] Excellent, well done!

The teacher used recasting, a type of implicit remedial feedback, in this communication. As a question, the teacher repeats the student's faulty verb forms, prompting the learner to identify and remedy their own errors. Instead of directly stating the errors or providing the correct forms, the teacher encourages the pupil to self-correct. This strategy encourages students' problem-solving abilities and assists them in becoming more self-directed learners.




Example 2

T: [1] Where did you go on your last vacation?

S: [2] I went to beach.

T: [3] You went "to beach"?

S: [4] Oh, I mean, I went to the beach.

T: [5] Great correction! And what did you do there?

S: [6] I swim in sea.

T: [7] You "swim in sea"?

S: [8] Sorry, I swam in the sea.

T: [9] That's it! Sounds like a great vacation.

The teacher adopts a questioning tone in this exchange to highlight the student's deletion of the definite article "the" before "beach" and "sea," as well as the erroneous verb tense "swim" instead of "swam." The pupil is then able to identify and remedy their errors. Because the teacher does not directly point out the faults or provide the proper answers, this is an example of implicit corrective feedback.

Khadawardi (2021) also identified that implicit corrective feedback is a beneficial approach in the context of writing instruction for second language learners, because, implicit feedback encourages learners to identify and correct their own errors, promoting learner autonomy and problem-solving skills and thus fostering deep learning.

c) Clarification-based Feedback

In language instruction, clarification requests are a type of implicit corrective feedback. This feedback approach is used to inform a pupil that their statement was inaccurate or confusing, prompting them to self-correct. It's a technique for indicating a problem without outright correcting the student. The pattern of clarification-based feedback emerged as another type of corrective feedback, whose instances are given below:

T: [1] So, can you tell me about your favourite book?

S: [2] My favourite book is "The Hobbit." It's very interest.

T: [3] It's very "interest"?

S: [4] Sorry, I mean it's very interesting.

T: [5] That's right, well done! We use the word interesting when we find something enjoyable. Can you tell me more about why you find it interesting?

S: [6] Because it has a lot of adventure and suspense.

T: [7] It has "a lot of adventure and suspenseful"?

S: [8] Oh, I mean it has a lot of adventure and it's suspenseful.

T: [9] Great job! I agree, "The Hobbit" is a thrilling book.

The teacher utilizes clarification-based feedback to convey to the student that their utterances are unclear or erroneous in this discourse. The teacher encourages the learner to reflect on their output and address their own flaws by repeating the troublesome phrase as a question. This can assist the student in being more conscious of their language use and capable of self-correction. Van Der Kleij and Adie (2020) also advise providing detailed explanations of errors, stating that providing feedback by describing the material in detail is a more successful way than just supplying remedial advice.




Interactive Feedback

Interactive feedback, also known as dialogic feedback, is a communicative process in which teachers and students converse about their learning and performance. Rather than being a one-way information transmission from teacher to student, interactive feedback is distinguished by constant debate, questioning, and negotiation. The teacher does not merely point out errors or provide correct answers in an interactive feedback process. Instead, they get the student to think about their work, figure out where they went wrong, and come up with improvements. This could include asking the student to describe their thought process, prompting them to identify their own mistakes, or directing them to the proper solution on their own. The pattern of Interactive feedback emerged as another type of verbal feedback, whose instances are given below:

T: [1] So, can you tell me why you think "went" is the right verb to use in this sentence?

S: [2] Because the sentence is about something that happened in the past.

T: [3] That's correct, "went" is a past tense verb. Now, let's look at the subject of the sentence. Is it singular or plural?

S: [4] It's "they," so it's plural.

T: [5] Right, and do we use "went" with "they" in the past tense?

S: [6] No, we use "went" with "I." With "they," we should use "went."

T: [7] Actually, with "they," we use "went" or "did go." So, how should the sentence read?

S: [8] "They went to the store."

T: [9] Excellent! Keep practising your verb conjugations.

The teacher utilizes interactive feedback in this chat to assist the learner comprehend and remedy their error. Rather than delivering the proper answer, the teacher encourages the student to think about grammatical principles and apply them to the phrase. This assists the student in being more conscious of their error and capable of self-correction, hence fostering deeper learning. This finding is aligned with the findings of Dabiri (2018), who identified that teachers use interactive feedback techniques as a mode of verbal feedback. It can be effective for promoting learning because it encourages students to be active participants in the feedback process. It helps students develop metacognitive skills, such as the ability to evaluate their own work and use feedback to improve their learning strategies (Akram & Abdelrady, 2023).




Example 2

T: [1] You've written here, "She don't like apples." Can you explain why you chose "don't" in this sentence?

S: [2] Because "don't" is used when someone does not like something.

T: [3] That's true, "don't" is used to express negation. But, remember, we also have to consider the subject of the sentence. Here, the subject is "she". So, do we usually use "don't" with "she"?

S: [4] No, we use "doesn't" with "she."

T: [5] That's correct! So, how should the sentence read?

S: [6] "She doesn't like apples."

T: [7] Excellent! Keep in mind the subject-verb agreement rules when you're writing.

The teacher does not instantly correct the student's error in this exchange. Instead, they ask the learner to consider why they made the error and how to repair it, guiding them toward understanding the subject-verb agreement rule. This interactive feedback approach assists students in deepening their comprehension of English grammar and becoming more competent in self-correction.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the use of varied verbal feedback practices by ESL teachers, including corrective feedback in its different forms (explicit, implicit, and clarification-based) and interactive feedback, plays a crucial role in enhancing the language learning process.

Corrective feedback, whether explicit or implicit, assists pupils in recognizing linguistic errors and providing them with the proper language forms. Explicit corrective feedback provides direct correction, which can be advantageous for students who may not be able to realize their own mistakes. In contrast, implicit corrective feedback encourages learners to self-correct, encouraging learner autonomy and deepening their comprehension of language rules and conventions.

Clarification-based feedback serves as another form of implicit corrective feedback, where teachers signal to students that their utterance was incorrect or unclear, without directly providing the correct answer. This prompts learners to self-reflect and identify their own errors, further strengthening their problem-solving skills and enhancing their ability to self-correct in future instances (Al-Adwan et al., 2022).

By involving students in a debate about their performance, interactive feedback adds another layer to the feedback process. This promotes active engagement and helps students realize their mistakes and how to remedy them. It also fosters metacognitive skills, as students learn to evaluate their own work and use feedback to better their learning.

Overall, each feedback type offers unique benefits and can be used effectively in different contexts or with different learners. Balanced and judicious use of these feedback types in ESL classrooms can significantly boost students' language proficiency, confidence, and autonomy, thereby promoting effective and efficient language learning.

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