Effectiveness of direct and indirect teacher feedback vs online peer feedback on the EFL written production

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of direct teacher feedback, indirect teacher feedback and online peer feedback on the EFL written production. The participants were 15 low-intermediate Ecuadorian students in a public school. A within subject design was adopted in this six-week study. Participants were exposed to three treatments at different time periods. E-mails, interviews and articles were produced and graded under three criteria: language and mechanics, content, and register and format. The results showed that direct teacher feedback has the best effect in the development of EFL students’ written production. The study demonstrated the decisive influence of indirect teacher feedback on the improvement of the students’ writing performance, their critical thinking and personal satisfaction. Finally, the results also revealed that although online peer feedback is an advisable pedagogical tool for the students to improve their written production and their social skills, in this study it was the less effective than direct and indirect teacher feedback.