Exploring EFL Supervisors' Feedback on Postgraduates' Research Proposals: Functions and Foci

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18326/register.v16i2.207-223

Keywords:

Academic Writing, thesis Proposal Writing, EFL supervisors, supervisory feedback, T

Abstract

Supervisory feedback plays a crucial role in supervising research in higher education. Feedback is a crucial component of successful teaching practices in the context of postgraduate research proposal writing. Effective supervisory feedback can promote supervisees' academic writing and enhance the quality of their research proposals. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the feedback functions and feedback foci that EFL supervisors employ in their written feedback when refining postgraduate research proposals. A qualitative approach and simple descriptive quantitative measures were adopted to address the study's aims and estimate the prevalence of feedback forms. The study's sample included (N = 5) supervisors (4 male and 1 female supervisor) supervising postgraduate students as part of the M.A. in Applied Linguistics program. Data were collected from five supervisory feedback reports on postgraduates' research proposals and proposal drafts. The finding revealed that the EFL supervisors predominantly used directive feedback (52%) in their feedback provision instead of referential (30%) and expressive feedback (18%). Additionally, the findings showed that the EFL supervisors primarily focused on content issues (53%), followed by organization (29%) and appropriateness (19%), and the lowest number of supervisory feedback focused on linguistic accuracy (16%). The study provides pedagogical implications for supervisors and recommendations for further studies.

Author Biographies

Atef AbuSaaleek, Associate professor of Applied Linguistics, Department of English, College of Education, Majmaah University

Dr. Atef Odeh AbuSa'aleek is an associate professor of Applied Linguistics, Department of English, College of Education, Majmaah University, Al-Majmaah, 11952, Saudi Arabia. His research interests are Applied Linguistics, Internet Linguistics, CALL, EFL writing, electronic discourse and electronic feedback. E-mail: a.odeh@mu.edu.sa   ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4727-2455

Aied Alenizi , Associate professor of linguistics. Department of English, College of Education, Majmaah University, Al-Majmaah,

Dr. Aied Alenizi is an associate professor of linguistics. Department of English, College of Education, Majmaah University, Al-Majmaah, 11952, Saudi Arabia. His major research interests include second language acquisition/studies, English language learning, discourse analysis and pragmatics. E-mail: a.alenizi@mu.edu.sa  ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9875-4668 

 

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Published

2023-12-02

How to Cite

AbuSaaleek, A., & Alenizi , A. (2023). Exploring EFL Supervisors’ Feedback on Postgraduates’ Research Proposals: Functions and Foci. Register Journal, 16(2), 207–223. https://doi.org/10.18326/register.v16i2.207-223

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Vol. 16 No. 2 (2023): REGISTER JOURNAL

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