Lee, Icy

This short article reviews key literature that problematizes the conventional WCF approach, which adheres to native-speaker norms and fails to reflect the diverse realities of English use in the globalized era. Drawing on Lee’s (2023) proposal, the article discusses the principles and benefits of a feedback pedagogy informed by Global Englishes (GE), which values learners’ linguistic resources, prioritizes communicative effectiveness, and promotes language awareness. In line with Rose and Galloway’s (2019) GELT curriculum innovation cycle, the article highlights the need for further research to examine the feasibility, compatibility, and effectiveness of this approach in various contexts. It also emphasizes the importance of developing guidelines to support teachers in adopting GE principles and incorporating them into teacher training programs, with a specific focus on feedback in writing. The article concludes by underscoring the potential of the GELT framework for transforming feedback practices in L2 writing and fostering a more equitable and inclusive landscape of written feedback research and pedagogy.

Feedback literate teachers play a central role in promoting students’ writing performance. In L2 writing, however, there is a paucity of research on teacher feedback literacy, and instruments that investigate L2 writing teacher feedback literacy are virtually non-existent. Heeding the call for research on scale development to measure teacher feedback literacy, this two-phase study is an attempt to develop and validate a feedback literacy scale (FLS) for teachers to illuminate this budding concept in L2 writing. The factor structure of the 34-item FLS was determined through exploratory factor analysis (EFA) with the participation of 223 writing teachers. The results revealed a three-factor solution, namely Perceived Knowledge, Values, and Perceived Skills. A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was employed which aimed to verify the structure of the scale and its three sub-scales, based on a sample of another 208 writing teachers. It was found that the model fits the data well (e.g., the RMSEA with 0.052 (90 % CI=0.045–0.059)), proving that the FLS yields psychometrically reliable and valid results, and it is a robust scale to measure the self-reported feedback literacy of L2 writing teachers. In light of these findings, the factor structure and sub-scales of the FLS are discussed. Practical implications for teachers, teacher trainers and teacher education programs, as well as implications for feedback literacy research are provided.

Blended classroom assessment (CA) has become commonplace in the post-pandemic era, offering advantages but also presenting challenges for English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers. These challenges can impact teachers’ emotional experiences, distinct from face-to-face or purely online environments. However, scant research exists on how EFL teachers employ emotion regulation (ER) strategies in blended CA within EFL contexts. This qualitative study examines how eight EFL teachers at a university in southwestern China employed ER strategies in blended CA. Drawing on Gross’s ER theory, the study identifies ten intrinsic and extrinsic ER strategies, either antecedent-focused or response-focused, utilized by EFL teachers. These strategies helped teachers maintain resilience amidst challenges posed by blended CA, including low completion rates of online learning tasks prior to face-to-face instruction, interaction in blended CA, blended assessment design, managing the workload of blending online and face-to-face assessment, and addressing issues of plagiarism and cheating. The study enriches our understanding of EFL teachers’ emotions in blended CA and underscores the significance of ER competence in assessment literacy. Implications for equipping teachers with strategies to enhance their emotional well-being and resilience in blended CA are also discussed.

The second-language writing literature has focused a lot more on how students write and learn to write than how teachers teach and learn to teach writing. Even less literature has been devoted to how teacher educators prepare pre-service and in-service teachers to teach writing. This Viewpoint article serves to fill the void by proposing a three-pronged reflective framework for second-language writing teacher preparation. It addresses the ‘why’, ‘how’ and ‘what’ questions of the teaching of writing, serving as a valuable heuristic and reflective tool to guide writing teachers’ practice. The paper ends with a discussion of the implications of the reflective framework for teacher education, teaching and research in second-language writing contexts.

In English as an additional language writing, error correction or error feedback is most commonly referred to as ‘written corrective feedback (WCF)’. The emphasis on ‘correctness’ in ‘WCF’ suggests native-speakerist standards or norms, which are controversial in an increasingly globalized world. In this Forum article, I discuss the problems associated with WCF from a Global Englishes perspective and suggest broadening the notion by removing the ‘corrective’ emphasis to encompass a focus on language use. I then examine the benefits of the broadened perspective on ‘feedback on language use’, which will steer research attention away from a narrow focus on error and standards in writing, with useful pedagogical implications that reflect English as a global language in the 21st century.

Written corrective feedback (WCF) is a ubiquitous pedagogical activity in second language (L2) classrooms and has become a key area of inquiry in L2 writing research. While there have been several reviews on experimental WCF research, there is not yet a synthesis of naturalistic classroom studies where the type and amount of feedback provided on students' writing performance is not manipulated or controlled. This state-of-the-art article intends to fill the gap by providing a comprehensive and critical review of naturalistic WCF studies in L2 writing, with significant implications for practice and research. A systematic search generated 50 empirical studies that met our inclusion criteria for the current review, which revealed four major themes: (1) teacher WCF practices in L2 writing classrooms, (2) L2 learner responses to WCF, (3) stakeholders’ beliefs and perspectives on WCF, and (4) WCF-related motivation and emotions. Based on the reviewed evidence, we propose pedagogical implications for enhancing teacher WCF practices and student learning, as well as potential avenues for further exploration. This article contributes to a nuanced understanding of current empirical advances in naturalistic research on WCF in L2 writing, providing insights to inform WCF pedagogy and new lines of inquiry.

Blended learning environments demand teachers possessing a high level of assessment literacy, as they play a crucial role in facilitating students' second language (L2) learning outcomes and overall well-being. However, a notable research gap exists in understanding L2 teacher assessment literacy within the blended learning context, further exacerbated by the scarcity of valid assessment instruments tailored specifically to investigate L2 teachers' assessment literacy for blended learning. To address this gap, the present study undertook the development and validation of the L2 Teachers' Blended Assessment Literacy Scale (L2TBALS). The study involved 614 L2 teachers from China, divided into two sub-samples. The first sample underwent exploratory factor analysis (EFA), which revealed a robust four-factor solution comprising Knowledge, Attitude, Practice, and Socio-emotional management. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) with the other sample of 307 L2 teachers confirmed the scale's structure and sub-scales, establishing the final 40-item L2TBALS as a psychometrically reliable and valid instrument for measuring self-reported L2 teachers' blended assessment literacy. These findings have practical implications for teachers and teacher education programs, as well as broader implications for assessment literacy research.

Language assessment literacy, an evolving and dynamic research field, assumes a critical role in applied linguistics. This narrative review analyzes different epistemological understandings regarding language assessment literacy. Guided by the three cognitive interests as defined by Jürgen Habermas, the article illustrates the characteristics of three paradigms of language assessment literacy: language assessment literacy as a product from the technical perspective, as a process from the practical perspective, and as a praxis from the critical perspective. The advantages and drawbacks of each paradigm are also discussed. By analysing language assessment literacy through the lens of these cognitive interests, we offer insights into how the scope of language assessment literacy can be broadened and how a critical perspective can initiate democratic discussions on under-explored issues in this research field. Also, we argue that it is crucial for academics in applied linguistics to be open-minded about the coexistence of different paradigms, as this can lead to significant contributions to language education and language assessment policies.

Given that feedback is increasingly digital and multimodal, there is a pressing need to prepare L2 writing teachers to give multimodal feedback. Yet the notion of multimodal feedback appears underrepresented in extant research on teacher feedback literacy and it is often equated as multimedia feedback. To make feedback relevant to multiplicity in feedback-giving modes and technologies, as well as diversity in student backgrounds and composing practices, this paper proposes the construct of multimodal feedback literacy as an important part of teacher feedback literacy. Grounded in social semiotic of multimodality, this paper elucidates the notions of feedback design, feedback affordance, feedback orchestration, and feedback ensemble as essential dimensions of multimodal feedback literacy. We argue that the development of multimodal feedback literacy entails competences in recognizing the affordances of multiple feedback-giving modes, designing coherent feedback ensembles through orchestrating multiple feedback-giving modes with apt intermodal relations, and managing feedback ensemble as motivated and accumulative. A framework for L2 writing teachers to develop multimodal feedback literacy in relation to a complex and recursive process of being, doing, and becoming is also developed. Implications and challenges are then discussed.