FROM ENCOURAGEMENT TO ANXIETY: UNDERSTANDING THE IMPACT OF TEACHER FEEDBACK IN ENGLISH CLASSROOMS

LANGUAGE EDUCATION

This study examined the impact of teacher feedback on students' motivation and anxiety while learning English as a second language, through a qualitative phenomenological approach. Thirteen (13) participants, consisting of teachers and students from a local school, were selected using purposeful sampling. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews for teacher participants, and Focus Group Discussion for student participants. Data were analyzed using Thematic Analysis to identify and analyze thematic patterns of meaning within textual data. Firstly, it was found that feedback conveyed with clarity, compassion/emotional resonance and cultural responsiveness can help shape students' motivation, confidence and willingness to work with language learning tasks online or offline. Factors that helped motivate students were the use of a constructive tone, personalization in the form of actionable advice, and acknowledgment of effort. Secondly, feedback that would generally be perceived as vague, overly critical, or delivered in a public manner increased students' anxiety. Misalignment between teacher perceptions and student frames of reference worsens negative emotional reactions. Moreover, students preferred attributions that acknowledged their current progress, yet provided them with more specific options for subsequent improvements. Teachers emphasized that feedback is not just about the student, but also cognitive and emotional labor in order to manage affect in their classrooms when providing feedback. Overall, the study suggests feedback contributes to the teaching process as non-instructional, relational and emotional work. It recommends that teachers require feedback literacy training and understanding of affective pedagogy, and that educational policy supports the development of student-centered, culturally responsive feedback systems.

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