Comparing the Effects of Direct and Indirect Feedback on Students’ Writing Performance

Abstract

The impact of written feedback on students' ability to improve their writing accuracy has long been a point of debate. This study aimed to investigate the effects of direct and indirect feedback strategies on grade 11 EFL (English as a Foreign Language) students’ paragraph writing performance at Abdisa Aga Secondary School in order to develop a feedback provision model. The study was a quasi-experiment in design. Three sections were selected randomly from the seven sections and then allocated as treatments and control group (Sections E and F, and Section G, respectively). A proficiency test (as a pre-test and post-test) was used to collect quantitative data, which was then analyzed using a two-tailed t-test. Furthermore, an Independent Sample t-test was used to compare the mean results of the proficiency test of the direct, indirect, and control groups, while a one-way ANOVA was used to compare the means of the direct, indirect, and control groups based on their writing performance. The finding shows that the students in the treatment groups outperformed the students in the control group in their writing performance. However, there is no significant mean difference between the direct and indirect groups’ scores. The use of direct and indirect feedback as an intervention had a significant positive effect on writing. The results obtained from the proficiency tests indicate that experimental groups have improved aspects of writing. Thus, Abdisa Aga Secondary School teachers should apply direct and indirect feedback in the EFL classroom.