Monthly Archive for May, 2011

Professor Pippa Stein was a scholar and teacher at the University of the Witwatersrand who was deeply committed to education in Africa at all levels and in all subjects, although her own field was that of literacy.  She was instrumental in setting up the Africa Research Network, collaborated on research projects in South Africa and globally, and was a key member of the international Learning Conference and Journal Advisory Board. The Pippa Stein award honours her work and is intended to encourage outstanding educational research in Africa.

Congratulations to Bernard Ouma Mikume and  Samuel Ouma Oyoo the winners of the Pippa Stein Award for Excellence in Educational Research in Africa with their paper Improving the Practice of Giving Feedback on ESL Learners’ Written Compositions.

Paper Abstract: There has been increased research interest in the area of feedback in students’ written compositions since Truscott’s (1996) article that strongly argued against error correction in ESL learners’ writings. Many of these research studies have, however, concentrated on the effect of teacher written corrective feedback (WCF) on ESL learners’ writing. Little attention has been given to the use of alternative feedback strategies to supplement teacher written feedback on learners’ writing. Besides, many of these studies have been more concerned with describing students’ responses rather than trying to improve teachers’ feedback practice. This study was, therefore, aimed at improving the practice of giving feedback on ESL learners’ written compositions through use of self-correction and conferencing on ESL learners’ compositions to supplement improved teacher written feedback. The study this paper draws from employed a qualitative approach within an action research design. It used a sample of Form 3 (Year 10 equivalent) ESL class in a secondary school in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Data collected from interviews, observations, informal conversations and feedback exit slips with students and the subject teacher formed the basis of reflections and analysis. The findings show that the use of these additional strategies (self-correction and conferencing on ESL learners’ compositions) can lead to improved quality of learners’ written compositions and learners’ increased motivation and confidence in writing. This study concludes by recommending the use of these strategies to improve the practice of providing feedback on ESL learners’ compositions to improve their writing skills.