If you remember how your first steps were when you started learning languages, you can think of times when you received corrections and comments that served as a guide and marked your learning. In fact, these moments make us remember what we have just learned. Feedback is an important tool when teaching a foreign language. It is one of the essential pillars for students to become aware of their progress, mistakes, and correct answers to learn effectively in the short, medium, and long term.

 

Feedback in classrooms help students develop their skills faster

 

Benefits of Feedback in the language classroom

 

By providing feedback to your students about their performance, they are allowed to improve and develop skills that can be difficult to acquire without expert guidance. As a result, they are aware of their progress and become active contributors to their learning.

In addition, it is a good way to motivate students, providing them with information about their achievements and areas of improvement. Students who receive positive feedback about their work feel valued and recognized for their efforts.

There are many types of feedback, but one of the most effective is instant feedback. When students receive immediate corrections about their performance, they have the opportunity to correct their mistakes quickly and thus learn from them. In addition, it can be more effective for motivating students than late feedback, as they can see clearly and directly the impact of their work.

Another important aspect is that it not only helps students but also helps teachers to improve their teaching. By observing and evaluating students’ performance, teachers can identify areas where they need to modify their approach and adapt their teaching methods to better meet their students’ needs.

In turn, feedback in the classroom becomes a way to encourage communication and collaboration among students. By asking students to provide feedback to each other, an active learning environment is fostered and students take an active role in their education.

 

How to provide good feedback to language learners

 

However, feedback must be concrete and constructive to be effective. Vague or general comments are not helpful to students and can be demotivating. Therefore, it is good to point out the mistake and provide specific suggestions and strategies to help students improve their performance, using a positive tone.

On the other hand, feedback has to be adequate for the level and capacity of students. Comments that are too complex or require a skill level that students have not yet acquired, can be overwhelming and demotivating.

In addition, it is important that feedback is delivered in a way that is respectful and considerate. Some students may be very sensitive to criticism, and it is essential to ensure that corrections and comments are not too harsh or critical. Instead, it is preferable to give feedback positively, highlighting students’ achievements and providing constructive suggestions for improvement.

Finally, taking into account that dedicating personalized feedback to each student can be a little complicated in a classroom, the teaching team can rely on educational technology to facilitate this work.

 

Dexway: the solution for effective and immediate feedback

 

As we have seen, in language learning is key for students to understand what they need to work on or when they need to improve their pronunciation.

But what happens when we have a lot of students to correct simultaneously? When each student submits an exercise and it is complicated to respond individually?

Luckily, today, teaching professionals have language teaching allies such as Dexway In Person, a learning tool in the classroom, that facilitates these tasks for teachers. For example, this learning tool features automatic correction of exercises, interactive activities that give real-time feedback, tools that streamline the distribution of feedback, and even a voice recognition system that helps improve pronunciation. It also features tools that facilitate students’ academic follow-up inside and outside the classroom. Of course, providing effective feedback to students is much easier when you have all these technological means.

Finally, a platform offers channels to provide feedback to students and personalize the message for each individual. This may be convenient in case of negative feedback for students sensitive to exposure to their peers in the physical classroom.

If you would like to know much more about on how the Dexway method works, please contact us so that we can provide you with additional and appropriate information for your school.

 

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