Page 85 - Apuntes de Investigación en la Enseñanza de Idiomas

69 Apuntes de Investigación en la Enseñanza de Idiomas

Figure 1. Comparative of achievement

For the present Action Research, even though feedback and the submission of second corrected
versions had the purpose of promoting noticing, awareness and comprehension, it seems that most
learners may not have achieved real comprehension and intake. Consequently, feedback as an edu-
cational tool may not have lead to integration or to modified and improved output.

Conclusions

According to the results obtained in this study, feedback could be proposed as a resource for faci-
litators to overcome some of the difficulties that have emerged in terms of the lack of face to face
teachers’ presence, along the implementation of this language teaching-learning modality. Conse-
quently, it can be concluded that evidence was found to support the positive effect extensive feed-
back may have in enhancing the teaching presence in this learning environment, which in turn may
have a positive effect on students’ engagement, participation and motivation.
Contrarily, the results obtained in terms of learning consolidation (learning outcomes) were found to
be less optimistic, since there was no clear evidence of improvement derived from the feedback pro-
vided. One of the implications of this point of view is that feedback might be a valuable tool which is
worthwhile implementing and evaluating in order to manage its adaptation and improvement, guided
by the students’ needs.

Further research is suggested to determine to what extent certain language contents are not con-
solidated from one activity to another, even after feedback has been provided and a correction has
been produced by the students, and what other factors might be involved. It would also be worth
investigating if this is due to individual variations or if it is related to specific language contents. Ano-
ther area to explore is that of peer feedback, in terms of feasibility, as well as its impact on students’
perceptions and learning outcomes.
We hope that the findings reported in this paper may contribute to the teaching resources available
to on-line EFL facilitators, for them to overcome the numerous challenges teachers and students face
in these emerging pedagogical environments.