Exploring the dynamic relationship between Dr. GEPT feedback and learners’ L2 motivation

Abstract

Feedback is an important means to bridge assessment and learning, but its usefulness ultimately depends on whether and how learners engage with and act on the feedback. Learners’ L2 learning motivation may interact with feedback in meaningful and consequential ways, yet there is relatively little research to date that explores such a dynamic relationship, particularly among language learners in secondary education.

This study aimed to fill this gap by exploring the relationship between learners’ motivation and assessment feedback offered by Dr. GEPT – automated personalised feedback provided to GEPT each test-taker alongside their test scores, including an analysis of their strengths and weaknesses, learning advice, and vocabulary and sentence patterns for further study. Taking a mixed-methods approach, Phase 1 of this study involved a large-scale questionnaire survey (n = 635) to explore L2 motivation among senior high school learners of English in Taiwan and their general perceptions towards assessment feedback. The questionnaire was developed based on the L2 Motivational Self System model (Dörnyei, 2005, 2009). Phase 2 used learning logs (n = 14) and interviews (n = 10) for an in-depth qualitative inquiry into how learners engaged with Dr. GEPT feedback and how the feedback might have shaped the developments in learners’ learning journeys. The report concludes with a discussion of how Dr. GEPT helps learners develop a positive orientation towards assessments and cultivates learner autonomy, as well as making some suggestions for enhancing the effectiveness of Dr. GEPT feedback.