The role of feedback in Dutch oral language education
Anneke Wurth, PhD candidate at ICLON, wanted to gain insight into what works well in oral language education in the school subject of Dutch in the upper years of havo and vwo. The role of feedback became central to her research.
Improving oral language education
Oral language education is very important for promoting communication skills and critical thinking. Yet much less research has been done on this than on reading and writing skills. With her research, Wurth wants to contribute to the improvement of oral language education. During the research, the role of feedback in this education became central.
The importance of feedback
The literature review provided the following five practical elements of good speaking lessons:
- Use a clear list of criteria for speaking.
- Actively explore students' speaking level and potential in lessons through analysis and assessment.
- Use self-evaluation, feedback by teachers and peer feedback.
- Observe and discuss speaking examples on video.
- Let students practice their speaking regularly and with different exercises.
Furthermore, the advice is to let students practice speaking more often during the school year and over the years. In this way, they build on their speaking experiences and increase their confidence when speaking.
The three practical studies provided insights from the 'assessment for learning' theory Teachers and students mentioned the importance of using feedback, repeated practice of and reflection on speaking. In addition, they found the integration of different forms of feedback valuable. And the teachers indicated that it is challenging to apply feedback effectively. They argued for more structured feedback training, for students and for teachers. Finally, these studies advised to develop a continuous learning trajectory of speaking skills with recurring practice rounds and feedback.
Promoting cross-curricular collaboration
Speaking anxiety, a safe learning environment and awareness of social dynamics in the classrooms are other important aspects to take into account. The teachers surveyed in this study want to promote cross-curricular collaboration. This will not only help you solve the lack of teaching time, but also work on a school-wide curriculum for feedback and speaking skills.
The research results support a communicative, cyclical approach to oral language education within the school subject of Dutch and beyond. In this, feedback is the engine behind both the development of speaking skills and language awareness and other learning processes.