Dimensions of Formative Feedback During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Evaluating the Perceptions of Undergraduates in Multicultural EAP Classrooms

ABSTRACT

This study aimed to understand the attitudes and challenges faced by multicultural undergraduate students enrolled in academic writing classes. The focus of the study was on the use of formative feedback to scaffold the development of academic writing skills, including ways of conducting research and writing essays and reports using the online platform. The approach involved collecting and extracting relevant data from a survey that included questions related to the provision of formative feedback in academic writing classes for aspects of research related to analysing journal articles and summarising them while considering appropriate grammar use, vocabulary development, and research structure. Responses were obtained from 67 multicultural undergraduate students enrolled in different majors in a private university in the United Arab Emirates. The study results revealed a fair awareness of students’ existing difficulties with research and academic writing skills and their awareness of the importance of receiving constructive formative feedback in different ways to improve their written work. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.