RESUMO
Written feedback (WF) in English as a foreign language (EFL) writing has been explored from two perspectives, including product-based WF, which is provided on completed drafts, and process-based WF, which can be used during pre-, while-, and post-writing. Students' perceptions have been mainly investigated in relation to product-oriented WF preferences and practices, but not in comparison to the two WF approaches. This exploratory quantitative study examined students' preferences and reported instructor practices of the product and the process approaches of WF in the higher education EFL writing context. Data were collected from 468 Moroccan students through a questionnaire covering the characteristics of the two WF types using nine different subscales, enabling several comparisons during data analysis. Four principal component analyses were employed to validate the questionnaire. The data and sampling in each case were appropriate for factor analysis (0.78 ≤ KMO ≤0.93). Reliability values (0.71 ≤ Cronbach's alpha ≤0.95) were acceptable. 1) Students reported higher preferences for receiving written corrective feedback; effective WF modes containing specific, personalized, and detailed WF supporting the identification of the next steps in the writing process; and content-based WF related to macroaspects (e.g., the range of ideas and the development and relevance of a topic, purpose, genre, context, and audience). 2) Moreover, they reported that their instructors used these approaches more often than other WF techniques. 3) However, there were discrepancies between the two constructs in the case of all subscales. Students perceived that mostly all the techniques of the two approaches of WF are of great importance in EFL writing classes; however, they mostly all reported that, in comparison to their preferences, instructors applied them less frequently. The study suggests adapting instructor WF practices to students' preferences to effectively develop their writing skills.
RESUMO
In previous research, the majority of university students seemed to lack proficiency in many areas of writing (e.g., grammar, vocabulary, organization, and sentence construction). This illustrates the challenging nature of writing (as a skill) and the frequent focus on the product rather than the process of writing instruction. Previous research focused on primary and secondary education; only a few studies investigated and compared the perceptions and self-reported practices of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) university instructors in relation to the product- and process-based writing approaches. Therefore, this study aims to examine this issue by surveying Moroccan EFL writing instructors' responses and comparing the findings with those of previous empirical studies from diverse educational levels. The following research questions guided our study: 1) What are the instructors' perceptions of product- and process-based writing? 2) What are their self-reported practices regarding these writing approaches? 3) Is there any alignment between their perceptions and their self-reported practices of product- and process-based writing instruction? For this purpose, a questionnaire was developed to collect data from 51 instructors. Since the questionnaire items regarding perceptions and practices were identical and covered five subscales under the two overall approaches, comparisons could be performed. The findings showed that the instructors agreed on the value of the subscale of Engagement in the writing revision process more than the other subscales. They also indicated that the two subscales of Engagement in the writing revision process and Writing as a final product were their most frequently reported writing practices. Based on the comparison between their perceptions and self-reported practices, consistencies were found in all five subscales. This study not only validated the questionnaire on the two approaches to teaching EFL writing in Moroccan universities but also showed the extent to which instructors' perceptions and self-reported practices matched one another.
