Abstract

Providing students with meaningful written feedback is a difficult task that teachers must perform in an ESL classroom. Although many studies have looked at written feedback in terms of directness, criticism, and suggestions, very few studies have examined praise in the form of written feedback and what students' perceptions of praise are. To determine the effect that praise has on ESL students, we examined student responses to two praise types given student proficiency levels and cultural backgrounds. In this study, 109 students from an intensive English Program participated in a survey that asked for opinions on person and performance praise comments. In addition, three different focus groups were conducted to complement the findings of the surveys. Results showed that students in lower proficiency levels saw praise as valuable and change-invoking. In addition, students of Romance cultures seemed to appreciate praise more than those of Asian cultures. An interaction effect also showed that high proficiency Asian students viewed praise as less kind, valuable, positive, and clear than low and high proficiency level Romance students. In the quantitative data, students didnâ€™t seem to notice the difference in praise type, but comments from the focus groups demonstrated that students noticed a difference between the two and preferred performance praise over person praise. This study can help teachers and administrators develop an informed praise philosophy and recognize which type of praise is best for their particular group of students while examining proficiency level and cultural background.

Degree

College and Department

Humanities; Linguistics

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