Vietnamese EFL students’ perceptionand preferences for teachers’ written feedback

ABSTRACT : In recent years, there has been an increasing interest inthe role of teachers’ written feedback(TWF) in the EFL writing class as well as the factors determining the effectiveness of TWF. This studyexamined Vietnamese EFL university students’ perceptions toward and preferences for TWF as well theproblems they encounter when dealing with TWF. A Likert scale questionnaire was used to collect quantitativedata from 84 English major students at a university in Vietnam. The analysis indicated that the majority ofparticipants find TWF helpful and crucial for the development of their writing skill. Comprehensive correctionappeared to be more favorable to the students as they expected the feedback to mark all their errors. It is alsoreported that although the students prefer to receive indirect feedback, they face several difficulties whenprocessing TWF and need additional clues or guidance from their teachers.

KEYWORDS :EFLlearners, writing, teachers’ written feedback, perceptions, preferences