Incorporating Assessment-based Feedbacks into EFL Speaking Class: Metalinguistic Feedback vs. Explicit Correction

Assessment is no longer taken as a means of grading learners’ learning, rather it is a means of enhancing learning provided that an appropriate alternative can conducted. Among various alternative to assessment, formative assessment can be a platform for rendering various types of feedback to facilitate and enhance learning. To verify this acclaimed conjecture, ninety Iranian male EFL learners divided into two experimental and one control groups that the former two groups received two different types of feedback namely assessment-based metalinguistic feedback, and assessment-based explicit correction, while the control group received conventional instruction in a conversation course, respectively. One-way ANOVA and multivariate ANOVA (MANOVA) of the collected data revealed outperformance by the metalinguistic feedback group over the control one, while the control group outperformed those who received explicit correction feedback. Along with the statistical data, monitoring the trend of classroom atmosphere revealed effectiveness of assessment-based intervention, though the room is suggested to be open for further investigation.