Page 57 - BUKU SYNOPSIS

feedback is necessary for students to enhance their learning. The

feedback will be a scaffolding for the further learning process (Black

et al., 2003; Earl, 2003). The AfL shifts instructors' focus from scorers

to those who provide feedback corresponding to changes in student

learning.

The AfL's strength is in providing feedback on students' previous

learning experiences and what efforts might be taken to improve their

future learning process. Feedback is provided not only by teachers but

also by students or their peers (Hattie & Timperley, 2007; Lee, 2017).

Feedback should be relevant to the task criteria. Lee (2017) asserts that

"feedback is effective when the goals are specific and challenging, and

when it is perceived as non-threatening" (p. 7). However, feedback

should consist of corrections and complimenting the students'

development, even if they demonstrate little progress. Positive

reinforcement in the form of feedback must be used to help and

motivate students to improve their learning.

Several empirical investigations on AfL in writing revealed the

importance of AfL in teaching and learning EFL writing. Huang (2015),

for example, investigated students in tertiary-level EFL writing

classrooms following the intervention of AfL principles. He separated

the sample students into control, goal, and goal+, and asked each group

to prepare a 300-word argumentation essay. After self-evaluation, the

control group altered their text. While the goal group revised the text

52