Exploring Student Feedback Literacy in an EFL Context in China’s Higher Education

This research sought to explore student feedback literacy (SFL) in the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) context in China’s higher education. SFL has gained a substantial amount of attention from researchers and practitioners worldwide, as feedback is pivotal to students’ learning. Given that scant attention has been given to EFL SFL, this research aimed at enhancing EFL SFL in China. Framed by the pragmatism paradigm, mixed-methods approaches were adopted across four studies conducted from <em style="color:black;">December 2021&lt;/em&gt; to <em style="color:black;">June 2023&lt;/em&gt;: Study 1 developed and validated a Student Feedback Literacy Scale for EFL students (SFLS-EFL) to address how SFL for EFL students can be measured (N = 801) (i.e., RQ 1); Study 2 investigated the current extent of EFL SFL (i.e., RQ 2) across eight undergraduate universities in China using the SFLS-EFL (N = 1102). It also explored what EFL teachers can do to support EFL students to improve SFL via semi-structured interviews with EFL teachers (N = 16) (i.e., RQ 3); Studies 3 and 4 investigated the effectiveness of embedding an intervention based on <em style="color:black;">the Developing Engagement with Feedback Toolkit&lt;/em&gt; (DEFT) into curriculum teaching to enhance EFL SFL (i.e., RQ 4). The research revealed three key findings: <strong style="color:black;">i.&lt;/strong&gt; The SFLS-EFL is valid, discipline-specific, and sensitive to change in SFL, making it suitable for intervention purposes; <strong style="color:black;">ii.&lt;/strong&gt; EFL students self-reported an intermediate level of feedback uptake, with variation among the three dimensions of SFL—<em style="color:black;">Knowing&lt;/em&gt;, <em style="color:black;">Being&lt;/em&gt;, and <em style="color:black;">Acting&lt;/em&gt;—as well as individual differences; <strong style="color:black;">iii.&lt;/strong&gt; The DEFT intervention enhanced both SFL and language learning attainment (LLA, particularly in writing and speaking). The conclusions highlight the urgency of enhancing EFL SFL and the significance and difficulty of enhancing students’ feedback enactment. Recommendations for developing future practice focused on establishing a Feedback Supporting Community, providing teachers with practical strategies for developing feedback practices using an empirical roadmap of ‘measure → investigate → seek → enhance’ for exploring SFL within an EFL context. This research project contributes to the existing literature on SFL by providing evidence-based strategies and recommendations for supporting student–teacher collaboration in the enhancement of SFL and, as a result, students’ LLA.</strong></em></em></em></strong></strong></em></em></em>