Providing web-based feedback in distance language education: Instructors' preferences and shared responsibilities

This study examines the web-based feedback preferences of pre-service online language instructors working in a one-to-one distance learning setting. Informed by the extant literature on web-based feedback methodologies, it investigates pre-service teachers within a large-scale distance Chinese language program. Using a mixed-methods approach, the study collected survey responses and conducted semi-structured interviews with two cohorts of pre-service online educators on a Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language digital education platform over one semester. Principal Component Analysis identified four key dimensions shaping pre-service instructors' feedback preferences: Teacher Supervision, Maintenance of Teacher-Student Relationships, Provision of Suggestions, and Exemplar Usage. Descriptive analysis showed that pre-service online instructors preferred strategies that built positive rapport with learners, delivered consistent and personalized guidance, and promoted active student participation. Conversely, pre-service instructors showed less inclination towards supervision-oriented strategies, such as providing checklists, schedules, and task requirements directly to students. Interview findings further revealed that these instructors valued student engagement and learner autonomy, encouraging learners to take greater responsibility for their own learning in the online environment.