Perceived teacher feedback practices, student feedback motivation and engagement in English learning: a survey of Chinese university students

Abstract Drawing on recent theorizing of feedback in educational assessment and psychology, the current study aimed to examine the links between perceived teacher feedback practices, student feedback motivation and engagement in English learning. Seven hundred and sixty-four Chinese university students attending a tertiary-level English enhancement course ( N = 764; age: M = 19.45, SD = 0.88; 57.3 % female) participated in this study. The students completed surveys measuring their perceived teacher feedback practices, feedback motivation and engagement. Scaffolding feedback, verification feedback, and criticism were found to significantly predict student feedback motivation. Feedback enjoyment significantly predicted student feedback engagement, but there was no positive significant relationship between perceived feedback usefulness and feedback engagement. Indirect effects testing provided empirical evidence that student feedback motivation mediated the impact of teacher feedback on student feedback engagement in a university English enhancement course context.