How Goal-setting andFeedback are Effective
for Adult Language
Learners?
Toshiko Shibui(Seigakuin University, Japan)
October 13th, 2019 SSU3 Conference, OsakaBackground Information• Some university students just attend
classes without paying attention to theclass goals or their own learning aims, andare not sometimes motivated enough.
• My previous research was for elementarystudents.
➡ This time: for adult learners

Literature Review
Tremblay and Gardner (1995)
investigated French language dominanceand French achievement, and stated that
The goal setting theory(Locke and Latham, 1990)“made a clear prediction on how to
improve work performance” (p. 508).

Literature Review
O’Malley & Chamot (1990), Oxford (1990)
Metacognitive strategies are useful forplanning, monitoring and evaluation.
It’s effective in order to keep a positiveattitude.
Dylan (2011)
When students focused on the details of thetarget task and when they were involved ingoal setting, feedback interventions areeffective (p. 6)

Literature Review
Locke and Latham (2002)
Summary feedback can show learner’s
progress in relation to their goals.
Goal setting plus feedback affects more thangoals alone (p. 708).
Inagaki (2003)
Students who set both proximal goals anddistal goals and got feedback had their learningfacilitated.
The clarification of goals enhanced learners’
positive attitude toward learning.

Literature Review
Sugitani (2012), Shibui (2015)
Metacognitive strategies increased
students’ awareness of willingness to study.
Hiromori (2010)
Teachers should give students
opportunities to set their own goals because
setting learning goals could enhance theirautonomy (p. 165).

Literature Review
Schunk & Zimmerman (2008, p. 268)Goal Effects on Motivation
Goals enhance one’s choice and attention
toward goal-relevant tasks and away form
goal-irrelevant tasks.
Goals increase one’s effort to attain them.
Goals sustain one’s persistence in pursuing them.
Goals increase one’s affective reactions totargeted outcomes.

Research Question
1. Is ‘Goal-setting and Feedback Sheet’
effective for students’ consciousness
about learning?
2. Does lesson goal-setting at thebeginning of each lesson combinedwith feedback at lesson’s end
contribute to more autonomous
learners?

Participants• Participants- 68 university students (20 men/48 women) at two universities- Age: 18-22

・Subject (class) number: 6- 15 lessons: 4 subjects- 30 lessons: 2 subjects

Materials• Goal-setting and Feedback Sheet• Questionnaire- about the goal-setting and feedback
use: twice- about the class: onceData Collection• Metacognitive Intervention(30 weeks / 15 weeks)• Goal setting and Feedback Sheet- Students write goal-setting.
- Teacher reads them and writes
comments.

Procedure (every time)
Teachertells today’s
lesson aim
Teacher
gives sheetsback tostudentsTeachercollects
sheets &writes
comments

Students set
today’s own
goal

Students
writefeedback &comments

Goal-setting and Feedback SheetID No.

Today's goaldate1234567891011121314

What I could do or find out

Name

What I can't understandreaction・comment

Data Analysis• t-test(from the questionnaire twice)• Teacher checks and analyzes
students’ writing comments.

Questionnaire about goal-setting and feedback
1. Did you set your today’s goal properly at the beginning of eachlesson?
2. Did you notice your goal during the lesson?
3. Did you figure out any way in order to achieve your today’s goal
every time? If yes, how?
4. Did you reflect your achievement by comparing today’s goal during
feedback time?
5. Were you conscious of previous feedback when you set today’s goal?
6. Was your situation (what you can do or not) clear?
7. Did you compare your present situation with your previous one?
8. Could you set today’s goal by referencing your previous situation?
9. Did you take any notes of important points during the lesson?
10. Would you like to attend the class with your consciousness of goalsetting in the future?
11. Did you have short-term goals for this class?
12. Did you have medium-term goals for this class?
13. Did you have long-term goals for this class?

Students‘ comments（TOEIC class)
No. 3

Did you figure out any way in order toachieve your today’s goal every time?
If yes, how?
• I thought each lesson was a real TOEIC Test.
• I always attended the lessons with myconsciousness about each goal.
• I paid attention to my study every time.
• I tried to answer grammar, listening or reading
parts predominantly within the fixed time.

Number of students

Middle-of-term questionnaire (N=68)
28
2230

30

29

27

24

22

19
14
13

13

96
12

76
1264
1

7
512

4
1123

4

5

30

17
11
9

31

16

28
17
14

10

9
7
4
1

540

6

78

28

31
27

25
24

21

20
11
7

14

20

3
20

10
6
3
1

9

10

11

28
19

15
12
6
40

9
8
40

12

13

Questionnaire No.

Yes, very much

Yes

Yes, a bit

Not so muchNo

Not at all

Number of students

End-of-term questionnaire (N=68)
32232223
22

1616232125

2220202112812813101224
2126
21
19171391016282721191513191824
21
1615
981211514303130

30

30101020

40000

1234

5678

910

1112

13

Questionnaire No.

Yes, very much

Yes

Yes, a bit

Not so muchNo

Not at all

The result of using a Goal-setting and Feedback Sheet
questionnaire(N=68)

mid-termmean medianend of termmean median

student'st-test

1. Did you set your today's goal properly at the beginning of each lesson?

4.26

4

4.65

50.0326 *2. Did you notice your goal during the lesson?
3. Did you figure out any way in order to achieve your today's goal

4.32
3.96

44

4.66
4.26

5
40.05930.1165

4. Did you reflect your achievement by comparing today's goal during

4.37

4.5

4.51

50.4010feedback time?
5. Were you conscious of previous feedback when you set today's goal?
6. Was your situation (what you can do or not) clear?
7. Did you compare your present situation with your previous one?

4.04
4.31
4.15

444

4.34
4.78
4.57

455

0.10980.0027 **0.0175 *8. Could you set today's goal by referencing your previous situation?
9. Did you take any notes of important points during the lesson?
10. Would you like to attend the class with your consciousness of goalsetting in the future?

4.01
4.46
4.68

445

4.63
4.68
4.87

555

0.0007 ***0.21000.2263

11. Did you have short-term goals for this class?
12. Did you have medium-term goals for this class?
13. Did you have long-term goals for this class?

4.21
4.10
4.31

444

4.44
40.1908
4.28
40.2943
4.54
50.1746
p*<.05 p**<.01 p***<.001

every time?

Six-scale Questionnaire(1. Yes, very much

2. Yes

3. Yes, a bit

4. Not so much

5. No

6. Not at all)

Small change of students• No. 1

Did you set your today’s goal properlyat the beginning of each lesson?
p<.05• No. 7

Did you compare your present
situation with your previous one?
p<.05

Big change of students• No. 6

Was your situation (what you can door not) clear?
p<.01• No. 8

Could you set today’s goal byreferencing your previous situation?
p<.001Students' end-of-term comments• I could write my feedback and keep my motivation,
so the sheet was effective. (early Englisheducation)• Since each goal was settled every time, I could
study consciously by following my goal. （writingclass)• That was good to set my goal every time, therefore
I could work hard toward the aim. (writing class)• I could find out my strong and weak points clearly.
（TOEIC）• I could settle my next goal carefully because I
wrote my goal and feedback on the sheet every
time.（writing class)

Discussion• Research Q1

The Goal-setting and Feedback Sheet
was useful for students’ consciousness.
• Research Q2

With goal-setting, students could
compare their achievement with theirgoals.
*if no goal setting: cannot compareLimitations• A period of using the Goal-setting andFeedback Sheet for each student （onlyhalf term) was too short.
➡ at least one year would be needed forthe research.

• As for cognitive aspect, it was quiet hardto take a hard look at students’ real selves.

Implications• This research was only focused on theeffectiveness of using the Goal-setting andFeedback Sheet.

Next time,• Metacognitive strategy should be focusedon more.
• Awareness of willingness to study should
be focused on deeply.

Conclusion• The number of students who improved theirconsciousness of their study was increased by
the use of Goal-setting and Feedback Sheets.
• Students could notice clearly what they could
understand or not.
• It is important for students to know their presentsituation in order to be autonomous learners.

References
Dylan, W. (2011). What is assessment for learning? Studies in
Educational Evaluation, 37(1), 3-14.
Hiromori, T. (2010). The influence of learners’ motivation andEnglish proficiency on their perceptions about motivational
strategies. Retrieved fromwww.ritsumei.ac.jp/...RitIILCS_22.3pp159-167Horomori.pdf.
Inagaki, Y. (2003). Raising motivation intensity in foreign
language learning: Role of goal proximity and self-evaluation.
Tokyo University Foreign Language Education Journal, 7, 2132.
Locke, E. A., & Latham, G. P. (1990). A theory of goal setting &task performance. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
O’Malley, J. M., & Chamot, A. U. (1990). Learningstrategies in second language acquisition. Cambridge:Cambridge University Press.

References
Oxford, R. L. (1990). Language learning strategies:
What every teacher should know. New York: Newbury House.
Schunk, D. S., & Zimmerman, B. J.(2008). Motivation and SelfRegulated Learning. NY: Taylor & Francis.
Shibui, T. (2015). A study of how meta-cognitive strategy works
in elementary school English classes. Seigakuin UniversityJournal, 28(1), 155-171.
Sugitani, N.(2012). Motivation, meta-cognition, and learning
skill of university students. Christ and the world: Tokyo
Christian University Journal, 22, 105-113.
Tremblay, P. F., & Gardner, R. C. (1995). Expanding themotivation construct in language learning.
Modern Language Journal, 79, 505-518.

Thank you for your listening.