Using Adaptive Feedback in an ESP Course for Developing University Students’ EFL Listening and Reading Comprehension Skills

It has been frequently suggested that effective teachers adapt their teaching to navigate the complexity of classroom instruction. However, little research has been conducted in the EFL context on how teachers adapt their instruction and the effect of adaptive teaching on their students’ learning. The current study addresses this gap in the research literature. It investigates the effect of adaptive feedback on developing university students’ listening and reading comprehension skills. Following a personalized student-centered view of foreign language learning, it was hypothesized that listening and reading comprehension could be enhanced by providing the students with adaptive feedback as they completed listening and reading comprehension exercises. The study sample consisted of 26 first-year university students of education at Minia University who were enrolled in a teacher preparation program for pre-service Chemistry teachers using English as a medium of instruction. The study followed a pretest-posttest one-group design to collect quantitative data through two listening and reading comprehension tests. The study's findings revealed a positive impact of adaptive feedback as the participants’ listening and reading comprehension post-test scores improved. The differences were statistically significant in favor of the post-administration of the listening comprehension test and the reading one. These findings were discussed concerning the ongoing debate regarding the role of personalized education through adaptive learning and instructional practice to suit the learners' abilities and dispositions as a primary goal of education to provide a learning environment conducive to more powerful language learning.