Language, Literature and Education: Research Updates Vol. 12

Reading is an essential ability that supports many facets of learning, especially in formal educational environments. The key characteristics of how to raise first-year university students' reading performance comprise basic pedagogical knowledge and understanding, awareness of expressive classroom practices, and linguistic and communicative competence. Nurturing these traits amongst learners is a challenging issue, specifically when they have a prior lack of English language proficiency. One way of improving learners' poor reading skills is the effective feedback given to them. Giving and receiving constructive feedback is one of the major factors that support students in gaining facts during classroom interactions. This study investigates the efficiency of giving feedback to students to increase their reading abilities at the Foundation Institute in Taibah University. Fifteen (15) EFL instructors who teach these students participated in the study. The descriptive method was applied, and questionnaires were given to instructors to collect their views about the effects of feedback on students' reading skills. The data was analysed via content analysis.  The findings revealed that constructive feedback had made remarkable progress in students' reading performance. All participants agreed that giving effective feedback during when teaching first-year students, English language is a crucial factor, as students constantly have to engage with English through all subjects studied at foundation levels. The findings indicate that the absence of feedback significantly limits the effectiveness of the learning process. Observing students’ strengths and weaknesses and reflecting on them through written or oral feedback enables learners to recognize their areas for improvement, avoid potential errors, and develop strategies to make positive changes, ultimately enhancing their performance in the English language.