Examining the Marking of English Language Scripts of Technical University Students in Ghana

Abstract

This paper assesses how English language texts of Technical University (TU) students are marked. In their quest for their certificates, HND students are required to write Communication Skills I and II papers in the first year. Nonetheless, most HND students do not normally perform well in these two courses. The objectives of the paper were, therefore, to find out the type of errors TU students make; and the influence that Direct Corrective Feedback (DCF) has on their texts. The paper was grounded in Noticing Hypothesis theoretical framework. The design of the research was sequential exploratory mixed method. The participants for the study were selected from four technical universities – Ho, Koforidua, Kumasi, and Sunyani Technical Universities. From each of the technical universities, 20 participants were randomly selected. Therefore, the sample size, in terms of the participants, was 80. However, 240 raw data were collected. That is, each of the 80 participants composed one letter at the
pre-test stage. After grading their scripts with DCF technique, the participants were, again, asked to compose another letter at the post-test stage. Also, the participants were made to fill questionnaire item each. SPSS and BLAF1 were used in analyzing the questionnaire items and the scripts respectively. The findings of the study showed that DCF treats written errors effectively. The study, therefore, recommends that language assessments of TU students should be made up of both pre – and post-test items, and DCF should be used in assessing HND students’ English language essay-based scripts.