Feedback, Feedforward, and Integrated Guidance: Enhancing Iranian EFL Learners' Speaking Performance and Self-Regulation

Recent studies in EFL pedagogy have highlighted the importance of supporting learners through both corrective feedback and anticipatory strategies that foster self-regulation. While feedback focuses on past performance, feedforward provides guidance for future tasks. However, research on the combined effects of these approaches on speaking performance and self-regulated learning (SRL) remains limited. This study examined the effects of feedback, feedforward, and integrated guidance on Iranian EFL learners’ speaking performance and SRL. Sixty intermediate EFL learners participated in a ۱۴-session quasi-experimental program and were assigned to one of four groups: feedback, feedforward, integrated, or control. The feedback group received post-task corrective comments, the feedforward group received pre-task guidance and strategy prompts, and the integrated group received both forms of support. Speaking performance tests and an SRL scale were administered before and after the intervention, and the data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, one-way ANOVA, and ANCOVA. The results revealed significant differences among the groups, with the integrated guidance group outperforming the others on both speaking and SRL measures. Although feedback and feedforward each contributed to improvement, their combination produced the strongest and most consistent gains. The findings suggest that integrating retrospective and prospective guidance can effectively enhance oral proficiency and self-regulatory capacities in EFL contexts.

کلیدواژه ها:

corrective feedback ، Feedforward ، Integrated Guidance ، Iranian EFL learners ، self-regulated learning ، Speaking Performance