TEACHERS' INSTRUCTIONAL AND FEEDBACK PRACTICES IN THE TEACHING OF SECONDARY SCHOOL ENGLISH LANGUAGE ESSAY WRITING IN DELTA STATE

The study examined English Language teachers’ instructional and feedback practices in the teaching of essay writing in secondary schools in Delta State. To guide the study, seven research questions were raised out of which four were hypothesized and tested at the 0.05 level of significance. The study adopted a descriptive survey research design, integrating quantitative survey responses with qualitative observation protocols. All the 121 English Language teachers in Ughelli North and Ughelli South Local Government Areas of Delta State made up the population of the study. A total of 106 (51 males and 55 females) secondary school English Language teachers participated in the study. Two research instruments, a questionnaire tagged “Teachers’ Instructional and Feedback Practices in the Teaching of Secondary School English Language Writing in Delta State” (r-0.89) and an observation schedule titled "Teachers’ Instructional and Feedback Practices in the Teaching of Secondary School English Language Writing in Delta State" (r -0.91) were used for data collection in the study. The instruments were duly validated and their reliability ascertained. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and inferential tests such as independent samples t-tests and one-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) to assess differences based on sex and years of teaching experience. Findings revealed that teachers generally reported moderate to high use of instructional strategies, including modeling, scaffolding, and guided writing processes. However, classroom observation data showed a lower frequency and quality of those practices in actual teaching. Similarly, while teachers claimed to provide timely and constructive feedback—primarily through written comments and verbal conferencing—observations indicated that such feedback was less frequent and less detailed during instruction. Support strategies for struggling writers, such as differentiation and one-on-one support, were also reported more often than observed in practice. Notably, a significant sex difference was found in instructional practices, with female teachers reporting higher levels of use of the identified instructional practices than male teachers. No significant differences were found in feedback or support practices based on sex or years of experience. The study concludes that sex was a significant factor influencing instructional practices but not feedback practices, while teaching experience did not significantly impact either. These findings suggest that good writing instruction depends not merely on teacher characteristics but also on pedagogical training, exposure to best practices, and institutional support. It was therefore recommended that the gap between what teachers say and what they actually do should be fixed by concerned authorities through the provisions of the necessary resources and training needed to support teachers' implementation of effective instructional and feedback practices.