FEEDBACK STRATEGIES: AN EFFORT TO ENHANCE THE CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS OF DAF-LEARNERS IN INDONESIA

Critical thinking has become one of the main education goals in this 21st century as the trend in the global market also requires graduates to be able to apply critical thinking skills to work settings. This study aims to describe the strategy of providing feedback to improve the critical thinking skills of German as a foreign language (GFL) learner in Indonesia. The research data were collected through observations and interviews with German students and lecturers at Universitas Negeri Malang, Indonesia, and presented descriptively qualitatively with observation and interview instruments. The results showed that asking questions to students, providing comments, encouraging output, and giving praise are the feedback strategies that can improve students' critical thinking skills. Lecturers provide several questions that lead them to think and answer these questions. The questions should be given to all students in the class so that students gradually are encouraged to be more active. Through those feedback strategies, learners are triggered to memorize, understand, apply, analyze, reformulate, and evaluate the learned materials. All those strategies are implemented to lead the students to better critical thinking skills. It is recommended that lecturers apply more types of feedback so that students have more opportunities to improve their language skills.

Thus, we need to explore strategies that can enhance students' critical thinking, particularly students of Deutsch als Fremdsprache (DaF) or German as a Foreign Language.Feedback strategies appear most relevant as they have the potentials to promote university students' critical thinking as proven by Ekahitanond (2013) through the use of online discussion forum as well as to train students in critically reflecting on their weaknesses (Galikyan & Admiraal, 2019;Mpungose, 2021).The finding that students did not know their weaknesses is a proof that they have less feedback in the class.They need to be led to realize their weaknesses in certain language skills through feedback from lecturers.Even though, we have to consider the way of giving feedback, because as stated before, certain ways lecturer employ in giving feedback could cause students' stresses (Aina & Wijayati, 2019;Eyni, et al., 2021;Karaman, et al., 2019;Procentese, et al., 2020).Besides, there is still less study about feedback related to critical thinking skill, especially in DaF context in Indonesia.This present study is intended to explore how lecturers of DaF provide various types of feedback in order to develop their students' critical thinking.As studies on feedback strategies for DaF students are still few in number, the results of this present study can provide empirical data concerning the utilization of feedback strategies for the development of critical thinking.It also offers various strategies of giving feedback that can be used by teachers or lecturers in language classes.

2.
METHOD This study employed a descriptive research design, meant to describe various types of feedback that can enhance students' critical thinking.The instruments used were observation and interview guidelines.The data collection was conducted from 9 September 2019 to 31 October 2019.The data was taken from the learning processes in the German Language Education Study Program, Faculty of Letters, Universitas Negeri Malang (UM).The classes being observed were Deutsch I (2 classes), Konversation I (2 classes), Deutsch auf B2 Niveau (2 classes), and Freier Vortrag (1 class).Each class was observed six times, once a week.The focus of the observation was to identify various feedback strategies that the lecturers used in the classes in order to develop their students' critical thinking.
In addition to observations in the classroom, the data were collected through interviews with the lecturers and the students to crosscheck the data that had been collected through observations.The selection of the students to be interviewed was determined based on those who were responding to the feedback given by lecturers in order to explore the follow-up information they had done after receiving the feedback.
As explained by Krippendorf in the book entitled Content analysis an introduction to its metodology.2nd Edition. in 2004 that the research data were analyzed by using content analysis techniques, sorted into components that show the same aspects under investigation, that is, the types of feedback provided by lecturers to be analyzed further to examine the feedback potentials to develop the students' critical thinking.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The strategy of providing feedback in the learning process can lead learners to think critically.The results of this study reveal that GFL lecturers used various feedback strategies in the classes, as shown in the following figure

Feedback through Questions
Giving question is one type of metalinguistic feedback strategies (Lyster & Ranta, 2013) that is given by the lecturer in the class.The questions were delivered in plenary class so that the other students could listen or evaluate the answer to the question; the lecturers could also evaluate whether the students understood the material well or check if other students paid attention to their classmates' answers.Following data are examples of the questions raised by the lecturer "Was macht man im Feierabend?Wann habt ihr Feierabend?" (What are people doing during afterwork?When do you have afterwork?)." The question above was addressed in the class hoping any students who knew the answer would explain it so that all the other students would understand the term Feierabend.This question also led the students to associate the theme with their own experiences "Warum im Herbst machen die Leute Fotos?(Why do people take photos in autumn?)." In this sample question, the students are required to think critically about the reasons why many people in Germany take photos in the fall or why they think that Germans do that.The students were indirectly asked to analyze and find out the reasons for the question.
Feedback in the form of questions used by lecturers is also related to the grammar and vocabulary mastering such as the following data: Excerpt 1 Was ist "beschweren"?(what is beschweren?)Excerpt 2 Was ist der Unterschied zwischen als und wenn?(What is the difference between "wenn" and "als") That question tests the students' grammar knowledge and evaluates if they have truly mastered the material they have learned.Through this kind of feedback, they can enrich and strengthen their language knowledge.
The lecturers use the feedback strategies through questions aimed at correcting the use of words and sentences by the students as well as to provoke their responses.Regarding feedback through questions, according to Ellis (2009), lecturers can use feedback through questions so that learners can find out what was wrong.Questions can aim to correct learners' errors and to test learners' knowledge about German vocabulary and structure.
Giving feedback through questions is useful both for the lecturers and the students.The lecturers can simply self-evaluate whether they already transfer the knowledge well or not and know how far the learners receive it.At the same time, students can self-evaluate whether they already understand a particular structure or vocabulary they have learned or not and even learn something new; in this case, they have not learned it yet.It strengthens one of the research findings from (Won, et al., 2019) that feedback is useful and it also can increase learning performance.It could be seen from the student's response of an interview in the following data.
Excerpt 3 "If there is new vocab, sometimes the lecturer writes it on the board and asks us what does it mean or if anybody knows this word.Thus, we look forward about that word and its function or how we should apply it in a sentence".
From that statement it could be seen that learners are having process to think and get a new information about particular vocabulary and learn even more about the structure.The questions that are delivered as feedback from the lecturers are guiding the learners to think critically.Through questions from data 3, the learners need to recall their prior knowledge.as explained by Anderson & Krathwohl in the book entitled a taxonomy for learning, teaching, and assessing: A revision of bloom's taxonomy of educational objectives in 2001 as explained by Anderson & Krathwohl in the book entitled a taxonomy for learning, teaching, and assessing: A revision of bloom's taxonomy of educational objectives in 2001 that it belongs to the first stage of critical thinking skills based on 21 st Revised Taxonomy Bloom.There, the learners are required to recall and remember the information.The second stage, understanding, can be seen from data 1.The question on data 1 leads learner to explain ideas or concepts.The third stage, applying, can be found on data 5. Through lecturers' questions, learners are provoked to know certain information more and then apply it in a sentence.The process itself (looking forward about the meaning of the word and its function, and then apply it in a sentence with their own version) shows that this question leads learners to use information in a new way, which belongs to the stage applying as well.The fourth stage, analyzing, is shown by data 4 Through that question, the learners are required to distinguish the difference of certain language structure.Data 2 also shows the stage of analyzing, because it leads learners to develop their awareness of context and they are expected to imagine, to share their experiences as well as their opinion and to think independently.

Feedback through Comments
Giving comment, also as one of metalinguistic feedback (Lyster & Ranta, 2013) The learners made a poster about common activities of certain season in Germany and presented it together with their group in front of the class.The lecturer gave comments about the poster look from each group and confirmed its content.Excerpt 5 Lecturer gave a comment on a presentation from the learners about German local food, confirmed its content, and then explained it further and compared it to Indonesian local food.
Through those kinds of feedback, the lecturer guides learners to imagine and compared the information they already have with the information they get from lecturer.The lecturer also invites the learners to understand the context of the material through comments such as the following data: Excerpt 6 The lecturer responds to the student's presentation that the preposition "nach"is not appropriate use to refer to the place referred to in the sentence.Example: Ich gehe nach Park.(I am going to the park).Excerpt 7 The lecturer corrects the inaccurate sentence from "Er geht nach Hause" (I am going home) to "Ich bin zu Hause" (I am home.) Those kinds of feedback aim to confirm whether the learners' answers are correct or not.Not only confirmative, but comments can also be corrective.This type of comment is given to complete and correct incomplete sentences and refine them so that they are correct and understandable.The following are examples of lecturers giving comments.
Excerpt 8 A learner made a mistake using conjunction "denn" in a sentence.As that learner finish the sentence, the lecturer commented, "Repeat it.If we use denn, then the verb stands normal (in the second position of the sentence, not in the end of it), repeat it, please".Excerpt 9 A learner made a mistake using praposition "zu".After the presentation, the lecturer commented on that and explained the structur of zu + Dativ.
In this study, learners are getting feedback through comments.The comments in this study are delivered verbally and face to face.It is different with the study from (Al-Bashir, et al. 2016) which are giving feedback through comments as well.Both studies are online-based.(Cavaleri, et al., 2019 ;Cavanaugh & Song, 2014;Killingback, et al., 2019;Sarcona, et al., 2020) offered comments through written and audio feedback, while (Al-Bashir, et al., 2016) study that suggested comments as feedback in a various ways such as through email, audio and video, screencasts, and recycling written comments.
Comments as feedback are mostly given after the learners presented or finished a task.As explained by Anderson & Krathwohl in the book entitled a taxonomy for learning, teaching, and assessing: A revision of bloom's taxonomy of educational objectives in 2001 that it leads learners to evaluate their work and their understanding which is the fifth stage of critical thinking according to 21st revised taxonomy bloom.It also provokes learners to make their work better.

Feedback through Output-Prompting
The strategy of giving feedback through output-prompting is related to corrective feedback (Ratnah, 2013).Also present findings regarding to corrective feedback.In the research findings, as well as the result of the study (Hashemifardnia, et al., 2019;Karim & Nassaji, 2019), learners almost always show expressions in order to be given corrective feedback by lecturers.It is also found in this research, where the learners expect corrective feedback from the lecturer as follows.
Excerpt 10 "...if we do mistakes, we should be corrected Excerpt 11 "...correct us if there is grammar mistake which are quite fatal and dominant while speaking.Excerpt 12 "When I'm making mistakes, I have to be corrected".
Corrective feedback both oral and written is effective because it increases language acquisition in terms of linguistics.The positive effect of corrective feedback is that learners can use language knowledge learned implicitly and explicitly.As explained by Hinkel in the book entitled Handbook of research of second language teaching and learning Volume II in 2011 that implicit in this case is that learners understand the meaning and the use of language unplanned, whereas what is meant explicitly is learners use language that has been learned and after they got feedback by the lecturer with caution and planned.However, we should consider the way we provide corrective feedback, whether it should be given directly or indirectly, because each has certain impact.
According to some studies on second language acquisition, indirect feedback is more preferable to direct, because it involves learners in the correction process which may help them foster their long-term acquisition of the target language feedback (Chandler, 2003;Ferris & Robert, 2001;O'Sullivan & Chambers, 2006;Sheen, 2007).While Mahfoozifard and Mehdiabadi (2016) argued that indirect feedback is more effective compared to direct feedback.In this study, most learners are glad to get indirect feedback because it does not push the learners and drop their mental health.
Many learners worldwide suffer fear of negative feedback (Awan, et al. 2010;Barahmeh, 2013;Fischer & Modena, 2005;Nazir, et al. 2014).One of examples from negative feedback is giving corrective feedback directly.Thus, lecturers use output-prompting as one of feedback strategies such as following data Excerpt 13 "...if there was something wrong, (the lecturer) lets us to speak freely and then corrects it".Excerpt 14 "(the lecturer) was not directly lecturing, prompting first, ... we were not immediately corrected but we were given the opportunity to think as well".
It is called output-prompting feedback because they withhold the correct form and invite selfcorrection (Ha, et al., 2021;Li, 2018;Sato & Loewen, 2019).Output-prompting is a form of indirect corrective feedback and positive feedback that can encourage learners to keep learning and increase their skills.Following data show some examples of output-prompting:

Excerpt 15
The lecturer prompts a learner to reformulate a sentence, as she forgot the subject and verb in a sentence."Die Frau…".Die Frau fährt im Frühling nach Hamburg."("Thewoman..."."The woman goes in spring to Hamburg) Excerpt 16 As learner made mistake to use the word Student, the lecturer tried to correct it through prompting, "Er ist Student oder er ist Studenten?".("He is student or he is students?") From those data it could be seen that the lecturers do not give the learners direct feedback.The lecturers give the learners a chance to make self-correction.The self-correction itself contains a complex process which reflects the critical thinking skills.The learners have to recall and memorize, understanding the idea or concepts, apply it in a new sentence, analyze and then evaluate (AlMawarni, 2020;Hussin, et al., 2019;Zapalka, et al. 2018).
This study shows us that feedback strategies in the classroom can be used as alternative strategies as en effort to enhance learners' critical thinking skills.It is supporting the result study conducted by (Alsaleh, 2020;Ekahitanond, 2013;Faridah, et al., 2020) which states that university learners' critical thinking skills can be promoted through peer feedback activity.The difference was that study was in an online discussion forum and the feedback was a peer-feedback, while the feedback in this study is face to face in the classroom from the lecturers to the learners.In Addition, as the research findings conducted by (Retna & Cavana, 2013;Van der Kleij, 2019;Vattøy & Smith, 2019), the result of this study also reveals that feedback strategy has a positive impact to the learning process.Feedback helps the learners to improve their learning and produce better performance and achievement.

Feedback through Praises
Praises are also given by the lecturers as a strategy of giving feedback to the learners in the classroom.Praising is a form of approval expressions to show learners that they have done the task properly.Praising is also a form of lecturer's appreciation because the learners have completed the task as expected by the lecturers.Usually the praise is in the form of phrases or expressions like: Excerpt 17 Gut!(good!) Sehr good! (very good) Super!No problemo!(super!no problem!)Perfekt! (perfect!)Alle sind richtig!(all of them are correct!)Praises are used as motivation that can improve learner's performance in the classroom and motivate learners to talk in the class.In this study, the lecturers appreciate the answers to both the correct and wrong answers.Various praises given by the lecturers in class are as follows.

Excerpt 18
The lecturer praises "danke schön, gut!" (thank you so much, good!) as the learner presents dialogues about unique houses in Germany even if the learner still made some grammar mistakes.Excerpt 19 As a learner said das ist kein Buch, sondern eine Mappe, the lecturer complimented, "Sehr gut, am 1. Semester benutzt er "sondern" (very good, in the first semester he already uses the word "sondern") Excerpt 20 "Ich glaube alle haben versucht Deutsch zu sprechen.From the learner's perception, praise is the most pleasure feedback that boost their motivation and willingness to perform better.The result of the interview show that all learners are happy to get praise-feedback and they even need it, so that they are more motivated and not feeling down.It could be seen from students' responses from an interview as follows.
Excerpt 21 "...Praise can also give encouragement rather than (mental) dropping or just telling mistakes without being rewarded with praise".Excerpt 22 "...during our presentation we were praised super or sehr gut".Excerpt 23 "I want to get more praise from lecturers when we have courage to answer, (the praise) like the phrase "good" because we feel more appreciated.Excerpt 24 "What I want for me and others after presentation, even though the presentation was not good, we were praised first and then criticized".
The expected feedback of learners in improving understanding in the lecture is input that motivates and does not drop their mental.Lecturers are expected to show the strengths of the presentations first, then provide a solution to the weaknesses of the presentations.
About praise as feedback, (Cahyati, et al., 2019;Grief & Breckwoldt, 2012;Sheikh & Ali, 2019) stated that praise was included in the minimal feedback because lecturer only gave praise with the aim of appreciating learners.Nevertheless, we should not underestimate the role of praise "only" as a compliment.We should consider the effect of the praise to the learners.Praise is a powerful tool for improving academic performance and it can promote a warm and lovely mood in classrooms (Al-Ghamdi, 2017;Haydon, et al., 2020;Kang & Chang, 2019;Kincade, et al., 2020).
Praise may not relate to the process of enhancing critical thinking skill directly, but it has strong effect toward learner's motivation and willingness to perform in a right and better way.Praise is an effective way of giving positive feedback to learners that can increase their motivation so they can be triggered to advance and develop their abilities including the ability to think critically.However, we must pay attention to the way how to praise learners, because praise can also lead them to a variety of negative attitudes such as deficiency in hard work and lack of creativity (Al-Ghamdi, 2017;Jasrial, et al., 2021;Sridharan & Bound, 2019).Lecturers have to consider how to use praise effectively.

4.
CONCLUSION Based on the findings of the study, one of the strategies of giving feedback that can lead learners to think critically is throwing questions to learners.Questions given by lecturers aim to correct errors in the use of words and sentences by learners and provoke learners' responses.In addition to giving questions to learners, feedback strategies are provided through comments.Giving feedback through comments is aimed to improve language acquisition in terms of linguistics.Both of them are a form of metalinguistic feedback that can be a trigger to learners to think more critically.Besides, output-prompting is also used by lecturer as one of feedback strategies to enhance learners' critical thinking skills, while giving feedback through praise can motivate learners to improve their ability to continue learning in the classroom.Through those feedback strategies, learners are triggerred to remember, understand, apply, analyze, and evaluate.All those strategies appear to lead the students in the end to create, which reflects the critical thinking skill taxonomy.
The tendency of most of learners being passive in learning can be encouraged to actively respond to learning activities in class through feedback strategies provided by the lecturers.The lecturers can give provoking questions which lead them to think and answer the question related to their daily life or backgrounds.The questions that have been prepared by lecturers to guide students to think can be followed up with the following questions to deepen the topic or material.Questions should be given evenly to all students in the class, so the students who tend to be passive, feel ashamed or inferior to speak without being asked by the lecturer, can be gradually encouraged to be more active.
In addition, it is suggested that the lecturers apply more types of feedback in order to provide learners with opportunities to repair or improve their language.This study has been done pertinent to a language skill: speaking.For further researcher, it will be better to extend the study to another language skill or even to another language or subject 5. REFERENCES Aina, Q., & Wijayati, P. H. (2019).Coping the academic stress: The way the students dealing with stress.KnE Social Sciences, 3(10), 212-223.https://doi.org/10.18502/kss.v3i10.3903Al-Bashir, Md.M., Kabir, Md. R., & Rahman, I. (2016).The value and effectiveness of feedback in improving students' learning and professionalizing teaching in higher education.Journal of Education and Practice, 7(16). 38-41. Al-Ghamdi, A. (2017).Building a positive environment in classrooms through feedback and praise english.

Figure 1 .
Figure 1.Strategies that are Presented or Used ://doi.org/10.17509/ije.v15i2p-ISSN 1978-1342 e-ISSN 2442-4730 , is intended so that learners can understand the material taught in a proper context.Comments are given as a form of confirmation that what learners have done is correct or not.The following data are some examples of situations, in which comments are delivered.