The Role of Organic Feedback in Shaping the Academic Writing Development of International Graduate Students in Montreal

International graduate students often encounter unique challenges as they navigate academic expectations in a new cultural and linguistic landscape. My research project explores how international graduate students engage with organic feedback and how this engagement influences their academic writing development within the plurilingual context of Montreal. Organic feedback, distinct from traditional error correction or grading methods, adopts a holistic approach that prioritizes ongoing dialogue and personalized guidance, fostering growth in writing competence and self-regulation (Cho & MacArthur, 2010; Hattie & Timperley, 2007).

Situated in academic socialization and Organic literacy research, this project investigates how feedback practices intersect with the academic socialization process, enabling students to learn, adapt, and thrive as members of academic communities. It further examines how feedback connects to communities of practice, legitimate peripheral participation, and the plurilingual environment of Montreal, a city celebrated for its linguistic diversity.

Through qualitative, interview-based multiple case studies using grounded theory, this research addresses three key questions:

1. How have international graduate students perceived changes in their academic socialization and self-regulated learning through engagement with organic feedback?
2. How does participation within Communities of Practice and peripheral participation influence international graduate students’ engagement with and response to organic feedback in academic writing?
3. How do graduate students process and respond to organic feedback, including its types and delivery, and how does this feedback leverage their plurilingual diversity to enhance their academic writing skills?

This project fills a gap by emphasizing the experiences of plurilingual graduate students, aiming to provide practical insights for educators and international students to navigate academic writing challenges.

This inquiry is led by Mohammadreza Jafary supervised by Dr. Amir Kalan (McGill; Supervisor) with committee members Dr. Angelica Galante and Dr. Bronwen Low.