Peer Feedback and its impact on university students’ writing performance
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5380/atoz.v13i0.90734Keywords:
EFL writing, Higher education, Peer FeedbackAbstract
Introduction: This study addresses issues in students’ academic writing by proposing peer feedback as a strategy to improve university students’ advanced (B1 - B2) academic writing skills. The intervention took place over a sixteen-week course at a private university in Guayaquil, Ecuador. Method: An action research was conducted, integrating quantitative (pre- and post-tests) and qualitative (questionnaire) instruments to determine if sixty freshman university students would improve their writing skills in terms of structure, fluency, and accuracy. Results: Students demonstrated improvement in their writing, with a Cohen’s d = 0.39. Students’ feedback reported both benefits and challenges in providing peer feedback. Conclusions: Despite limitations for both students and the teacher, peer feedback can be considered a strategy to raise students’ awareness of their own writing errors at advanced level. Other EFL teachers and coordinators can gain new insights from this study.
References
Albán Defilippi, M. T, Miller, K. L., & Ramírez-Ávila, M. R. (2020). Collaboration to improve descriptive writing facilitated by Padlet: an English as a Foreign Language (EFL) action research study. AtoZ: Novas Práticas em Informação e Conhecimento, 9(1), 54-60. http://dx.doi.org/10.5380/atoz.v9i1.73517
Belhabib, I. (2014). Difficulties encountered by students in learning the productive skills in the EFL Classroom and the Relationship between Speaking and Writing: case of First Year LMD Students at Abou Bekr-Belkaid [Master’s thesis, University of Tlemcen]. Depot institutionnel de l'Universite Abou Bekr Belkaid Tlemcen UABT. http://dspace.univ-tlemcen.dz/handle/112/7856
Brown, H. D. (2000). Teaching by principles: na interactive approach to language pedagogy. Pearson ESL.
Burns, A. (2009). Doing action research in English language teaching: a guide for practitioners. Routledge. https://bit.ly/2DoJdUL
Castillo, M., Heredia, Y., & Gallardo, K. (2017). Collaborative work competency in online postgraduate students and its prevalence on academic achievement. Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education, 18(3), 168-179. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1147625.pdf
Chen, Y. (2017). Perceptions of EFL college students toward collaborative learning. English Language Teaching, 11(2), 1-4. https://doi.org/10.5539/elt.v11n2p1
Ferris, D. R., & Hedgcock, J. S. (2014). Teaching L2 composition. Purpose, process and practice. 4th ed. Taylor & Francis. https://www.google.com.br/books/edition/Teaching_L2_Composition/5bmvEAAAQBAJ?hl=pt-PT&gbpv=1&dq=Teaching+L2+composition.+Purpose,+process+and+practice&printsec=frontcover
Golparian, S., Chan, J., & Cassidy, A. (2015). Peer review of teaching: sharing best practices. Collected Essays on Learning and Teaching, 8, 211-218. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1069765.pdf
Harris, Z. (1976). A theory of language structure. American Philosophical Quarterly, 13(4), 237-255. https://www.jstor.org/stable/20009633
Johnson, A. P. (2012). A short guide to action research. Pearson.
Khatib, M., & Meihami, H. (2015). Languaging and writing skill: The effect of collaborative writing on EFL students’ writing performance. Advances in Language and Literary Studies, 6(1), 203-211. https://journals.aiac.org.au/index.php/alls/article/view/1306
Kim, B. (2010). Collaborative discussion and peer review activity in computer-mediated EFL writing. Multimedia Assisted Language Learning, 13(2), 105-128. http://kmjournal.bada.cc/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/13-2-5Kim.pdf
Laskmi, E. D. (2006). “Scaffolding” studens’ writing in EFL class: implementing process approach. TEFLIN Journal: A Publication on the Teaching and Learning of English, 17(2), 144-156. https://journal.teflin.org/index.php/journal/article/view/66
Liu, J., & Edwards, J. G. H. (2002). Peer response in second language writing classrooms. 2nd ed. The University of Michigan Press.
Lundstrom, K., & Baker, W. (2009). To give is better than to receive: The benefits of peer review to the reviewer’s own writing. Journal of Second Language Writing, 18(1), 30-43. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jslw.2008.06.002
Melatiadou, E. (2021). Opening Pandora’s box: how does peer assessment affect EFL students’ writing quality? Languages, 6(3), 115. https://doi.org/10.3390/languages6030115
Moneypenny, D. B., Evans, M., & Kraha, A. (2018). Student perceptions of and attitudes toward peer review. American Journal of Distance Education, 32(4), 236-247. https://doi.org/10.1080/08923647.2018.1509425
Moreira Olives, H. G. (2019). Implementing the writing process through the collaborative use of Padlet. [Master’s thesis, Universidad Casa Grande]. Biblioteca "Erwin Buendía Silva". Universidad Casa Grande. http://dspace.casagrande.edu.ec
Nicol, D., Thomson, A., & Breslin, C. (2014). Rethinking feedback practices in higher education: a peer review perspective. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 39(1), 102-122. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2013.795518
Özdemir, E., & Aydin, S. (2015). The effects of blogging on EFL writing achievement. Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences, 199(1), 372-380. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.07.521
Plonsky, L., & Oswald, F. L. (2014). How big is “big”? Interpreting effect size3s in L2 research. Language Learning: a Journal of Research in Language Studies, 64(4), 878-912. https://doi.org/10.1111/lang.12079
Shokrpour, N., & Fallahzadeh, M. H. (2007). A Survey of the students and interns’ EFL writing problems. The Asian EFL Journal Quarterly, 9(1), 147-163. http://asian-efl-journal.com/March_2007_EBook.pdf
Tamayo Maggi, M. R., & Cajas Quishpe, D. C. (2020). Identification of challenges in teaching writing to Ecuadorian EFL students. AXIOMA Revista Científica de Docencia, Investigación y Proyección Social, 23, 5-9. https://axioma.pucesi.edu.ec/index.php/axioma/article/view/620
Tsui, A. B. M., & Ng., M. (2000). Do secondary L2 writers benefit from peer comments? Journal of Second Language Writing, 9(2), 147-170. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S1060-3743(00)00022-9
Verenikina, I. M. (2003). Vygotsky's socio-cultural theory and the zone of proximal development. In H. M. Hasan, I. M. Verenikina, & E. L. Gould (Eds.), Expanding the Horizon. Information Systems and Activity Theory (pp. 4-14). Wollongong: University of Wollongong Press.
Vire, K. C., & Santillán, J. J. (2021). Effects of epals practices on EFL writing. An action research study with Ecuadorian students. Journal of Language and Linguistic Studies, 17, 1-17. https://www.jlls.org/index.php/jlls/article/view/1826
Wiggins, G. (2012). Seven keys to effective feedback. Educational Leadership, 70(1), 10-16. http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/sept12/vol70/num01/Seven-Keys-to-Effective-Feedback.aspx
Yan, L. (2019). A study on WeChat-based collaborative learning in college English writing, Canadian Center of Science and Education, 12(6), 1-9 https://doi.org/10.5539/elt.v12n6p1
Yu, S. & Lee, I. (2016). Peer feedback in second language writing (2005–2014). Language Teaching, 49(4), 461-493. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0261444816000161
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 AtoZ: novas práticas em informação e conhecimento
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Atoz is a open access journal and the authors have permission and are encouraged to deposit their papers in personal web pages, institutional repositories or portals before (pre-print) or after (post-print) the publication at AtoZ. It is just asked, when and where possible, the mention, as a bibliographic reference (including the atributted URL), to the AtoZ Journal.
The authors license the AtoZ for the solely purpose of disseminate the published work (peer reviewed version/post-print) in aggregation, curation and indexing systems.
The AtoZ is a Diadorim/IBICT green academic journal.
All the journal content (including instructions, editorial policies and templates) - except where otherwise indicated - is under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International, since October 2020.
When published by this journal, articles are free to share (copy and redistribute the material in any support or format for any purpose, even commercial) and adapt (remix, transform, and create from the material for any purpose , even if commercial). You must give appropriate credit , provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made
AtoZ does not apply any charges regarding manuscripts submission/processing and papers publication.
