The potential of peer response activities in College English

classes in China

Lily Zhang

Shantou University

Outline

IntroductionResearch QuestionsInstruments and Data SourcesData AnalysisFollow-up InterviewsFindings and DiscussionConclusion

The Definition of Peer Response

Peer response, peer review, peer feedback, peer editing or peer evaluation

the “use of learners as sources of information, and interactants for each other in such a way that learners assume roles and responsibilities normally taken on by a formally trained teacher, tutor, or editor in commenting on and critiquing each other’s drafts in both written and oral formats in the process of writing” (Liu and Hansen 2002:I).

Previous Research on Feedback in Writing Process

Keh (1990) Ferris (1995,1997) Hyland (2000); Muncie (2000); Leki,

(1990).

Previous Research on Peer Review

Positive effects Liu & Sadler (2003); Tsui & Ng (2000). Berg, (1999); Hedgcock & Lefkowitz (1992);

Paulus (1999); Villamil & de Guerrero (1998). Lockhart & Ng (1995)

Problems with peer review Some researchers (Amores, 1997; Leki,1990;

Nelson & Murphy, 1992,1993)

Research Questions

In an EFL context as in China, what are the students’ attitudes towards peer and teacher comments?

To what extent are the students willing to incorporate peer comments into their revision?

Which problems might discourage the application of peer review in such EFL context?

In general, how valuable do the students find the peer-review process?

Instruments and Data Sources

Student drafts for multiple assignments Student questionnaire and analysis Interviews with students See handout for detailed descriptions

Data Description and Analysis 1

Fig.1. Part I: Teacher Comments - questions with positive feedback percentage higher than 50% (documented from high to low)

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20

40

60

80

100

Percentage ofAgree andStrongly Agree

Q1 Q3 Q4 Q6 Q10 Q5Selected Questions Asked in Part I: TeacherComments

Data Description and Analysis 2

Fig. 2-A. Peer Comments - questions with positive feedback percentage higher than 50% (documented from high to low)

01020304050607080

Percentage ofAgree

Q23 Q11Selected Questions Asked in Part II: PeerComments

Data Description and Analysis 3 Fig. 2-B. Peer Comments - questions with negative feedback

percentage higher than 50% (documented from high to low)

01020304050607080

Percentage ofDisagree

Q16 Q22 Q17 Q14Selected Questions Asked in Part II: PeerComments

Data Description and Analysis 4 Fig. 3. Overall Assessment - questions with positive

feedback percentage higher than 50% (documented from high to low)

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10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Percentage ofAgree andStrongly Agree

Q28 Q25 Q31 Q27 Q29 Q30 Q24Selected Questions Asked in Part III: OverallAssessment

Follow-up Interviews

20 students were interviewed and transcripts were compared to questionnaire data.

See handout for details.

Interview Questions How often did you use peer’s comments to help

your revision? What do you think you have benefited from peer

review? What do you think are the possible elements that

impeded peer review to work as well as we had expected?

In your opinion, what can be done to improve the effectiveness of peer review?

What do you think of the prospect of peer review in College English classes in China?

Major Findings and Discussion (1)

Students generally accept peer review.

- “Peer review is a good way to writing. We like it because it changed our understanding of study and made our study self-centred.”

- “It offers opportunities to learn from our peers new ideas and different views.”

- “It helps us to think in different ways and react quickly.”

Major Findings and Discussion (2)

Peer review led to considering different ideas, and helped to develop or clarify these ideas.

- “Everyone that read my paper has a new view of point. Most of the time the comments open my eyes to see that what I mean to write isn’t precisely what my peers read.”

- “Through these reviews I come to know what should be explained. I know that not everyone makes the same assumption as I do.”

Major Findings and Discussion (3)

Peer review encouraged to experiment with communicative language skills, to build up self-confidence and cooperative spirit.

- “This face-to-face communication helped us overcome the reluctance to speak out our opinions in public. ”

- “Peer review provides us with a relaxed environment. While discussing with our peers, we felt free of stress, so we could communicate naturally and easily.”

- “We got more timely feedbacks from our peers than from our teacher ”

Major Findings and Discussion (4)

Peer review enhanced vocabulary and linguistic knowledge.

- “During peer review activities, we always tried to find peer’s mistakes in grammar and the usage of a word, which is helpful to have a good knowledge of some grammar points and vocabulary”.

Major Findings and Discussion (5)

Peer review helped to turn teacher-centred teaching style into student-centred one.

- “We like this teaching method, because it brought us

interest and excitement.” - “It changed our habit of study and made our study self-

centred.” - “We became more active and freer of the constraints of

face-saving, taciturnity, timidity and conservative character.”

Major Findings and Discussion (6)

On the other hand, peer review met with some challenges:

- Peer comments were surface, so the revisions were more surface changes than meaning changes.

- Students tended to regard teachers as authority and rely more on teachers for comments. They didn’t think they, or their peers, could be good critics.

-Students were reluctant to invest time before or after peer review activities as they had many other subjects to learn.

Recommended Approaches

Tailor-made and comprehensive trainings should be further implemented . (commenting techniques, overall English proficiency, the art of questioning)

The awareness of purpose should be further evoked. Peer review should be a step-by-step, long-term and

ongoing process. Peer review can be used to encourage teamwork and

cooperation initiatives. The size of peer review groups and the English levels

of group members should be taken into consideration.

Conclusion

Peer-review in this context … Is widely accepted by students, and the students can

tell the potential benefits. Helps to make the switch from the teacher-centred

to the student-centred classroom teaching. Frees EFL teachers from the time-consuming, low-

efficiency and labour-intensive writing assessment due to the large class size in China.

Thank You !

Zhangli, Shantou university

lily@stu.edu.cn

(0754)290-3475