THREE TYPES OF COMMENTS ON CONTENT: TEACHER VS. PEER FEEDBACK

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

Alzahra University

Abstract

This study was conducted to examine the effect of three types of comments, i.e. imperatives, questions, and statements, with different communicative purposes, i.e. giving information and making a request, given by an ELT teacher and peers on  students’ revision of their writings. Sixty-four female students, between 16 and 26 years old studying at high-intermediate level of English language proficiency in Iran Language Institute (ILI) participated in this quasi-experimental study. They constituted four intact classes, two of which received feedback on their writing from their teacher, and the other two received peer feedback.  One hundred and twenty eight pairs of students’ drafts including 672 instances of revisions of their writings based on teacher or peer comments were collected and analyzed based on the rubric designed by Ferris (1997). It was found that questions and statements provided by the teacher with the purpose of making a request, and statements given by the peers with either one of communicative functions all bring about the best results in students’ writings. On the other hand, the analysis of the revisions made by the students showed that statements provided by the teacher for the purpose of giving information has the least positive effect on the students’ modifications. Surprisingly, questions provided by the teacher and peers with the purpose of giving information were found to have negative effects on the students’ writing.

Keywords

References

Arndt, V. (1993). Response to writing: Using feedback to inform the writing process. In M. N. Brock & L. Walters (Eds.), Teaching composition around the Pacific Rim: Politics & Pedagogy (pp. 90-116). Clevedon, Avon: Multilingual Matters.
Azarnoosh, M. (2013). Peer assessment in an EFL context: attitudes and friendship bias. Language Testing in Asia, 3(11), 1-10.
Black, P., Harrison, C., Lee, C., Marshall, B., & William, D. (2003). Assessment for Learning: Putting it into Practice. Maidenhead, UK: Open University Press.
Brice, C. (1995, March). ESL writers’ reactions to teacher commentary: A case study. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Teachers of Other Languages, Long Beach, CA.           
Chaudron, C. (1983, March). Evaluating writing: Effects of feedback on revision. Paper presented at the Annual TESOL Convention, Toronto, Ontario.
Cho, K., & MacArthur, C. (2010). Student revision with peer and expert reviewing. Learning and Instruction, 20(4), 328-338.
Cohen, A. D., & Cavalcanti, M. C. (1990). Feedback on written compositions: Teacher and student verbal reports. In B. Kroll (Ed.), Second Language Writing: Research Insights for the Classroom (pp.155–177). Cambridge, CB: Cambridge University Press.
Connor, U., & Asenavage, K. (1994). Peer response groups in ESL writing classes: How much impact on revision? Journal of Second Language Writing, 3(3), 257-276.
Conrad, S. M., & Goldstein, L. M. (1999). ESL student revision after teacher-written comments: Text, contexts, and individuals. Journal of Second Language Writing, 8(2), 147-179.
Doman, E. (Ed.). (2014). Insight into EFL Teaching and Issues in Asia. London: Cambridge Scholars.
Ferris, D. R. (1995). Student reactions to teacher response in multiple-draft composition classrooms. TESOL Quarterly, 29(1), 33-53.
Ferris, D. R. (1997). The influence of teacher commentary on student revision. TESOL Quarterly, 31(2), 315-340.
Ferris, D. R. (2003). Response to Student Writing: Implications for Second-Language Students. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Ferris, D. (2007). Preparing teachers to respond to student writing. Journal of Second Language Writing, 16(3), 165-193.
Gascoigne, C. (2004). Examining the effect of feedback in beginning L2 composition. Foreign Language Annals, 37(1), 71-76.
Gibbs, G., & Simpson, C. (2004). Conditions under which assessment supports students’ learning. Learning and Teaching in Higher Education, 1(1), 3-31.
Gielen, S., Peeters, E., Dochy, F., Onghena, P., & Struyven, K. (2010). Improving the effectiveness of peer feedback for learning. Learning and Instruction, 20(4), 304-315.
Hanrahan, S. J., & Isaacs, G. (2001). Assessing self- and peer-assessment: The students’ views. Higher Education Research and Development, 20(1), 53-70.
Harris, L. R., & Brown, G. T. L. (2013). Opportunities and obstacles to consider when using peer- and self-assessment to improve student learning: case studies into teachers' implementation. Teaching and Teacher Education, 36, 101-111.
Hedgcock, J. S., & Lefkowitz, N. (1994). Feedback on feedback: Assessing learner receptivity to teacher response in L2 composing. Journal of Second Language Writing, 3(2), 141-163.
Hillocks, G. Jr. (2005). At Last: The Focus on Form vs. Content in Teaching Writing. Research in the Teaching of English, 40(2), 238-248.
Hyland, K. (2003). Second Language Writing. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
Hyland, K., & Hyland, F. (2006). Feedback on second language students’ writing: Contexts and issues. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Kasanga, L. A. (2004). Students' response to peer and teacher feedback in a first-year writing course. Journal for Language Teaching, 31(8), 64-128.
Kroll, B. (2001).Considerations for teaching an ESL/EFL writing course. In M. Celce-Murcia (Ed.), Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language (pp.219-232). Boston: Heinle & Heinle.
Mendonca, C. O., & Johnson, K. E. (1994). Peer review negotiations: Revision activities in ESL writing instruction. TESOL Quarterly, 28(4), 745-770.
Miao, Y., Badger, R., & Zhen, Y. (2006). A comparative study of peer and teacher feedback in a Chinese EFL writing class. Journal of Second Language Writing, 15(3), 179-200.
Paulus, T. M. (1999). The effect of peer and teacher feedback on student writing. Journal of Second Language Writing, 8(3), 265-289.
Peterson, S.S., & Portier, C. (2014). Grade one peer and teacher feedback on student writing. Education 3-13, 42(3), 1-21.
Raimes, A. (1983). Anguish as a second language? Remedies for composition teachers. In A. Freedman, I. Pringle, & J. Yalden (Eds.), Learning to write: First language/second language (pp. 258-272). London, England: Longman.
Rollinson, P. (2005). Using peer feedback in the ESL writing class. ELT Journal, 59(1), 23-30.
Sommers, N. (1982). Responding to students’ writing. College Composition and Communication, 33(2), 148-156.
Srichanyachon, N. (2012). An investigation of university EFL students’ attitudes toward teacher and peer feedback. Educational Research & Review, 7(26), 558-562.
Strijbos, J. W., Narciss, S., & Dünnebier, K. (2010). Peer feedback content and sender’s competence level in academic writing revision tasks: Are they critical for feedback perceptions and efficiency? Learning and Instruction, 20(4), 291-303.
Sugita, Y. (2006). The impact of teachers’ comment types on students’ revision. ELT Journal, 6(1), 34-41.
Topping, K. (1998). Peer assessment between students in colleges and universities. Review of Educational Research, 68(3), 249-276.
Tsui, A. B. M., & Ng, M. (2000). Do secondary L2 writers benefit from peer comments? Journal of Second Language Writing, 9(2), 147-170.
Villamil, O. S., & De Guerrero, M. C. M. (1998). Assessing the impact of peer revision on L2 writing. Applied Linguistics, 19(4), 491-514.
Zamel, V. (1985). Responding to student writing. TESOL Quarterly, 19(1), 79-101.
Zarei, A. A., & Sayar Mahdavi, A. (2014). The effect of peer and teacher assessment on EFL learners' grammatical and lexical writing accuracy. Journal of Social Issues and Humanities, 2(9), 92-97.
Zhang, S. (1995). Reexamining the affective advantage of peer feedback in the ESL writing class. Journal of Second Language Writing, 4(3), 209-222.
Zhao, H. (2014).  Investigating teacher-supported peer assessment for EFL writing. ELT Journal, 68(2). 155-168.
 

Files

History

  • Receive Date: 03 December 2015
  • Revise Date: 20 February 2016
  • Accept Date: 09 April 2016

Share

How to cite

Statistics