INTRODUCTION
Rationale of the study
The significance of English in today's world is undeniable, serving as a vital medium for international communication across various sectors, including education, trade, and technology As globalization increases, the demand for English proficiency has surged, driven by needs such as business, travel, and academic pursuits Consequently, effective English teaching and learning have become essential Among the key skills in this process, writing stands out as a complex cognitive activity that requires simultaneous control of various variables Writing is not merely about transcribing language; it is a unique thinking process that serves as a permanent record and a means of expression and communication Ultimately, writing encompasses a range of skills, including mental, rhetorical, psychological, and critical elements.
Since 1945, English has been taught as a foreign language in Vietnam, but it became a compulsory subject in the educational system in the early 1990s, leading to its increasing popularity among foreign languages in the country.
For high school English learners, cultivating a positive attitude is essential for meaningful learning, yet writing often poses a significant challenge This skill is heavily product-oriented, demanding extensive individual effort In Vietnamese high schools, classroom activities, particularly in writing lessons, typically lack student interaction Teachers primarily deliver instructions and provide structures and vocabulary, while students work independently on exercises and essays Feedback and corrections come solely from the teacher, which becomes a daunting task in large classes of 40 to over 50 students, making the marking process both time-consuming and stressful.
Identifying a class activity that alleviates teacher stress while providing students with opportunities to enhance their mistake recognition and correction skills is essential Peer feedback has proven effective in English learning, yet it remains underutilized in high school writing lessons By engaging in peer review, students not only enhance their writing but also foster social interactions, build self-confidence, and increase motivation Additionally, students can learn valuable lessons from their peers' mistakes Consequently, incorporating peer feedback can make writing lessons more engaging and effective.
Since 2014, the National high school graduation examination has posed a significant challenge for many students, particularly in writing, which is often perceived as a complex skill At Luong The Vinh High School, students in class V3 show limited interest in writing lessons, favoring scientific subjects like Math, Physics, and Chemistry for their university entrance exams This preference leads to a neglect of English, resulting in a lack of enthusiasm for English lessons and increased pressure regarding writing tasks Therefore, it is crucial to discover effective methods to enhance students' writing skills while also engaging their interest and diversifying classroom activities This motivation inspired my thesis, “Using Peer Feedback to Enhance Writing Paragraph Skills for Students at Grade 12, Luong The Vinh High School, Hanoi: Action Research.”
Aims of the study
This study has two primary objectives: to investigate students' attitudes towards the use of peer feedback in writing lessons and to assess the effectiveness of peer feedback in enhancing students' writing skills.
Research questions
The study seeks to answer the following two questions:
1 To what extent does peer feedback improve student‟s writing ability?
2 What are student‟s attitudes towards using peer feedback in their writing lesson?
The scope of the study
A study conducted at Luong The Vinh High School in Hanoi examined the effectiveness of peer feedback in enhancing writing skills and students' attitudes towards this method The research involved a private tutor group consisting of 10 students from the non-English major class 12V3, out of a total of 40 students at the school, alongside an English teacher Due to time constraints, the focus was solely on these aspects of peer feedback.
The method of the study
This study employs action research methodology to examine the effectiveness of peer feedback in improving students' writing skills Following Nunan's action research model (1992), the research aims to systematically investigate how collaborative feedback can enhance writing proficiency among learners.
A survey questionnaire was developed for the research, with the researcher clearly explaining its content and purpose to the students to ensure their full understanding The collected data were then synthesized and analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively, leading to realistic results.
Significance of the study
The study emphasizes the importance of incorporating peer feedback in English writing classes, highlighting its benefits for both students and teachers For students, it fosters the development of skills in giving and receiving constructive comments on their writing For teachers, it provides valuable insights into the advantages of peer feedback and offers practical guidance on implementing peer correction and assessment effectively This approach is particularly relevant in high school settings, where collaborative learning can enhance the educational experience.
In Vietnam, peer feedback is seldom utilized as a formal method for correcting students' writing This study's findings suggest that integrating peer feedback could diversify writing lesson activities, alleviate the extensive correction workload for teachers, and ultimately improve the quality of English writing instruction in high schools.
The structure of the thesis
The thesis consists of three main parts:
Part I, Introduction, presents the rationale of the study, the aims, the research questions, the significance, the scope, the method and the structure of the thesis
Part II, Development, includes three chapters:
Chapter 1, Literature Review, reviews the theories on writing approaches; the overview of peer feedback, the advantages and disadvantages of peer feedback; and related previous studies
Chapter 2, Methodology, outlines the study's approach, detailing the participants and the researcher involved This chapter also explains the data collection instruments utilized and the procedures followed by the researcher in conducting the study.
Chapter 3, Data analysis and findings, the researcher used quantitative and qualitative method to study and analyze the figure and information collected
Part III, Conclusion gives a summary of the study, pedagogical implications, its limitations and suggestions for further studies
DEVELOPMENT
LITERATURE REVIEW
This chapter aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the theoretical concepts surrounding peer feedback, explore various writing approaches, and examine the impact of peer feedback on enhancing writing skills, along with a review of relevant previous studies.
Writing is viewed as a product-oriented skill in language learning, typically acquired last according to the natural order hypothesis Rivers (1968) defines writing as the expression of ideas through organized graphic conventions of a language White (1994) emphasizes that writing is not merely transcribing spoken language into symbols; rather, it is a distinct thinking process that serves as a permanent record and a means of communication Jalaludin (2011) further supports this understanding of writing's complexity and significance.
Writing serves as a vital means of interpersonal communication, utilizing diverse language styles This highlights that writing is a multifaceted process, often described as a "complicated cognitive task." It demands a variety of skills, requiring writers to engage in careful thought, maintain discipline, and sustain high levels of concentration.
Overall, there are many approaches to teaching writing in English This part mainly represents 3 common approaches practice today: The product approach, the process approach and the genre approach
The product approach to L2 writing emphasizes the creation of written products, viewing learning as a mechanical process or habit formation According to Richards (1990) and Nunan (1999), this method is considered one of the most traditional approaches in language learning Historically, scholars like Flower (1984) and Ferris and Hedgcock have contributed to the understanding of this approach's significance in writing education.
The product approach to second language writing, akin to the audio-lingual method from the 1950s and 1960s, emphasizes the use of writing as a means to reinforce oral patterns and verify grammatical accuracy (2004) This approach encourages learners to imitate model texts to produce correct written work (McDonough & Shaw, 2003) Furthermore, it focuses on imparting essential linguistic knowledge, including grammatical accuracy, structure, vocabulary, punctuation, and spelling, as highlighted by Pincas (1982) and Badger and White (2000).
The product approach offers both benefits and drawbacks in language learning One significant advantage is that it provides learners with essential linguistic knowledge, particularly enhancing grammatical accuracy among lower-level students and expanding their vocabulary range (McDonough & Shaw).
The product approach to teaching writing has notable disadvantages that can hinder student development Firstly, learners often become passive when relying on model answers, as highlighted by Badger and White (2000), who argue that this method limits the planning and process skills essential for effective writing As a result, students may feel frustrated and demotivated when comparing their work to these models Secondly, this approach lacks flexibility, failing to prepare students for real-life writing situations, as noted by Hairston (1982) Furthermore, prolonged use of the product approach can diminish students' motivation and self-esteem, with Yan (2005) asserting that it overlooks the actual writing processes employed by students and other writers.
The product approach focuses solely on the end result of student writing, neglecting the essential processes and real-life applications of writing skills.
This approach represents a shift from product-based methodologies to a focus on the processes of writing, emphasizing the development of linguistic skills as an unconscious process facilitated by teachers (Badger & White, 2000; Zhang, 1995) Historically, Zamel (1976) links this approach to a model of composing processes identified by psychologists, highlighting three key elements: planning, translating, and reviewing Liu and Hansen (2002) and Zamel (1983) further assert that writing should be viewed as a nonlinear, exploratory, and generative process rather than merely a product-oriented activity focused on the final outcome.
The process approach to writing offers both advantages and disadvantages On the positive side, it encourages learners to recognize the importance of various writing skills, allowing them to engage in activities like pre-writing, brainstorming, drafting, and editing, while placing less emphasis on linguistic aspects such as grammar and vocabulary (Badger & White, 2000; Badger & White, 2003; White & Arndt, 1991) However, this approach has significant drawbacks, including a lack of sufficient linguistic knowledge, which hinders students' ability to write effectively Ivanic (2004) notes that writing processes are often difficult to assess, leading to evaluations based primarily on the final product Additionally, the process approach does not adequately address text types, contexts, and writing purposes, leaving students unprepared for exams where their final outputs largely determine their grades.
The process-oriented approach to teaching emphasizes the significance of the writing process, focusing on how writers develop meaning throughout their work This method highlights the importance of editing as a crucial final step in the creation of a text.
The genre approach to teaching writing focuses on equipping students with the skills necessary to master specific genres essential for success in various contexts According to Hyland (2007), this method emphasizes the importance of understanding and effectively utilizing different writing styles to meet situational demands.
“outcome of the communicative language teaching approach” which gained large popularity in the 1970‟s It is also shown by Badger and White (2000) as
The genre approach in English Language Teaching (ELT) emphasizes writing as a product, aligning it closely with the product approach, as noted by Ivanic (2004) and Badger and White (2000) Dudley-Evans highlights this focus on written output, marking it as a significant development for newcomers in the ELT field.
In 1994, it was highlighted that both product and genre approaches share key similarities, which can be broken down into three main stages First, teachers present students with a model of a specific writing type Next, students engage in activities to develop structures that reflect the characteristics of that genre Finally, they create a short piece of writing based on their understanding and practice.
The genre approach to writing offers both advantages and disadvantages On the positive side, it helps learners become familiar with real-life writing situations, allowing them to develop shortcuts for effective text production, as noted by Johns (2003) Additionally, Badger and White (2000) highlight that this approach aids in text organization and enhances flexible thinking in various writing contexts However, there are notable drawbacks, such as the potential restriction of creativity Dudley-Evans (1994) describes the genre approach as "restrictive," particularly when used by unimaginative teachers, which can lead to a lack of creativity and motivation among learners Furthermore, Badger and White (2000) emphasize that this approach may undervalue essential writing skills, causing teachers to overlook the necessary competencies students need to produce effective texts.
Summarizing, genre approach regards writing as predominantly linguistic but, unlike product approaches, they emphasize that writing varies with the social context in which it is produced
METHODOLOGY
This chapter presents the methodology applied, including the discussions of the research method, data collection instrument, procedure of collecting data and the participants of the study
This study employs action research as its primary research method, which has gained popularity recently due to the belief that teachers are the most qualified assessors of their own teaching quality Utilizing action research is particularly appropriate for this study for three key reasons.
The primary aim of this study is to evaluate the implementation of peer feedback in writing lessons According to Burns (2010), action research involves teachers reflecting on their practices while simultaneously acting as researchers This approach is characterized as self-reflective, critical, and systematic, allowing for a deeper understanding of the teaching and learning environment Tsui (1993) highlights that action research is an effective method for teachers to reflect on their teaching practices and develop alternative strategies for improvement.
The study focuses on a "small-scale intervention" aimed at addressing the specific issue of students' low writing abilities and lack of interest in writing lessons As noted by Cohen and Manion (1994), action research involves implementing targeted actions to effect change and provide solutions to identified problems.
A thorough analysis of the intervention results aims to gather information that fosters insight, enhances reflective practices, promotes positive changes in the school environment, and ultimately improves student outcomes.
Teachers must adapt to the evolving demands of the educational landscape, particularly in the realm of effective writing According to Mills (2003), action research is defined as "any systematic inquiry" carried out by teacher researchers to collect information on their school's operations, teaching methods, and student learning outcomes This inquiry aims to provide insights, foster reflective practices, implement positive changes within the school environment, enhance educational practices, and ultimately improve student performance.
In conclusion, action research is an effective method for enhancing current practices by systematically identifying and addressing specific problems within a defined context This approach makes action research particularly appropriate for the objectives of this study.
According to Nunan (1992), seven phases are distinguished to be conducted within each research cycle
Figure 1: Action research cycle (Nunan, 1992)
The researcher observe or do survey about what is happening via video, audio, hash marks, or whatever relevant means are available Then, the problem will be determined
An attempt will be made to collect the concrete information about what the problem is
The researcher designs an activity to address the problem and gives hypothesis for the research
Regular classroom activities will be temporarily paused to implement a new treatment aimed at transforming the current organizational structure This initiative seeks to enhance the overall learning environment and improve classroom dynamics.
The researcher evaluates the effect of the intervention by analyzing the changes
It is the activity carried out after completing the study The researcher will share the findings of the study to other people
The study's findings lead practitioners to modify traditional teaching methods, implementing new approaches to enhance the learning process The primary goal of action research is to address and resolve practical issues within an academic setting by effectively bridging the gap between theory and practice.
1.3 Action research procedure for this study
This study utilizes action research to evaluate the impact of peer feedback on students' writing skills Following Nunan's (1992) seven-step action research cycle, the author adapts this model due to its simplicity, clarity, and ease of implementation.
During a private tutoring session for a group of 10 students, the author observed a significant lack of writing skills among the participants Most students struggled to write coherent paragraphs and even simple sentences, leading to a sense of boredom and difficulty with the task Additionally, the researcher noted a lack of motivation and interest in writing lessons, as many students engaged passively by sitting quietly, listening, and taking notes without active participation.
The researcher analyzed the causes of the identified issues by drawing on her teaching experiences, the results of a pre-test, and a student questionnaire Findings indicated that many students struggle with a limited vocabulary and lack of expressions, primarily due to their low English proficiency Additionally, numerous students reported a fear of making mistakes, which contributed to their disinterest in writing lessons.
The researcher hypothesized that students struggle with writing lessons due to low English proficiency, which leads to a fear of making mistakes and a lack of motivation to improve.
The researcher proposed a new peer feedback technique to address writing issues among students Initially, a student feedback form was introduced, allowing students to exchange their written work after completing a topic Feedback focused on two key areas: writing mechanics, which included capitalization, punctuation, spelling, and verb agreement, and writing content, which addressed unclear sentences and provided suggestions for improvement After providing feedback, students counted their mistakes and completed the feedback form, which the teacher later reviewed to assess the quality of the feedback given Finally, the researcher collected and analyzed the data to evaluate the effectiveness of the peer feedback process.
To evaluate the effectiveness of the new technique, the researcher employed three key instruments: a pre and post-test, a pre and post-questionnaire, and a student feedback form.
STEP 6 and 7: DISSEMINATION AND FOLLOW- UP
The author discussed the effectiveness of peer feedback in writing lessons in this thesis In addition, the researcher gave some suggestion for the further studies
2.1.1 Rationale for the use of questionnaire
The questionnaire was chosen as a tool for collecting data for this study due to the following reasons
This study investigates students' attitudes towards peer feedback in writing lessons According to Richards (1990), questionnaires are effective tools for gathering information in education, particularly regarding beliefs, attitudes, motivation, and preferences Thus, utilizing a questionnaire significantly supports the objectives of this research.
DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION
This chapter presents, explains, and discusses the research findings, focusing on the two initial research questions The results and discussions will systematically address each question in order.
1 The effectiveness of peer feedback in writing skill
Data for this study was gathered from various writing versions and a questionnaire The effectiveness of peer feedback on writing skills was demonstrated through two key aspects: the frequency of errors in writing drafts over a seven-week action plan and the comparison of pre-test and post-test results.
1.1 The result of pre-test and post - test
The pre-test and post-test results demonstrate a notable enhancement in students' writing skills after implementing the peer feedback technique over a seven-week period, from week 2 to week 8 Chart 1 illustrates the total number of mistakes made by students, highlighting the progress achieved during this timeframe.
Chart 1: Total number of mistakes in pre-test and post- test
The implementation of peer feedback significantly reduced the number of mistakes made by students, with mechanical errors such as capitalization, punctuation, spelling, and verb agreement dropping dramatically from 250 to 97 Additionally, errors related to unclear meaning sentences also saw a modest decline, decreasing from 50 to 33.
The analysis of student feedback collected over seven weeks indicated a notable improvement in students' writing skills through the use of peer feedback This finding was further validated by the teacher, who assessed the quality of the feedback provided by students The comparison of mistakes identified by both the teacher and students during this period is illustrated in Table 2.
SS T SS T SS T SS T SS T SS T
V= Verb UM= Unclear meaning SS= Students
T= Teacher I= What can be added to make writing better
Table 2: Total number of mistakes identified by teacher and students
Generally, there was a downward trend in the number of mistakes made by students during 7 weeks using peer feedback
The data reveals a significant decline in capitalization and punctuation errors, dropping sharply from 21 and 31 to just 6 for both categories In contrast, the number of sentences with unclear meanings experienced a more modest decrease, falling from 17 in week 2 to 12 by week 8.
The feedback provided by students on ways to improve writing was notably minimal, with only 2 to 4 suggestions offered over a span of 7 weeks.
The number of mistakes related to writing mechanics, such as capitalization, punctuation, spelling, and verb agreement, has significantly decreased However, there has been only a slight improvement in the overall content of the writing.
The comparison of mistakes identified by teachers and students reveals minimal differences, particularly in mechanics such as capitalization, punctuation, spelling, and verb agreement, with discrepancies consistently under five errors Notably, during the final two weeks, the feedback from both teachers and students aligned closely, with an equal number of errors noted—11 and 6 for capitalization, and 10 and 6 for punctuation, respectively.
There is a significant disparity in the frequency of mistakes related to unclear meanings, with teachers making nearly two to three times more errors than students.
In conclusion, while students provided valuable feedback that effectively addressed writing mechanics, they struggled to identify errors related to lexical choices and overall content quality.
The post-questionnaire data corroborates the earlier findings, particularly through Question 7, which assessed students' ability to avoid mistakes after receiving peer feedback over a seven-week period This suggests that peer feedback is effective in improving students' writing skills Notably, 80% of students (8 out of 10) reported successfully avoiding previously corrected mistakes, while only 20% continued to make the same errors.
The given reasons could be listed as they were careless, paid no attention when writing or they did not truly understand why those mistakes happened and how to correct
2 Attitudes of students towards using peer feedback in writing lessons
The data gathered from the questionnaire reveals students' attitudes towards peer feedback in writing lessons, focusing on three key aspects: their overall perception of using peer feedback, their views on its benefits, and their thoughts on its future application.
2.1 Student’s general attitude towards using peer feedback in the writing lessons
In the post-questionnaire, Question 3 collected information if students were interested in writing when the teacher used peer feedback in writing lessons
Chart 2: Student’s interest in peer feedback
Chart 2 indicates a significant interest among students in writing lessons following the implementation of a new technique, with 70% expressing "strongly agree" and "agree" responses In contrast, only 10% of students disagreed with the appeal of writing lessons utilizing peer feedback, while 20% maintained neutral attitudes toward this approach.
2.2 Student’s attitude towards the benefits of using peer feedback in writing lessons
2 Peer feedback made you more autonomous in judging the quality of learning and knowledge
4 Peer feedback gave you more confident to write
5 Peer feedback motivated you to write
6 Peer feedback helped you to avoid the mistakes which you had made
Table 3: Student’s attitude towards the benefits of peer feedback
Student‟s attitude towards benefits of using peer feedback in writing is obviously illustrated in the Chart 3 below:
Chart 3: Student’s attitudes towards benefits of peer feedback
As can be seen from Chart 3, the majority of students highly appreciated the benefits of peer feedback in writing lessons
In a recent survey, 70% of students reported that peer feedback enhanced their ability to independently evaluate their learning and knowledge This process allowed them to better assess their writing skills, including grammar, vocabulary, and expression Conversely, one student disagreed with this perspective, while two others remained uncertain about their stance.
CONCLUSION
Summary of the study
In an effort to enhance writing skills within group 12V3, the researcher conducted action research during the first semester of the 2016-2017 academic year This study detailed each phase of the action research process, beginning with an investigation into the challenges faced by students in developing their writing abilities The preliminary investigation aimed to pinpoint the issues and uncover the reasons behind students' low writing proficiency and lack of motivation, relying on data gathered from pre-questionnaires and pre-tests.
Then, the hypothesis of the study was formed that the students‟ writing skill and motivation level could be improved if peer feedback was implemented in writing lessons
An action plan was developed and implemented to enhance students' writing skills and motivation Data was gathered using a survey questionnaire and student feedback forms Following data collection, the researcher analyzed and synthesized the information to assess the intervention's effectiveness.
The evaluation revealed that the intervention effectively improved students' writing skills and significantly increased their motivation during writing lessons Additionally, students expressed positive attitudes towards peer feedback, contributing to a joyful and engaging classroom environment This transformation allowed students to acquire knowledge more enjoyably and enhanced their overall experience in writing lessons.
Pedagogical implications
The study's findings, discussed in section 3, chapter 3 of part 2, demonstrated that peer feedback significantly enhances students' writing skills Based on these results, several pedagogical recommendations are proposed for educators to implement.
Teachers should prioritize writing content and lexical complexity, particularly for low-proficiency students, who often focus primarily on grammatical accuracy and word formation Future learning processes should incorporate tasks that encourage students to enhance their writing content, fostering a more comprehensive approach to their development.
To enhance student writing outcomes, teachers should integrate both peer feedback and teacher feedback in the learning process Initiating with peer feedback allows students to engage with an audience, boosting their motivation and helping them critically assess their own work while gaining diverse perspectives Subsequently, teacher feedback serves to validate and refine the quality of peer assessments, providing students with a deeper understanding of their mistakes and guidance on effective correction strategies.
Limitations and suggestions for further research
Even though this study has provided some evidence of the effectiveness of peer feedback in writing lessons, it still has some limitations:
The survey questionnaire utilized to assess learners' motivation and attitude was predominantly subjective, incorporating open-ended questions that allowed students to freely express their thoughts For future research, it is recommended to employ additional objective data collection methods to enhance the findings.
The study was conducted over a brief duration of just 8 weeks, making it challenging to observe significant changes in teaching and learning outcomes Despite students attending two lessons per week, the limited timeframe hindered the potential for noticeable improvements.
90 minutes, the total 1440 minutes in 8 weeks was modest It is recommended that other research should be carried out in longer time
Teaching and learning are complex, long-term processes that are difficult to quantify In this study, the teacher focused solely on the impact of peer feedback on writing improvement by implementing it during writing lessons without providing additional comments or interference However, external factors from the classroom environment and individual student study habits were unavoidable To enhance the effectiveness of peer feedback on writing skills in future research, it is essential to develop techniques that closely monitor and minimize these influencing factors.
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This questionnaire aims to gather valuable data for my research on the impact of peer feedback in enhancing high school students' writing skills Your responses will play a crucial role in this study, and please rest assured that all information will remain confidential and used solely for research purposes.
1 Do you often spend a certain period of time each day to practice writing?
2 Does your English teacher operate peer feedback in writing lessons?
3 Do you complete all writing exercises?
4 You are motivated to write when you participate in the writing class activities Strongly disagree
5 How do you feel during the writing lessons?
6 The classroom atmosphere during writing lessons is good
7 How often do you work in groups or pairs in writing lesson?
8 What are reasons for which many students have no interest in writing?
Lack of vocabulary and structure
Being afraid of making mistakes/ getting bad mark
Having no interest with recent learning activities
Adapted from Murtagh and Baker (2009) and Al-Jamal (2009)
Thank you for your co-operation!
This questionnaire aims to gather valuable data for my research on the impact of peer feedback in enhancing high school students' writing skills Your responses will be crucial to my study, and rest assured that all information will remain confidential and used solely for research purposes.
1 How often did you use peer feedback in writing lessons in the last 8 weeks?
Always Usually Sometimes Rarely Never
Question 2-6: Please indicate your (dis)agreement with each statement by putting a tick (V) in the appropriate column
1= Strongly disagree 2= Disagree 3= Neutral 4= Agree 5= Strongly agree
2 Peer feedback made you more autonomous in judging the quality of learning and knowledge
3 Peer feedback made your writing lessons more interesting than before
4 Peer feedback gave you more confident to write
5 Peer feedback motivated you to write
6 Peer feedback helped you to avoid the mistakes which you had made
7 What kind of feedback do you prefer: Teacher‟s feedback or peer feedback? Please give reasons for your choice
Adapted from Murtagh and Baker (2009) and Al-Jamal (2009)
Thank you for your co-operation!
APPENDIX 3: DATA ON PRE-QUESTIONNAIRE
This questionnaire aims to gather data for my research on the impact of peer feedback on enhancing high school students' writing skills Your responses will be invaluable to my study, and please rest assured that all information will remain confidential and used solely for research purposes.
1 Do you often spend a certain period of time each day to practice writing?
Reason: Hate writing, No time/ little time for English, Prefer doing grammar or reading exercises
2 Does your English teacher operate peer feedback in writing lessons?
3 Do you complete all writing exercises?
Reasons: Being afraid of teacher’s punishment, only do if they are compulsory exercises
4 You are motivated to write when you participate in the writing class activities Strongly disagree (0)
5 How do you feel during the writing lessons?
6 The classroom atmosphere during writing lessons is good
7 How often do you work in groups or pairs in writing lesson?
8 What are reasons for which many students have no interest in writing?
Lack of vocabulary and structure (1)
Being afraid of making mistakes/ getting bad mark (3)
Having no interest with recent learning activities (6)
Adapted from Murtagh and Baker (2009) and Al-Jamal (2009)
Thank you for your co-operation!
APPENDIX 4: DATA ON POST – QUESTIONNAIRE
This questionnaire aims to gather valuable data for my research on the impact of peer feedback on enhancing high school students' writing skills Your responses will significantly contribute to the study, and all information provided will remain confidential and be used solely for research purposes.
1 How often did you use peer feedback in writing lessons in the last 8 weeks? Always (9) Usually (1) Sometimes (0) Rarely (0) Never (0)
Question 2-6: Please indicate your (dis)agreement with each statement by putting a tick (V) in the appropriate column
1= Strongly disagree 2= Disagree 3= Neutral 4= Agree 5= Strongly agree
2 Peer feedback made you more autonomous in judging the quality of learning and knowledge
3 Peer feedback made your writing lessons more interesting than before
4 Peer feedback gave you more confident to write
5 Peer feedback motivated you to write 0 1 1 7 1
6 Peer feedback helped you to avoid the mistakes which you had made
7 What kind of feedback do you prefer: Teacher‟s feedback or peer feedback? Please give reasons for your choice
Reasons: Peer feedback is sometimes incorrect Teacher’s feedback is more reliable
Reasons: - peer feedback is less stressful than teacher’s feedback
- having a chance to review grammar and vocabulary when correct student’s mistakes
Both teacher’s feedback and peer feedback: 6
Reason: - first using peer feedback, then using teacher’s feedback to revise
Adapted from Murtagh and Baker (2009) and Al-Jamal (2009)
Thank you for your co-operation!
1 Does every sentence begin with a capital letter? Yes No
2 Do all of the sentences end with a punctuation mark? Yes No
3 Do some sentences seem too long? Do they run on and on? Yes No
If yes, did you make changes to break the sentence up? Yes No
4 Are all of the words spelled correctly? Yes No
5 Did you change or mark the words spelled incorrectly? Yes No
6 Do all of the sentences use the correct verbs in the past, present, or future?
In writing mechanics, the writer needs the most help in
In writing mechanics, the writer is the best at
1 Does the paragraph meet length requirements? Yes No
2 Does the paragraph make sense? Yes No
3 What could be added to make the paragraph better?
5 Length of paragraph (Ok or not)
Time Topic Objectives Learning and teaching activities
Writing about the rules of your family
- Obtain the rules of capitalization and punctuation
- Learn how to write a description , stages of a description
Writing about your family daily routines
- Revise how to write a description, stages of a description
- Use present simple tense to write about daily routines
- Understand the structure of a paragraph
- Revise how to write a description, stages of a description
- Revise how to write a description, stages of a description
Writing a paragraph on the formal school education system in
- Be able to write the topic sentence
- Be able to write the school education system in Vietnam
- Revise how to write a description, stages of a description
- Be able to write the supporting sentences
Describing a job you want to do in the future
- Revise how to write a description, stages of a description
Describing the world in which you would like to live in the year 2026
- Revise writing topic and supporting sentences
- Use conjunctions to link the sentences
Writing about measures to protect endangered species and possible results
- Use some expressions to illustrate the cause and effect
Writing about measures to reduce the air pollution in
- Revise some expressions to illustrate the cause and effect
- Revise writing topic and supporting sentences
Week Describing - Revise how to write - Classroom activities and writing
Student‟s interest in peer feedback
Chart 2 clearly illustrates that the implementation of the new technique significantly increased student interest in writing lessons, with 70% of respondents expressing "strongly agree" or "agree" regarding their engagement Conversely, only 10% of students disagreed with the appeal of writing lessons when peer feedback was utilized, while the remaining 20% displayed neutral attitudes towards the peer feedback approach.
2.2 Student’s attitude towards the benefits of using peer feedback in writing lessons
2 Peer feedback made you more autonomous in judging the quality of learning and knowledge
4 Peer feedback gave you more confident to write
5 Peer feedback motivated you to write
6 Peer feedback helped you to avoid the mistakes which you had made
Table 3: Student’s attitude towards the benefits of peer feedback
Student‟s attitude towards benefits of using peer feedback in writing is obviously illustrated in the Chart 3 below:
Student‟s attitudes towards benefits of peer feedback
As can be seen from Chart 3, the majority of students highly appreciated the benefits of peer feedback in writing lessons
In a recent survey, 70% of students reported that peer feedback enhanced their ability to independently evaluate their learning and knowledge This indicates that peer feedback fosters self-assessment skills in areas such as writing, grammar, vocabulary, and expression Conversely, one student disagreed with this perspective, while two others remained uncertain about their stance.
A significant 70% of students indicated that peer feedback enhanced their confidence in writing, while 30% either disagreed or were unsure about the effectiveness of this technique in boosting their writing confidence.
A significant majority of students, specifically 80%, expressed that incorporating peer feedback in writing lessons enhances their motivation to write, while only one student disagreed and another remained neutral.
A significant 80% of students believe that peer feedback is instrumental in helping them avoid previous mistakes, particularly when corrections come from their classmates.
In conclusion, students exhibited a favorable attitude toward the benefits of peer feedback, highlighting its ability to motivate them, help them avoid previously corrected mistakes, and foster greater autonomy and confidence in their writing process.
2.3 The student’s view on the use of peer feedback in the future
The findings of student‟s opinion about using peer feedback in the future were collected from Question 7 in the post- questionnaire The data was clearly shown in the following Chart 4
Chart 4: Student’s view on using peer feedback in the future
From the Chart 4, we found that there was a difference in student‟s opinion about the use of feedback in the future
Only one student reported that the teacher‟s feedback would be best The reason for this answer was “Peer feedback is sometimes incorrect The teacher‟s feedback is more reliable”
Three students expressed a preference for peer feedback, citing that it is less stressful than receiving feedback from teachers They highlighted the benefits of learning from their friends' mistakes and appreciated the opportunity to review grammar and vocabulary while correcting their peers' errors.
A significant 60% of students expressed a preference for utilizing both peer and teacher feedback in their learning process They indicated that they find value in first engaging with peer feedback, followed by incorporating teacher feedback for revisions.
Conclusively, most of student preferred the combination of peer feedback and teacher feedback in writing lessons
This study utilized both qualitative and quantitative analyses to explore the impact of peer feedback on writing lessons The following section interprets the findings and discusses their relevance to the research questions posed in the study.
The research on the effectiveness of peer feedback in enhancing writing skills yielded positive results, indicating that this technique significantly improved students' writing abilities Feedback from student surveys highlighted a notable enhancement in writing performance, as peer feedback helped students minimize errors Over a span of seven weeks, there was a marked reduction in mistakes related to writing mechanics, including capitalization, punctuation, spelling, and verb usage However, errors concerning writing content showed only a slight decrease.
Recent findings reaffirm the effectiveness of peer feedback in enhancing writing skills, aligning with previous research by Hyland (2006), Hanson (2006), and Li et al (2010) Specifically, there is a notable reduction in errors related to capitalization, punctuation, spelling, and verb agreement However, students tend to overlook content-related mistakes Consequently, peer-initiated writing revisions primarily target surface-level issues, resulting in slight improvements in fluency and significant gains in grammatical accuracy, while lexical complexity remains unchanged This trend is attributed to the participants' low English proficiency; although they excel in science subjects, their feedback predominantly addresses surface-level aspects Ting (2010) supports this observation, indicating that peer feedback among low-proficiency learners often focuses on grammatical accuracy and word forms.
The research findings revealed that students held positive attitudes towards peer feedback, with the majority finding the new teaching technique both interesting and useful Additionally, most students acknowledged that peer feedback significantly benefited their learning by helping them avoid repeating mistakes and fostering greater autonomy in their writing process.
Besides, peer feedback also aroused student‟s motivation and confidence in learning process Thirdly, students suggested the combination of peer feedback and teacher feedback in the future learning
For the most part, these findings are also similar to the results of research of Tsui and Ng (2000), Mogahed (2009), Liu and Carless (2006), and Douglas
Peer feedback significantly enhances students' confidence and fosters independent, active learning, as evidenced by participants in this study who mirrored the positive attitudes observed in similar research conducted in countries like China, New Zealand, and Pakistan This shift in student attitude can be attributed to several factors Firstly, peer feedback promotes social interaction and emotional benefits, empowering students to take ownership of their learning process Consequently, they become less dependent on teachers and more self-assured in their writing abilities over time Secondly, the participants expressed dissatisfaction with traditional teaching methods that center around the teacher The introduction of peer feedback created a dynamic learning environment, diversified classroom activities, and motivated students to engage more deeply in writing.
This study reveals a notable shift in student preferences regarding feedback methods, with a majority favoring a combination of peer and teacher feedback In contrast to earlier research by Zhang (1995) and Ah-Jamal (2009), which showed students either fully supporting or opposing peer feedback, participants in this study expressed a desire to use peer feedback as an initial step, followed by teacher evaluation and comments This approach suggests that students are increasingly aware of their linguistic limitations and continue to view teachers as the primary source of high-quality feedback due to their greater experience.
To sum up, peer feedback has an important role in improving students‟ writing skill and creating highly motivated students in the group of participants in this study
In an effort to enhance writing skills within group 12V3, a researcher conducted an action research study during the first semester of the 2016-2017 academic year The research detailed each phase of the action research process, beginning with an investigation into the challenges faced by students in writing The preliminary investigation aimed to identify issues and explore the underlying causes of students' low writing ability and motivation, drawing insights from student responses collected through a pre-questionnaire and pre-test.
Then, the hypothesis of the study was formed that the students‟ writing skill and motivation level could be improved if peer feedback was implemented in writing lessons
An action plan was developed and implemented to enhance students' writing skills and motivation Data was gathered using a survey questionnaire and student feedback forms Following data collection, the researcher analyzed and synthesized the information to assess the intervention's effectiveness.