The effects of facebook based peer comments on english major students witing revisions at the university of social sciences and humanities vietnam national university hcmc ma

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY — HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES FACULTY OF ENGLISH LINGUISTICS & LITERATURE THE EFFECTS OF FACEBOOK-BASED PEER COMMENTS ON ENGLISH-MAJOR STUDENTS’ WRITING REVISIONS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES - VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY HCMC A thesis submitted to the Faculty of English Linguistics & Literature in partial fulfillment of the Master’s degree in TESOL By NGUYỄN THỊ HOÀI ANH Supervised by Assoc Prof Dr PHẠM VŨ PHI HỔ HO CHI MINH CITY, JULY 2022 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First of all, I would like to express my deep gratitude to my supervisor, Assoc Prof Dr Phạm Vũ Phi Hổ, for his kindness and dedication There are no words that can fully show my appreciation for what he has done for me Without his guidance and encouragement, I would not have been able to overcome this challenge My sincere thanks also go to my best friend, Tạ Lê Minh Phước, who created all the favourable conditions for me to collect data for this study I am grateful and thankful for his valuable support Also, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all the students who participated in the present study; without their effective participation, I could not have finished my thesis I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to my two classmates, Mr Tạ Lê Minh Phước, Ms Phạm Tố Quyên, and Mr Tiêu Tiểu Long, for being by my side through ups and downs from the very beginning of the course Last but not least, I would like to express my deep sense of gratitude to my family for their unconditional love and support I especially own my deepest thanks to my mother and my husband-to-be Without their care and encouragement, I would have never had enough motivation to go to the end of this journey i STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY I certify that this thesis entitled “THE EFFECTS OF FACEBOOK-BASED PEER COMMENTS ON ENGLISH-MAJOR STUDENTS’ WRITING REVISIONS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES - VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY HCMC” is my own work This thesis has not been submitted for the award of any degree or diploma in any other institution Ho Chi Minh City, July 5th, 2022 Nguyễn Thị Hoài Anh ii RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS I hereby state that I, NGUYEN THI HOAI ANH, being the candidate for the degree of Master of TESOL, accept the requirement of the University relating to the retention and use of Master’s Theses deposited in the Library In terms of these conditions, I agree that the originality of my thesis deposited in the Library should be accessible for the purposes of study and research, in accordance with the normal conditions established by the Library for the care, loan or reproduction of theses Ho Chi Minh City, July 5th, 2022 Nguyễn Thị Hoài Anh iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS i STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY ii RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS .iii TABLE OF CONTENTS .iv LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS viii LIST OF TABLES x LIST OF FIGURES xi ABSTRACT xii CHAPTER INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background to the study 1.2 Aims of the study 1.3 Research questions and hypotheses 1.4 Significance of the study 1.5 Scope of the study 1.6 Definition of terms 1.7 Assumptions of the study 1.8 Organization of thesis chapters CHAPTER LITERATURE REVIEW 10 2.1 Theoretical issues on peer comment research 10 2.2 Review of existing peer comment research in writing 13 2.2.1 Traditional peer comments 13 2.2.1.1 Benefits of traditional peer comments 13 2.2.1.2 Drawbacks of traditional peer comments 15 iv 2.2.1.3 Research on effectiveness of peer comments compared with teacher comments .16 2.2.1.4 Research on peer comment training 18 2.2.2 Computer-mediated peer comments 20 2.2.2.1 Benefits of computer-mediated peer comments 21 2.2.2.2 Drawbacks of computer-mediated peer comments 22 2.2.2.3 The effects of computer-mediated peer comments 23 2.2.3 Facebook-based peer comments 30 2.3 Research gaps 35 2.4 Conceptual framework of the present study 36 2.5 Chapter summary 37 CHAPTER METHODOLOGY 39 3.1 Context of the study 39 3.2 Participants 40 3.3 Research Design 41 3.4 Procedure of the study 42 3.4.1 The teaching materials 42 3.4.1.1 The writing topics 42 3.4.1.2 Coding scheme for language functions 43 3.4.1.3 Coding scheme for textual revision 44 3.4.1.4 Grammatical error coding scheme 46 3.4.1.5 The compare function of WPS Word 47 3.4.2 The training processes 48 3.5 Grouping arrangement 55 3.6 Pilot study 56 3.6.1 Pilot study 56 v 3.6.2 Pilot study 59 3.7 Research instrument 60 3.8 Data collection procedure 61 3.9 Data analysis method 63 3.10 Chapter summary 64 CHAPTER RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 65 4.1 Research question .65 4.1.1 Statistical data analysis 65 4.1.2 Discussion of results 69 4.2 Research question .70 4.2.1 Statistical data analysis 70 4.2.2 Discussion of results 72 4.3 Research question .72 4.3.1 Statistical data analysis 73 4.3.2 Discussion of results 74 4.4 Research question .75 4.4.1 Statistical data analysis 75 4.4.2 Discussion of results 82 4.5 Chapter summary 84 CHAPTER CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 86 5.1 Conclusion .86 5.2 Pedagogical implications 88 5.3 Limitations of the study 89 5.4 Recommendations for future studies 90 APPENDICES 108 vi APPENDIX A 108 APPENDIX B 114 APPENDIX C 115 APPENDIX D 117 APPENDIX E 118 APPENDIX F 120 vii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ACMC Asynchronous computer-mediated communication APF Asynchronous peer feedback CMC Computer-mediated communication CMPR Computer-mediated peer response EFL English as a Foreign Language ESL English as a Second Language FB Facebook L2 Second Language LAN Local-area network MOO Multi-user domain Object-oriented MSN Microsoft instant messaging SCF Synchronous corrective feedback SCMC Synchronous computer-mediated communication SPSS Statistical Package for the Social Sciences SNS Social-networking site USSH University of Social Sciences and Humanities ZPD Proximal Development Zone D1 Dratf D2 Draft D1.1 Draft in the first writing assignment viii D1.2 Draft in the second writing assignment D1.3 Draft in the third writing assignment D2.1 Draft in the first writing assignment D2.2 Draft in the second writing assignment D3.3 Draft in the third writing assignment ix Zhu, W., & Mitchell, D A (2012) Participation in peer response as activity: An examination of peer response stances from an activity theory perspective TESOL quarterly, 46(2), 362-386 107 APPENDICES APPENDIX A COURSE SYLLABUS OF GRAMMAR - B2 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY – HCM UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES FACULTY OF ENGLISH LINGUISTICS AND LITERATURE COURSE SYLLABUS I Course Title: GRAMMAR – B2 II Course Code: NVA063.1 III Course Credits: credits (Theory: credits, Practice: credit) IV Course Prerequisites: Students who have achieved B1 – CEFR level of English grammar V Course Overview Nouns and articles Possessives, pronouns and quantifiers Prepositions Adjectives and adverbs Present tenses Past tenses Present perfect Future forms Modal verbs The course not only aims at equipping students with necessary knowledge of English grammar but also highly focuses on giving them opportunities to apply acquired knowledge to language production via and speaking writing practice in class as well as at home VI Course Learning Outcomes Upon completion of the course, students should be able to:  Recognize, understand and explain the meanings and uses of targeted grammatical structures in spoken and written forms (P1.1)  Explain and compare the forms, meanings and uses of targeted grammatical structures in varied discourse settings (P1.1, P1.3)  Practically apply acquired knowledge into written and oral language production (P2.2) 108  Develop key transferable skills and attitudes (P1.2, P3.2) VII Texts and Materials Required texts and materials  Foley, M., & Hall, D (2012) My Grammar Lab: Intermediate B1/B2 (Chapters 1-9) Pearson Longman Assessment Tasks Points Perce nt A1 On-going Mini Test A2 On-going Mini Test A3 On-going Mini Test 10 points 30% A4 Final test Percent of Total Grade Midterm 30% Score 30% Note To be computed by the University Admission Office 40% 100% 10 points 100% Final 70% Passing grade: 5/10 Reference materials  Collins (2013) Collins work on your grammar: Intermediate B1 Harper Collins Publishers  Collins (2013) Collins work on your grammar: Upper-Intermediate B2 Harper Collins Publishers  Eastwood, J (2011) Oxford practice grammar: Intermediate OUP  Paterson, K (2012) Oxford living grammar: Upper-Intermediate OUP VIII Assessment Scheme (See attached documents for Test Specifications.) IX Course policies A Grades Grade Policy: All grades are public and transparent to all students Instructors are required to inform students of their midterm scores during course time Any queries about their midterm scores should be raised and answered TWO WEEKS prior to the instructor’s submission of the scores to the Faculty Academic Office Group Work Policy: All group members are required to take part in a group oral presentation and/or written project and thus receive the same score(s) based on the whole group’s performance Once formed, groups cannot be changed except for cases of students’ extended hospitalization B Technology and Media Students are encouraged to contact instructors via email after class hours if they have any queries about the course contents, lessons, etc The instructor’s email address should be provided in the first meeting of the course 109 C Student Expectations - Attendance will be checked every class meeting either in terms of short quizzes, activity participation or roll calling Students who are absent for more than 20% of the total number of class periods [12 periods] will be forbidden from taking the final examination - Penalty for lateness or skipping some periods may vary according to instructors’ policies - Absence should be informed to instructors before or after the day Students are responsible for getting the information they have missed There are no make-ups for in-class writing, quizzes, the midterm, or the final exam - The use of mobile phones and/or laptops for personal purposes without instructors’ permission is forbidden during class time - Cheating and plagiarism are severely punished X Tentative Schedule Sessions Content Periods Chapter 1: Nouns and articles Writing topic Chapter 2: Possessives, pronouns and quantifiers Writing topic Review chapters & Further practice Writing topics 2, 4, Chapter 3: Prepositions Writing topic On-going Mini Test (A1) Chapter 4: Adjectives and adverbs Writing topic Review chapters & 4 Further practice Writing topics 8, Chapter 5: Present tenses Midterm Examination (60-75 mins.) Writing topic 10 Chapter 6: Past tenses Writing topic 12 Students’ studying scheme Periods Read the chapter Do class work as requested by Instructor Read the chapter Do class work as requested by Instructor Review the chapters Do class work as requested by Instructor Read the chapter Do class work as requested by Instructor 10 Read the chapter Do class work as requested by Instructor Review the chapters Do class work as requested by Instructor Read the chapter Do class work as requested by Instructor Review for Midterm Examination Read the chapter Do class work as requested by Instructor 10 110 10 10 10 10 10 10 Note: The schedule was planned with 15 four-period meetings and thus should be amended by Instructors to fit 12 five-period meetings LIST OF SPEAKING/WRITING PRACTICE TOPICS Chapter 1: Nouns and articles You’ve arrived at your holiday house by the sea Write an email to your friend Jack, telling him what food, clothes, and household goods such as soap that you’ve brought already, and what things he should bring when he joins you tomorrow Your friend Sylvia has been travelling abroad for six months Write a dialogue in which you ask her about some of the places she has visited, and she tells you about one or two of her experiences Chapter 2: Write an email to Simon, an English friend, describing your family home Possessives, Use apostrophes and words such as my, yours, ourselves, itself, my own, pronouns and each other, etc quantifiers Use a paragraph describing a day trip to a town or place of interest near you, using some of the pronouns and quantifiers you have learned Write a film review, using some of the pronouns and quantifiers you have learned Chapter 3: Use prepositions of place, movement and time either to describe a Prepositions trip/holiday that you’ve already made, or that you are planning to make You might decide before you write which prepositions you plan to use Chapter 4: Describe your ideal home in a short paragraph Adjectives Compare two houses or flats that you’ve lived in or two hotels you’ve and adverbs stayed in As well as comparison structures, try to use some of the adjectives you have learned Describe the best holiday resort you’ve stayed in Chapter 5: 10 Write a paragraph about a new experience you are having Maybe you Present are living in a new country, taking a new class, or working at a new job tenses Describe the situation How is it different from what you usually do? How you feel in the situation? E.g.: I usually live at home with my parents, but this month I’m living with my aunt and uncle Everything seems different My aunt… 11 Weather often affects what people in different cultures Do a research on weather for a place you know well Find out what the weather is now Then compare it to what the weather usually is this time of year Write a paragraph to report the weather and what people usually in this weather 111 E.g.: In Haiti it usually rains this time of year, but today it is not raining It rains so often in Haiti that people usually ignore it Children often play outside in the rain Chapter 6: Write a description of an event that you witnessed: an accident, a crime, a Past tenses reunion, a wedding, or another even Use the past progressive and the past simple to describe what was happening and what happened during the event Write a short paragraph about your best friend How did he/she become your best friend? Describe a situation that has turned out differently from what you expected – for example, a marriage or other relationships, or college plans First write/talk about what you thought would happen; then write/ talk about what actually happened Chapter 7: Imagine you and a friend are giving a party tonight Leave a note for your Present friend to explain what you’ve already done and what you haven’t done yet perfect Read this quote Then write a paragraph that answers the questions below “My favorite thing is to go where I’ve never been.” Diane Arbus (19231971, photographer, USA) What does Arbus mean? Do you feel the same way? Where have you been? Where have you never been that you would like to go? Do a research on adventure vacation Describe some of the activities you find Have you ever done any of them? Would you like to try one? Why or why not? How has your family changed in the last five years? Write a paragraph about some of the changes Use the present perfect and past simple Write a short paragraph between you and an old friend, who met in the street Use present perfect simple and progressive tenses, as you two find out what each other has been doing recently Chapter 8: Imagine you are a travel agent advertising a dream vacation in space Use Future forms your imagination to write about what your clients will do, what they will see, and how they will feel What will hotel accommodations look like? What kinds of activities are there going to be? What types of food will people eat? Be creative! How you see the future of your country over the next five years? Write a short paragraph making some predictions You could focus on the economy or society or the arts and sciences, or a mixture of these Think about the changes that you expect to happen in your life in the next few days, weeks, months or years Write a short paragraph about these changes, using the future continuous or future perfect tenses You’ve planned a trip with two friends, but you find out what one of them cannot come Write an email to another friend, Max, inviting him/her to join you instead, and explaining what you plan to Use connecting words such as when, while, before 112 etc Mixed tenses Write a short story beginning with the words, ‘A strange thing happened to me and my friends last year…’ Imagine you are staying in a hotel in Manchester During your time there you make five polite requests Write a short paragraph with the title ‘Learn from your mistakes.’ Think about a misunderstanding or a mistake that you experienced or observed How did your behavior or thinking change because of your experience? 113 APPENDIX B GUIDELINES FOR PEER COMMENTING - AREAS OF COMMENTS Local comments Global comments a Spelling a Task achievement b Punctuation - Are the topic sentences in paragraphs are clear and related to the topic (be careful with two ideas in the topic sentences)? c Vocabulary (Word choice) d Grammar e Sentence structure (Quality and variety of sentences) - How many words in paragraphs? b Coherence and cohesion - Are there any connectives between sentences? - Is there theme and rhyme development? - Is there any sentence off topic? - Is there an concluding sentence to get back to the topic? c Formatting (Does the writer follow the format of a paragraph? - Topic sentence - Supporting ideas - Conclusion Adapted from Pham and Usaha (2016) and IELTS’s scoring rubric Designed by the researcher 114 APPENDIX C CODING SCHEME FOR LANGUAGE FUNCTIONS Global Areas Types of comments Revision- Non-revisionoriented oriented Generally Evaluation This sentence does not support the topic sentence I like this sentence I don’t know how this idea No example for Specific ideas this category links to your previous ideas No example for No example for this category this category Particular What is the main word choices, No example for No example for No example for verb in this phrases, or this category this category this category sentence? sentences Unity How does this supporting Need a No example for No example for sentence connect transitional signal this category this category here to the topic sentence? These ideas Your ideas link seem irrelevant well together No example for No example for this category this category This idea should rewrite: ‘vegetable and ‘she help’ should No example for No example for be changed to fruit of fourthis category this category season will be ‘she helps’ planted in the garden.’ Alteration advice oriented Non-revisionoriented This word does Vocabulary used not make sense in this sentence here is nice Cohesive Suggestion/ Good essay Revision- Your topic Your claims are sentence is not not strong good Specifically Clarification Your writing is out of topic Local Areas Generally You should write about the No example for You should not No example for effects What are this category use flowery words this category in your writing the effects of obesity? You 115 can develop your essay as follows: Para 1: causes and Para 2: effects and Specifically The link between these ideas is weak No example for You should add No example for You should this category an adjective here this category rearrange them to form a more logical thought Explanation It is out of the topic It is not connected to your previous idea You’re still No example for this category talking about school time right Then, write “take them to extra classes” Confirmation How can you Your writing is know all people long enough prefer having a with 210 words best friend? Statement ‘get along’ = you and him like each other and are friendly to each No example for other It does not this category go with look and personalities You should delete it Simple or past tense here? No example for this category I hope my No example for No example for No example for comments useful this category this category this category for your revision 116 APPENDIX D WRITING TOPICS I WRITING TOPIC Describe your ideal home in a short paragraph (200 words) II WRITING TOPIC Write a short paragraph about your best friend How did he/she become your best friend? (200 words) III WRITING TOPIC Write a short paragraph with the title ‘Learn from your mistakes.’ Think about a misunderstanding or a mistake that you experienced or observed How did your behavior or thinking change because of your experience? (200 words) 117 APPENDIX E SAMPLE OF PEER COMMENTS ON A STUDENTS’ WRITING 118 REVISION VERSION BASED ON PEER COMMENTS 119 APPENDIX F GUIDELINES FOR PEER COMMENTING - TYPES OF COMMENTS Evaluation (Stanley, 1992; Tuzi, 2004) The evaluation could be positive or negative However, according to Liu and Hansen (2005), praise such as ‘A pretty good essay!’ or ‘I like this paragraph’ (generally), or ‘Your grammar and vocabulary are good.’ (specifically) should be used to reduce tension among peers in some cases As a result, positive evaluations were encouraged when students evaluated the writing Clarification (Stanley, 1992; Zhu, 2001; Min, 2005) In order to help writers realize and revise their writing, commenters could clarify their points of view or ask the writers to clarify their decisions by using specific ideas (What you mean by this? Really difficult to understand your idea; That’s OK, but how can you know this information?; or I don’t know how this links to your previous ideas.), particular word choices (What you mean by ‘the visibility of public transit’? or check if we have ‘consume cars’), cohesive gaps (How does this sentence connect to the one before? or What is the function of this sentence?), and unity of the paragraphs (In the second paragraph, some of the ideas are unnecessary and moving too far from the topic; Do you think the sentence directly explains or support the main idea?; or Your ideas are really well-linked.) Alteration (Tuzi, 2004; Liu & Hansen, 2005) Peers provided comments in an imperative tone instead of advice like ‘change disease to plural one’ or ‘obesity on children => obesity in/among children’ Suggestion/ advice (Zhu, 2001; Tuzi, 2004; Min, 2005) Commenters suggested ways to change words, content, and organization of the writing The advice could be general (My suggestion is to cut down on the words Your essay’s really long; You should add noun phrases into your essays to improve your writing style; or You not have a clear paragraphing The body 120 should have 2-3 paragraphs Don’t write one big paragraph like this.) or specific (The link between these ideas is weak You should rearrange them to form a more logical thought; You should find ways to shorten your topic sentence; This idea is very short You may want to add more information; or You should delete this sentence.) Explanation (Zhu, 2001; Min, 2005; Tseng & Tsai, 2007) Commenters explained why an idea, or the writing organization was unclear or problematic This step included specific advice and clearer information for the problems (You should delete “and” here Do not use “and” as a connective; You should put these examples after “meals” because they modify meals, not sugar; or It is out of the topic because It is not connected to your previous idea You’re still talking about school time right Then, you should write “take them to extra classes”) Confirmation (Zhu, 2001) Writers received comments about a particular feature for revision or nonrevision from commenters However, there was no suggestion for revision Commenters could remind writers to reconsider a specific feature which writers might need to change (How can you know they have to walk a long distance? What if their classroom is really close to the bus stop?) or simply give writers confirming information (This paragraph has a topic sentence, supportive sentences, and a conclusion) Statement (Zhu, 2001) Commenters gave statements which did not belong to the nature of comments for revision (I have no idea about this word If it is a correct one, you’re great! or No comment) 121