Peer feedback vietnamese efl university students’ perceptions in two different feedback conditions

PEER FEEDBACK: VIETNAMESE EFL UNIVERSITY STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS IN TWO DIFFERENT FEEDBACK CONDITIONS BY TRẦN TRUNG NGUYÊN BACHELOR OF ARTS IN ENGLISH LINGUISTICS AND LITERATURE, UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES, HCMC A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS IN LINGUISTICS (TESOL) DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGES AND LITERATURE COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS BENEDICTINE UNIVERSITY LISLE, ILLINOIS, USA MAY, 2020 ii ABSTRACT Peer feedback is a learning activity in which learners are involved in assessing their peers’ performance It can be qualitative or quantitative or both The incorporation of peer feedback into classrooms is thought to help teachers lighten the burden of grading and giving feedback on students’ papers, which can be tiring and time-consuming Also, students can learn from each other, and they can receive feedback from multiple sources, which helps avoid the possibility of teacher bias Regardless of the considerable number of studies available, few have discussed relevant issues about anonymous and non-anonymous feedback conditions Also, while several studies about students’ perceptions involved Asian participants or took place in an Asian country, very little has been known about Vietnamese students’ perceptions of peer feedback in the roles of reviewers and writers The present study, as a result, aimed at addressing issues concerning how Vietnamese students perceive peer feedback when they are either writers or reviewers in anonymous and non-anonymous feedback conditions The present study was conducted with sixteen English-major freshmen in a Reading – Writing course The data was collected from the pre-questionnaire, two post-questionnaires, the student-reviewers’ comments, the student-writers’ revisions, and the individual interviews with three volunteers Major findings of the study include the students’ positive attitudes towards peer feedback at the early stage of the study regardless of having prior experience with it Moreover, in the anonymous condition, both the reviewers and writers felt comfortable although certain doubt about peer feedback was found among the writers The reviewers acknowledged the benefits of reading their peers’ drafts while the writers found it useful to read their peers’ feedback In the iii non-anonymous condition, both the student-reviewers and student-writers expressed mixed feelings with pressure from the difference in language proficiency levels and their social relationships They also felt the beneficial effects of reading their peers’ drafts or peers’ feedback The paired-samples t-tests only found one statistical difference, which was related to how the student-reviewers perceived the comfort when giving feedback in the two conditions The participants preferred a mixed condition with both anonymous and non-anonymous peer feedback, and teachers’ feedback was also needed in addition to peer feedback The major implications of the study involve the implementation of adequate training prior to the feedback cycles, the incorporation of mixed feedback condition, the combination of teacher and peer feedback, and feedback generated by multiple peers on one single draft Key words: peer feedback - students’ perceptions – anonymity iv DEDICATIONS AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First of all, I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to my supervisors from Benedictine University, Dr Olga Demin Lambert, and Dr Sandra Gollin-Kies, who have wholeheartedly encouraged, supported and instructed me throughout the whole course of the study with detailed comments and constructive advice I would also like to express my special thanks to Dr Le Hoang Dung, Dean of Faculty of English Linguistics and Literature, USSH, and my co-supervisor, for his dedication to my study, and especially his encouragement to me throughout the program Moreover, I would like to show my great appreciation to my colleague, who helped me with the data analysis Additionally, I warmly thank the generous participants, the instructor-in-charge, the faculty and administration at my research site for enthusiastically supporting me in my study I also need to mention other instructors in all the courses – Dr Nguyen Dang Nguyen, Dr Pho Phuong Dung, and Dr Nguyen Thi Hong Tham for their great devotion to their courses, thanks to which I could become an academic individual Finally, my deep appreciation is for my parents, who have never stopped trusting me, and supporting me in all the ways possible from the beginning v DECLARATION I – TRẦN TRUNG NGUYÊN - hereby declare that this thesis entitled “PEER FEEDBACK: VIETNAMESE EFL UNIVERSITY STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS IN TWO DIFFERENT FEEDBACK CONDITIONS” submitted to Benedictine University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Linguistics (TESOL Concentration) is entirely my own work It has not been previously published, as a whole or in part, or submitted to any other institution for any other degree, diploma, or professional qualification Research for this work was approved by the Benedictine University Institutional Review Board IRB Approval Number: #20191101B I have read and understood Benedictine University’s Academic Honesty Policy: https://www.ben.edu/degree-programs/academic-honesty-policy.cfmI which states: “Actions such as cheating, plagiarism, collusion, fabrication, forgery, falsification, destruction, multiple submission, solicitation, and misrepresentation are violations of these expectations and constitute unacceptable behavior in the University community.” I fully understand that using the ideas and wordings of others without full and accurate citation constitutes plagiarism, and that if plagiarism or any other from of academic dishonesty is discovered, academic sanctions outlined in Benedictine University’s Academic Honesty Policy, including rejection of the thesis, will be invoked Candidate signature: Student number: B2506542 Date: May 21st, 2020 vi TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ii DEDICATIONS AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iv DECLARATION v TABLE OF CONTENTS vi LIST OF TABLES xi LIST OF FIGURES xii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 The effects of prior training 2.2 Various feedback sources 10 2.3 Various feedback conditions 11 2.3.1 Peer-only ratings versus peer ratings with peer qualitative feedback 11 2.3.2 Oral feedback versus written feedback 11 2.3.3 Anonymous and non-anonymous peer feedback 12 2.4 Students’ feedback-based revisions 13 vii 2.5 Students’ writing quality improvement 14 2.6 Students’ attitude towards peer feedback 15 2.7 Statement of problems 21 CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODS 23 3.1 Research design 23 3.2 Participants 25 3.3 Instruments 27 3.3.1 Pre-questionnaire 27 3.3.2 Post-questionnaires 28 3.3.2.1 Task 1: Anonymous feedback condition 28 3.3.2.2 Task 2: Non-anonymous feedback condition 28 3.3.3 Interview protocol 28 3.3.4 Peer feedback form 29 3.3.5 Reviewers’ qualitative comments and writers’ revisions 30 3.4 Procedure 3.3.5.1 Reviewers’ qualitative comments 30 3.3.5.2 Writers’ revisions 31 31 viii 3.5 Ethics concerns about human subjects 36 3.5.1 Measures against external factors 36 3.5.2 Measures against internal factors 37 CHAPTER 4: RESULTS 4.1 Students’ initial perceptions 39 39 4.1.1 Students with prior experience 39 4.1.2 Students without prior experience 42 4.1.3 Students’ predictions of their perceptions 44 4.2 Students’ perceptions after the feedback cycles 46 4.2.1 Students’ attitudes towards peer feedback 50 4.2.2 Students in the role of reviewers 54 4.2.2.1 Students’ perceptions of benefits of reading peers’ drafts 54 4.2.2.2 Reviewers’ feedback 56 4.2.3 Students in the role of writers 58 4.2.3.1 Students’ perceptions of benefits of reading peers’ feedback 58 4.2.3.2 Writers’ revisions 61 ix 4.2.4 Comparison of students perceptions 62 4.2.4.1 Students’ attitudes towards peer feedback 62 4.2.4.2 Students’ perceptions of benefits of reading peers’ drafts 64 4.2.4.3 Students’ perceptions of benefits of reading peers’ feedback 65 4.2.4.4 Other related perceptions 66 CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION 72 5.1 Participants’ initial perceptions 72 5.2 Research question 1: Vietnamese students’ perceptions in the anonymous feedback condition 75 5.2.1 Vietnamese students in the role of reviewers 75 5.2.2 Vietnamese students in the role of writers 77 5.2.3 Other related perceptions 82 5.3 Research question 2: Vietnamese students’ perceptions in the non-anonymous feedback condition 83 5.3.1 Vietnamese students in the role of reviewers 83 5.3.2 Vietnamese students in the role of writers 86 5.3.3 Other related perceptions 89 x 5.4 Research question 3: Differences between students’ perceptions in the two conditions CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSION 90 95 6.1 Brief summary of the study 95 6.2 Major findings 95 6.2.1 Students’ initial perceptions 95 6.2.2 Students’ perceptions in the anonymous condition 95 6.2.3 Students’ perceptions in the non-anonymous condition 97 6.2.4 The anonymous condition versus the non-anonymous condition 98 6.3 Pedagogical implications 100 6.4 Limitations 103 6.5 Recommendations for future research 106 REFERENCES 107 APPENDICES 109 109 APPENDICES Appendix A: Pre-questionnaire Peer feedback: Vietnamese EFL university students' perceptions in two different feedback conditions Age: _ Gender: _ Years of learning English: Question 1: Have you ever experienced peer feedback implemented in writing lessons in previous English programs? □ Yes □ No If you choose Yes, please continue with question If you choose No, please move on to question Question 2: How often was the peer feedback implemented in the writing lessons? a 80% to 100% of the lessons b 60% to less than 80% c 40% to less than 60% d 20% to less than 40% e Less than 20% Question 3: Which form of peer feedback did you experience? a Spoken b Written Question 4: c Both In which conditions was the feedback generated and given? a Anonymous feedback conditions – in which the identities of both the writers/ speakers and the reviewers were removed b Non-anonymous feedback conditions – in which the identities of both the writers/ speakers and the reviewers were revealed c Both Question 5: Please respond to the following statements by choosing SA for STRONGLY AGREE, A for AGREE, N for NEUTRAL, D for DISAGREE, or SD for STRONGLY DISAGREE SA 5.1 You felt comfortable when giving feedback to your peers 5.2 You felt confident when giving feedback to your peers 5.3 You felt comfortable when receiving A N D SD 110 feedback from your peers 5.4 You felt confident in your peers’ feedback 5.5 You felt comfortable when giving peer feedback in the anonymous conditions (if you chose (a) or (c) in question 4) 5.6 You felt comfortable when receiving peer feedback in the anonymous conditions (if you chose (a) or (c) in question 4) 5.7 You felt comfortable when giving peer feedback in the non-anonymous conditions (if you chose (b) or (c) in question 4) 5.8 You felt comfortable when receiving peer feedback in the non-anonymous conditions (if you chose (b) or (c) in question 4) 5.9 You found it useful to give feedback to your peers 5.10 You found it useful to receive feedback from your peers 5.11 You wanted to receive feedback only from your teachers 5.12 You wanted to receive feedback only from your peers 5.13 You wanted to receive feedback from both your teachers and your peers 5.14 You did not want to receive feedback from anybody (Please move on to question 7) Question 6: (for those who chose No in question 1) Please respond to the following statements by choosing SA for STRONGLY AGREE, A for AGREE, N for NEUTRAL, D for DISAGREE, or SD for STRONGLY DISAGREE SA 6.1 You feel comfortable when giving feedback to your peers 6.2 You feel confident when giving feedback to your peers 6.3 You feel comfortable when receiving feedback from your peers 6.4 You feel confident in your peers’ feedback 6.5 You feel comfortable when giving peer feedback in the anonymous conditions (in which the identities of both the writer/ A N D SD 111 speaker and the reviewer are removed) 6.6 You feel comfortable when receiving peer feedback in the anonymous conditions 6.7 You feel comfortable when giving peer feedback in the non-anonymous conditions (in which the identities of both the writers/ speakers and the reviewers are revealed) 6.8 You feel comfortable when receiving peer feedback in the non-anonymous conditions 6.9 You find it useful to give feedback to your peers 6.10 You find it useful to receive feedback from your peers 6.11 You want to receive feedback only from your teachers 6.12 You want to receive feedback only from your peers 6.13 You want to receive feedback from both your teachers and your peers 6.14 You not want to receive feedback from anybody Question 7: (for all the respondents) Should peer feedback be implemented in this writing course, how will you perceive it? Please respond to the following statements by choosing SA for STRONGLY AGREE, A for AGREE, N for NEUTRAL, D for DISAGREE, or SD for STRONGLY DISAGREE SA 7.1 You will feel comfortable when giving feedback to your peers 7.2 You will feel confident when giving feedback to your peers 7.3 You will feel comfortable when receiving feedback from your peers 7.4 You will feel confident in your peers’ feedback? 7.5 You will feel comfortable when giving peer feedback in the anonymous conditions 7.6 You will feel comfortable when receiving peer feedback in the anonymous conditions 7.7 You will feel comfortable when giving peer feedback in the non-anonymous conditions 7.8 You will feel comfortable when receiving A N D SD 112 peer feedback in the non-anonymous conditions 7.9 You will find it useful to give feedback to your peers 7.10 You will find it useful to receive feedback from your peers 7.11 You will prefer the anonymous feedback conditions 7.12 You will prefer the non-anonymous feedback conditions 7.13 You will feel comfortable with any feedback condition 7.14 You will want to receive feedback only from you teachers 7.15 You will want to receive feedback only from your peers 7.16 You will want to receive feedback from both your teachers and your peers 7.17 You will not want to receive feedback from anybody THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND COOPERATION 113 Appendix B: Post-questionnaire TASK 1: THE ANONYMOUS FEEDBACK CONDITION Question 1: Please respond to the following statements by choosing SA for STRONGLY AGREE, A for AGREE, N for NEUTRAL, D for DISAGREE, or SD for STRONGLY DISAGREE SA A N D SD 1.1 You felt comfortable when giving feedback to your peers 1.2 You felt confident when giving feedback to your peers 1.3 You felt comfortable when receiving feedback from your peers 1.4 You felt confident in your peers’ feedback 1.5 You found it useful to read your peers’ papers 1.6 You found it useful to receive feedback from your peers 1.7 You wanted to receive feedback only from your teachers 1.8 You wanted to receive feedback only from your peers 1.9 You wanted to receive feedback from both your teachers and your peers 1.10 You did not want to receive feedback from anybody Question 2: As a reviewer, to what extent you think it was beneficial to you when reading your peers’ papers? Please respond to the following statements by choosing SA for STRONGLY AGREE, A for AGREE, N for NEUTRAL, D for DISAGREE, or SD for STRONGLY DISAGREE SA 2.1 You are able to tell whether an idea is relevant or irrelevant to the topic 2.2 You are able to see whether the main idea is supported with explanation 2.3 You are able to identify the topic sentence in a paragraph 2.4 You are able to see how the ideas are A N D SD 114 organized in the paragraph 2.5 You are able to see how the ideas are connected in the paragraph 2.6 You are able to see connecting devices are used 2.7 You are more aware of common grammatical mistakes 2.8 You are more aware of using a variety of grammatical structures in writing 2.9 You are more aware of word-choices 2.10 You are more aware of using collocations 2.11 You are more aware of using synonyms and paraphrases to avoid repetition 2.12 You are more aware of using correct spelling 2.13 You are more aware of using correct punctuation Question 3: As a writer, to what extent you think it was beneficial to you when reading your peers’ feedback? Please respond to the following statements by choosing SA for STRONGLY AGREE, A for AGREE, N for NEUTRAL, D for DISAGREE, or SD for STRONGLY DISAGREE SA 3.1 It makes you reconsider an idea to see whether it is relevant or irrelevant to the topic 3.2 You are able to choose better ideas for your writing 3.3 You are able to support your ideas better 3.4 You are more aware of the significant role of a topic sentence 3.5 You are able to write a better topic sentence 3.6 You are able to organize the ideas in a more logical way 3.7 You are able to connect the ideas more effectively 3.8 You are able to use connecting devices more effectively 3.9 You are more aware of your own common grammatical mistakes 3.10 You are able to use a variety of grammatical structures A N D SD 115 3.11 You are able to use vocabulary with higher accuracy 3.12 You are able to use collocations 3.13 You are able to use more synonyms and paraphrases to avoid repetition 3.14 You are more aware of using correct spelling 3.15 You are more aware of using correct punctuation Question 4: Would you like to experience peer feedback in an anonymous feedback condition in other writing lessons? a Yes b No c Not decided yet Question 5: How often should peer feedback in an anonymous condition be incorporated into a writing course? a 80% to 100% of the assignments b 60% to less than 80% c 40% to less than 60% d Less than 40% THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND COOPERATION 116 Appendix C: Post-questionnaire TASK 2: THE NON-ANONYMOUS FEEDBACK CONDITION Question 1: Please respond to the following statements by choosing SA for STRONGLY AGREE, A for AGREE, N for NEUTRAL, D for DISAGREE, or SD for STRONGLY DISAGREE SA A N D SD 1.1 You felt comfortable when giving feedback to your peers with your identity revealed 1.2 You felt confident when giving feedback to your peers with your identity revealed 1.3 You felt comfortable when receiving feedback from your peers with your identity revealed 1.4 You felt confident in your peers’ feedback when your identity was revealed 1.5 You found it useful to read your peers’ papers 1.6 You found it useful to receive feedback from your peers 1.7 You wanted to receive feedback only from your teachers 1.8 You wanted to receive feedback only from your peers 1.9 You wanted to receive feedback from both your teachers and your peers 1.10 You did not want to receive feedback from anybody Question 2: As a reviewer, to what extent you think it was beneficial to you when reading your peers’ papers? Please respond to the following statements by choosing SA for STRONGLY AGREE, A for AGREE, N for NEUTRAL, D for DISAGREE, or SD for STRONGLY DISAGREE SA 2.1 You are able to tell whether an idea is relevant or irrelevant to the topic 2.2 You are able to see whether the main idea is supported with explanation 2.3 You are able to identify the topic A N D SD 117 sentence in a paragraph 2.4 You are able to see how the ideas are organized in the paragraph 2.5 You are able to see how the ideas are connected in the paragraph 2.6 You are able to see connecting devices are used 2.7 You are more aware of common grammatical mistakes 2.8 You are more aware of using a variety of grammatical structures in writing 2.9 You are more aware of word-choices 2.10 You are more aware of using collocations 2.11 You are more aware of using synonyms and paraphrases to avoid repetition 2.12 You are more aware of using correct spelling 2.13 You are more aware of using correct punctuation Question 3: As a writer, to what extent you think it was beneficial to you when reading your peers’ feedback? Please respond to the following statements by choosing SA for STRONGLY AGREE, A for AGREE, N for NEUTRAL, D for DISAGREE, or SD for STRONGLY DISAGREE SA 3.1 It makes you reconsider an idea to see whether it is relevant or irrelevant to the topic 3.2 You are able to choose better ideas for your writing 3.3 You are able to support your ideas better 3.4 You are more aware of the significant role of a topic sentence 3.5 You are able to write a better topic sentence 3.6 You are able to organize the ideas in a more logical way 3.7 You are able to connect the ideas more effectively 3.8 You are able to use connecting devices more effectively 3.9 You are more aware of your own common grammatical mistakes A N D SD 118 3.10 You are able to use a variety of grammatical structures 3.11 You are able to use vocabulary with higher accuracy 3.12 You are able to use collocations 3.13 You are able to use more synonyms and paraphrases to avoid repetition 3.14 You are more aware of using correct spelling 3.15 You are more aware of using correct punctuation Question 4: Would you like to experience peer feedback in a non-anonymous feedback condition in other writing lessons? d Yes e No f Not decided yet Question 5: How often should peer feedback in a non-anonymous feedback conditions be incorporated into a writing course? e 80% to 100% of the assignments f 60% to less than 80% g 40% to less than 60% h Less than 40% Question 5: In which feedback conditions, you feel more comfortable when giving peer feedback? a Anonymous feedback conditions b Non-anonymous feedback conditions c The same for both Question 6: In which feedback conditions, you feel more comfortable when receiving peer feedback? a Anonymous feedback conditions b Non-anonymous feedback conditions c The same for both Question 7: In which feedback conditions, you feel more confident when giving peer feedback? a Anonymous feedback conditions b Non-anonymous feedback conditions c The same for both Question 8: In which feedback conditions, you feel more confident in your peers’ feedback? 119 a Anonymous feedback conditions b Non-anonymous feedback conditions c The same for both Question 9: Which feedback conditions should be implemented in future writing courses? a Anonymous conditions b Non-anonymous conditions c Both of them d Neither of them THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND COOPERATION 120 Appendix D: Interview Protocols TASK 1: ANONYMOUS FEEDBACK CONDITION Question 1: How did you feel when giving feedback to your peers in the anonymous feedback condition? Question 2: How did you feel when receiving feedback from peers in the anonymous feedback condition? Question 3: In which way you think that reading your peers’ papers helps you improve your writing? Question 4: In which way you think that reading your peers’ feedback helps you improve your writing? Question 5: What are the positive impacts of the anonymous feedback condition? Question 6: What are the negative impacts of the anonymous feedback condition? Question 7: In addition to peer feedback, you think it is also essential to have teachers’ feedback? Why? Question 8: Do you have any suggestions so that peer feedback in the anonymous condition would be better incorporated into writing lessons? TASK 2: NON-ANONYMOUS FEEDBACK CONDITION Question 1: How did you feel when giving feedback to your peers in the non-anonymous feedback condition? Question 2: How did you feel when receiving feedback from peers in the non-anonymous feedback condition? Question 3: In which way you think that reading your peers’ papers helps you improve your writing? Question 4: In which way you think that reading your peers’ feedback helps you improve your writing? Question 5: What are the positive impacts of the non-anonymous feedback condition? Question 6: What are the negative impacts of the non-anonymous feedback condition? 121 Question 7: In addition to peer feedback, you think it is also essential to have teachers’ feedback? Why? Question 8: Do you have any suggestions so that peer feedback in the non-anonymous condition would be better incorporated into writing lessons? Question 9: Which feedback condition should be incorporated into future writing courses? Why? 122 Appendix E: Peer Feedback Form Please respond to the following statements by choosing SA for STRONGLY AGREE, A for AGREE, N for NEUTRAL, D for DISAGREE, or SD for STRONGLY DISAGREE SA A CONTENT 1.1 The paragraph is relevant to the assigned topic 1.2 A considerable range of relevant content knowledge is demonstrated in the paragraph 1.3 Important and relevant facts are used in the paragraph ORGANIZATION 2.1 The writer’s opinion is clearly stated with a topic sentence 2.2 The ideas are well supported with explanations or examples 2.3 The ideas are well-organized 2.4 There is a logical sequencing 2.5 The ideas are expressed succinctly 2.6 Cohesive devices are used accurately 2.7 Cohesive devices are used sufficiently 2.8 A variety of cohesive devices are used VOCABULARY 3.1 A sophisticated range of vocabulary is used 3.2 The words are well-chosen 3.3 The words are used accurately 3.4 The collocations are used accurately 3.5 The paper demonstrates the mastery of word forms 3.6 The paragraph is written with an appropriate register LANGUAGE USE 4.1 A wide range of structures are used 4.2 Complex constructions are used effectively 4.3 There are few errors of subject and verb agreement 4.4 There are few errors of tenses 4.5 There are few errors of numbers 4.6 There are few errors of word orders 4.7 There are few errors of word classes 4.8 There are few errors of articles N D SD 123 4.9 There are few errors of pronouns 4.10 There are few errors of prepositions MECHANICS 5.1 The paper demonstrates the mastery of conventions 5.2 There are few errors of spelling 5.3 There are few errors of punctuation 5.4 There are few errors of capitalization 5.5 There are few errors of paragraphing Adapted from the ESL composition profile by Jacobs, Zinkgraf, Wormuth, Hartfiel, & Hughey (1981) *Note: In addition to giving responses to the above statements, the reviewers are advised to give detailed qualitative comments right on the writers’ drafts