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Trang 1 THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES NGUYEN LINH DUY USING PEER FEEDBACK IN IMPROVING 10THGRADE STUDENTS’ ENGLISH WRITING PERFORMANCE AT A HIGH SCHOOL IN THAI NGUYE

THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES

NGUYEN LINH DUY

GRADE STUDENTS’ ENGLISH WRITING

PERFORMANCE AT A HIGH SCHOOL IN

THAI NGUYEN PROVINCE

M.A THESIS Field: English Linguistics

Code: 8220201

THAI NGUYEN – 2023

THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES

NGUYEN LINH DUY

GRADE STUDENTS’ ENGLISH WRITING PERFORMANCE AT A HIGH SCHOOL IN

THAI NGUYEN PROVINCE

M.A THESIS (APPLICATION ORIENTATION)

Field: English Linguistics Code: 8220201

Supervisor: NGUYEN THI MINH LOAN, Ph.D

THAI NGUYEN – 2023

ĐẠI HỌC THÁI NGUYÊN

TRƯỜNG NGOẠI NGỮ

NGUYỄN LINH DUY

SỬ DỤNG PHẢN HỒI ĐỒNG ĐẲNG TRONG VIỆC CẢI THIỆN KHẢ NĂNG VIẾT TIẾNG ANH CỦA HỌC SINH LỚP 10 TẠI MỘT TRƯỜNG TRUNG HỌC

Ở THÁI NGUYÊN

LUẬN VĂN THẠC SĨ (Định hướng ứng dụng) Ngành: Ngôn ngữ Anh

Mã số: 8220201 Cán bộ hướng dẫn: TS Nguyễn Thị Minh Loan

THÁI NGUYÊN – 2023

my own research and efforts and that it has not been submitted for any other purposes

Thai Nguyen, April , 2023

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First and foremost, I would also like to express my sincere gratitude and deep appreciation to my supervisor, Dr Nguyen Thi Minh Loan for her precious guidance, critical comments and constructive supervision through my research Without these, the thesis could not have been completed

Secondly, my gratitude goes to 30 students from class 10A1 at a high school, Thai Nguyen province, who enthusiastically participated in the research procedure

I am very grateful to all of them for providing detailed information for the analysis

of the study

Thirdly, I must express my appreciation to two enthusiastic and supportive colleagues at English department, a high school who accompany me during 10 weeks procedure of the research Their detailed and sufficient information gives much support to my study

Fourthly, I would like to show my deep gratitude to all the lecturers at School

of Foreign Languages, Thai Nguyen University for the valuable lectures, which laid the foundation for my thesis

Last but not least, I must express my gratitude to my beloved family - my parents, my husband and my daughter whose support and encouragement have always been a great deal of strength that has helped me to complete this thesis

TABLE OF CONTENTS

DECLARATION i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii

TABLE OF CONTENTS iii

LIST OF TABLES vi

LIST OF FIGURES, DIAGRAMS vii

ABSTRACT viii

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION 1

1 Rationale 1

2 Aims of the study 2

3 Scope of the study 3

4 Significance of the study 3

5 Structure of the thesis 3

CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW 5

2.1 Writing performance 5

2.1.1 Definition of writing performance 5

2.1.2 Aspects of writing performance 5

2.1.3 Approaches to teaching writing 7

2.1.4 Procedure in teaching writing lessons 8

2.2 Feedback in teaching writing 7

2.2.1 Definitions of feedback 7

2.2.2 Types of feedback 8

2.2.3 Roles of feedback 13

2.2.4 Peer feedback in teaching writing 14

2.3 Attitude in language learning 18

2.3.1 Definition of attitude 18

2.3.2 Importance of attitude in language learning 19

2.4 Previous studies on the effect of peer feedback on students’ writing 19

2.5 Summary 22

CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY 24

3.1 Research questions 24

3.2 Action research design 24

3.2.1 Rationale 24

3.2.2 Model 25

3.3 Subjects of the study 27

3.4 Data collection instruments 27

3.4.1 Document analysis 27

3.4.2 Questionnaire 29

3.5 Data collection procedure 30

3.6 Data analysis procedures 38

3.7 Summary 39

CHAPTER IV: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 40

4.1 Findings 40

4.1.1 Findings from the first and final drafts 40

4.1.2 Findings from the questionnaire 51

4.2 Discussion 59

4.2.1 Question 1: How does peer feedback improve the students’ writing

performance? 59

4.2.2 Question 2: What are the students’ attitudes towards the application of peer feedback in writing performance? 62

4.3 Summary 66

CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS 67

5.1 Conclusion 67

5.2 Implications for the teachers and students in using peer feedback 68

5.1.1 Implications for teachers of writing using peer written feedback 68

5.1.2 Implications for students of writing using peer written feedback 69

5.3 Limitation of the study 70

5.4 Suggestions for the further studies 71 REFERENCES I APPENDICES IV APPENDIX 1: PEER-FEEDBACK CHECKLIST IV Appendix 2: SYMBOLS FOR CORRECTING MISTAKES VI Appendix 3: SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE VII Appendix 4: LESSON PLAN IX

LIST OF TABLES

Table 2.1 Three phases in a writing lesson 8

Table 2.2: The combination of product method and process method 11

Table 2.3: The procedure of using peer feedback 17

Table 3.1: Procedures for applying Peer Feedback 33

Table 3.2 Teaching plan 34

Table 4.1: Student’s improvement after receiving peer feedback 41

Table 4.2: Students' giving feedback on grammar 43

Table 4.3: Students' giving feedback on grammar after receiving peer feedback 44

Table 4.4: Some examples of students giving peer feedback 45

Table 4.5: Students' giving feedback on vocabulary 46

Table 4.6: Students' giving feedback on vocabulary after receiving peer feedback 47 Table 4.7: Examples of students' giving feedback on vocabulary 47

Table 4.8: Students' giving feedback on mechanic use 49

Table 4.9: Students' giving feedback on mechanic use after receiving peer feedback 50

Table 4.10: Examples of students' giving feedback on mechanic use 50

Table 4.11: The student's cognitive viewpoints toward the use of peer feedback 52

Table 4.12: The student's feelings toward the use of peer feedback 54

Table 4.13: The students’ learning behaviors after using peer feedback 57

LIST OF FIGURES, DIAGRAMS

Figure 3.1: Action Research Model (from Kemmis, McTaggart, & Retallic, 2004) 26Diagram 4.1: The percentage of students who gave feedback 41Figure 4.1: The percentage of students who provided suggestions for the grammatical mistakes 43Figure 4.2: The percentage of students who provided suggestions for the vocabulary mistakes 46Figure 4.3: The percentage of students who provided suggestions for the mechanic use mistakes 49Diagram 4.2 The cognitive viewpoints of the students towards the benefits peer feedback 54Diagram 4.3: The feelings of the students toward the use of peer feedback 56Diagram 4.4: The students’ behaviour toward the use of authentic texts 58

ABSTRACT

The study was conducted with the hope that the result gained could clarify the effects of peer feedback on students’ writing performance at a high school, Thai Nguyen province Based on the aims, an action research design was employed In order to achieve the goals, the researcher conducted the study in 10 weeks with the participation of 30 students from class 10A1 at a high school, Thai Nguyen province

in the second semester of the school year 2021/2022 During the procedure of the study, the students participated in writing lessons using the peer feedback method by the teacher The document analysis and the questionnaire for students were chosen to

be the data collection instruments to find out the effects of using the peer feedback method on the students’ writing performance after the intervention The research results showed that there was a remarkable improvement in the students’ writing performance after the intervention and most of the students had positive attitudes and good behavior towards the use of peer feedback in writing lessons Therefore, it was concluded that using peer feedback was one of the good ways to enhance the student's writing performance and it exerted the students' positive attitudes in learning writing Based on the results, the researcher made some suggestions for teachers to apply peer feedback in teaching writing skills as well as for the students being willing to expose

to the method Finally, some further implications, limitations, and suggestions for further studies were included in this study

Key words: Peer feedback, writing performance, action research

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale

Learning a second language or a foreign language has always included receiving feedback In terms of feedback kinds, various researchers have examined the usefulness of instructor feedback in the learning of a second language Peer assessment is investigated as a kind of feedback in this paper In today's world, learning English is no longer solely the responsibility of the language teacher Furthermore, the teaching and learning of English as a second or foreign language has moved dramatically from a teacher-centered to a student-centered approach As

a result, peer feedback complements teacher feedback and self-feedback, which is one of the most essential forms of feedback in English as a Second Language (ESL) and English as a Foreign Language (EFL) It is a type of collaborative learning that can be pedagogically used to teach English as a second or foreign language

Peer feedback is beneficial because it assists students in comprehending the assessment criteria and so allows for improvement based on those criteria It also promotes a better comprehension of the learning subject by highlighting students' strengths and weaknesses, encourages participation, and assists students in comprehending the evaluation requirements Additionally, as Boud and Falchikov (2006) point out, active student participation in assessment design, choices, criteria, and judgments is a more long-term preparation for later job life In contrast to other modes of assessment, according to Shepard (2000), peer evaluation encourages students to be more active and productive in a cooperative context Peer evaluation is intricately incorporated into and aligned with students' efforts during the instructional process Peer assessments improve students' sense of responsibility for both the assessment process and the quality of their learning results, which has a positive impact on their personal development

According to Allan and Vallette (1981: 5), many students regard writing to be the hardest subject to study It is not easy for students to write in English They feel bored because their teacher just asks them to open dictionaries when they want to

write Leo et all (2007: 13) shows that problems in writing are as follows: limited vocabulary 8%, difficulty in organizing ideas 16 %, no ideas to write 20 %, no motivation to write 20 % and lack of confidence 36 %

From the experience as a teacher at high school, the writer found some difficulties arising during the process of teaching writing for the students at the pre-intermediate level such as content, organization ideas, language, and mechanic use

In fact, they were complex problems that most teachers encountered while teaching English at high schools The consequence of this current issue lied in the learners’ bad performance in writing activities, as in each examination Therefore, the study focused on four aspects: vocabulary; content and organization of ideas; language use (grammar); and mechanical use because the students lacked these aspects when they wrote in English It was suggested that using peer feedback should improve learners’ writing skills; thenceforward, boosting learners’ writing performance This had taken the concern of many teachers

With the view to measuring the effectiveness of using peer feedback to improve students writing performance, this study had been carried out at a high school, in Thai Nguyen Province in the school year 2021/2022 with the participation of 30 10th grade students It helped the writer to see whether it could have the same results as the previous research or not Therefore, the findings of this study was base for the author

to decide if peer feedback could be a suitable teaching technique for students at a high school

2 Aims of the study

This study aimed at investigating the effectiveness of the peer feedback process

on improving the students’ writing performance It also examined the students’ attitudes towards peer feedback during the intervention

To accomplish the aims, the study was carried out with the hope of setting up tentative answers to the two following questions:

1 How does peer feedback improve the students’ writing performance?

2 What are the students’ attitudes towards the application of peer feedback in writing performance?

3 Scope of the study

Within the scope of a small-sized research paper, due to the time limitation, this study mainly focused on measuring the effect of the application of using peer feedback in improving writing performance The setting of the study was in the 2nd

term of the academic year 2021/2022 The subjects of the research were 30 10th grade students at a high school, Thai Nguyen Province, who had been learning English for several years Moreover, within the framework of this thesis, this study examined only peer feedback but not other types of feedback such as teacher feedback There were many aspects of writing performance but this study focused on four aspects such

as vocabulary, grammar, contents and organization of ideas, and mechanic use

4 Significance of the study

The significance of this study lies in its ability to demonstrate the impact of peer feedback on students' writing performance By examining the effects of peer feedback, the study provided insight into an effective teaching method that can be used in the classroom The study contributed to the field of education by highlighting the benefits of peer feedback, including an increase in writing motivation, a better understanding of vocabulary and grammatical structures, and an overall improvement

in writing quality The findings of this study were used by educators to support their use of peer feedback in the classroom, and can serve as a basis for future research on the topic Ultimately, the study underscored the importance of fostering a collaborative learning environment where students were able to receive constructive feedback from their peers, leading to better learning outcomes

5 Structure of the thesis

This thesis consistsed of five chapters

In Chapter I, the study's background is presented, along with the aim of the research, research questions, significance, scope, and study design

Chapter II, on the other hand, discusses issues related to using peer feedback for improving writing skills The chapter is divided into two sections: the theoretical background of feedback in writing for students and previous studies on peer feedback and writing skills of students

Chapter III provides a detailed description of the research methods, including the research question, data collection instruments, subjects, procedures, and data analysis

Chapter IV reports and discusses the study's results

Finally, Chapter V offers some implications for using peer feedback in improving student's writing skills, discusses limitations, and recommends future research directions

CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter discusses the theory and the previous research into the areas that form the underpinnings for this study The first section defines writing performance

In the second section, the researcher gives an overview of feedback The third section discusses attitude in language learning The last area is a review of related studies

2.1 Writing performance

2.1.1 Definition of writing performance

The act of writing involves the gathering of ideas and transforming them into written words, making it one of the language skills that students need to master Through writing, students are able to express their thoughts and exhibit their language proficiency (Wening, 2016) The behavioral approach in management defines performance as the quantity or quality of output produced or services provided by an individual in their job (Luthans, 2005)

Performance is a measure of the quality and quantity of work accomplished by

an individual in fulfilling their responsibilities (Mangkunagara, 2002), and is the result or output of a process (Nurlaila, 2010)

According to Rivai and Basri (2005), performance is the level of success achieved by an individual over a certain period of time in completing a task, measured against predetermined criteria such as a standard of work or set targets In the context

of language learning, writing performance refers to an individual's level of achievement in writing grammatically correct and well-organized sentences or words that convey meaning (Wening, 2016)

Therefore, writing performance is the students writing activity that show their ability to make good piece writing result (Dewanti, 2019) The students’ performance

is assessed in terms of vocabulary; content and organization of ideas; mechanic use and language use (grammar)

2.1.2 Aspects of writing performance

Aspects of writing performances refer to the various elements that contribute to the effectiveness of a written piece These can include factors such as grammar,

spelling, punctuation, organization, style, and tone Effective writing is not just about conveying information, but also about engaging the reader and conveying a clear message in a way that is easy to understand By paying attention to the various aspects

of writing performance, writers can enhance their communication skills and produce written work that is both informative and engaging Whether writing for academic, professional, or personal purposes, understanding the importance of these aspects of writing performance can lead to more effective communication and greater success

in conveying your message

In this study, aspects of writing performance can be understood in the following way

2.1.2.1 Vocabulary

Vocabulary refers to specific word choice and appropriate words in conveying the right meaning (Brown, 2007) The richness and variety of vocabulary used in writing can greatly impact the overall effectiveness of the communication A writer’s vocabulary reflects their level of education and their ability to express their thoughts and ideas in a clear and concise manner An extensive vocabulary allows a writer to convey ideas more accurately, vividly and with greater precision

2.1.2.2 Content and organization of ideas

The content and organization of ideas deal with how the topic of the writing product is developed in the introductory, body, and concluding parts of the writing product The content of writing must be clear, informative, and engaging to keep the reader interested The writer must be able to organize their thoughts and ideas in a logical and coherent manner, with a clear introduction, main body, and conclusion The content must also be relevant to the topic at hand, and should be backed up by evidence or examples where necessary

2.1.2.3 Mechanic use

Mechanic use refers to the use of appropriate punctuation, capitalization, and spelling in the text Mechanics refers to the technical aspects of writing, such as spelling, punctuation, and capitalization A writer must have a strong grasp of these

mechanics to ensure that their writing is clear and easy to read Poor mechanics can

be distracting to the reader and can detract from the overall quality of the writing

2.1.2.4 Grammar

Grammar focuses on the use of tenses, subject and verb agreement, and plural agreement Grammar is essential to effective writing It helps writers to convey their message in a clear and concise manner, and ensures that the meaning of the message

is not lost in translation Grammatical errors can be confusing and can make the writer appear uneducated or careless A good understanding of grammar is therefore crucial

to effective writing

2.1.3 Approaches to teaching writing

In training the students to be good writers in English, there are two approaches which are process and product writing

According to Hyland's (2002, 2003a), teaching activities can be carried out according to the pattern of Process Writing guidelines Besides, teachers can apply a combination of the product writing guide along with the process writing to help students write effectively Therefore, this study was combined these two approaches

by applying peer feedback The combination of using the product-based and process- based writing guide helps learners acquire language and knowledge from the sample writing and helps learners perfect their skills in developing, organizing, and language skills throughout the writing process

2.2 Feedback in teaching writing

2.2.1 Definitions of feedback

Although there have been many attempts in the literature to define the term"feedback" in the environment of tutoring jotting chops, numerous experimenters, including Raimes (1983), Chaudron (1988), Ur (1996), Ellis (1985), and Stemler (1997), appear to have agreed on the nature and function of feedback Feedback has traditionally been defined as the schoolteacher's response to the scholars, and driven by colorful acts linked to the scholars' literacy, as decided from the forenamed scholars' perspectives

The process of providing feedback to students can be seen as crucial for the development of their writing skills (Hyland, 1990; Hyland & Hyland, 2001) The reason for this is that feedback in written form carries a significant amount of information that provides suggestions to aid improvement and allows for a dialogue between teacher and student (Hyland & Hyland, 2006) Feedback refers to a method

of giving detailed comments on students’ written work to offer a reader response to their efforts and simultaneously assist them in becoming better writers (Hyland, 2003) The aim of providing feedback is to help students comprehend the issues in their writing and use this understanding to enhance their future writing As such, written feedback is utilized to teach skills that can improve students' writing, with the ultimate goal of producing written work that has minimal errors and maximum clarity

2.1.4 Procedure in teaching writing lessons

To create writing tasks that are effective, it is crucial to consider a series of related activities that comprise pre-writing, while-writing, and post-writing tasks These interconnected activities aid in the successful completion of the writing task and encourage the writing process The sequence of these activities is presented in order to provide clarity during writing lessons

Table 2.1 Three phases in a writing lesson

Pre-writing Prepare students for a final writing task and activate, review or

build sub-skills that prepare the learner for completing the main writing task

While-writing Engage students in recursive writing, self-editing, and revisions Post-writing Help students reflect on and revise their writing based on

feedback from an audience, such as peers and/or an instructor

The first stage: Pre-writing

Pre-writing activities aim to enhance students' grasp of relevant vocabulary, applicable grammatical concepts, and their background knowledge, which is instrumental in producing insightful and captivating written works

These activities are indispensable components of effective writing instruction

To initiate the writing process, there are various efficient pre-writing activities that can be employed, such as sociograms, prompts, interviews, and writing/listening exercises

The second stage: While-writing

When students are prepared to write, they require unambiguous directions and tools to accomplish the subsequent stages in the writing process, such as drafting, revising, self-editing, and elaborating The students should have permission to use the notes they produced during the pre-writing exercises Determine whether they can utilize a dictionary or spell-checker and what you want them to achieve during this assignment Make sure that your teaching goals match the actual task you assign your students

The final stage: Post-writing

The stage in the writing process that involves sharing the written content with other individuals, including peer editors, instructors, or the public, is known as post-writing In this research, the writer utilizes peer evaluation to revise the written work

Evaluating

When assessing a student's writing, the evaluation can either be analytical, which focuses on specific writing abilities, or holistic, which takes into account the overall effectiveness of the piece It should consider factors such as the student's understanding of the task, their intended audience, how relevant and well-developed their ideas are, the organization and format of the writing, as well as their grammar, structure, spelling, and vocabulary usage The evaluation may result in a numerical score or grade, depending on the purpose of the assessment

Post-writing

Post writing refers to various activities that can be done in the classroom with a finished piece of writing, such as publishing, sharing, reading out loud, adapting texts

for performance, or simply showcasing them on a bulletin board This phase provides

an opportunity to acknowledge and value students' work

The basic components of post-writing activities:

▪ Re-read the writing, make sure sentences make sense;

▪ Add phrases to make the writing flow smoothly (cohesion markers, pronouns, conjunctions);

▪ Eliminate unnecessary or redundant details;

▪ Proofread for spelling, vocabulary, and grammar (checklist);

▪ Edit paper (peer-editing, post-teacher editing);

▪ Share with the audience (website, print, etc.)

The combination of product method and process method in a writing lesson is shown in the following table:

Table 2.2: The combination of product method and process method

approach

Pre - writing Provide model, analyze product structure

Brainstorming ideas While - writing

Controlled writing Free writing first draft

Post -writing

Peer feedback Teacher’s feedback Writing the final draft

The importance of teacher feedback in improving student progress cannot be overstated Teachers are the best people to provide their pupils with high-quality, targeted, and critical comments Teachers also keep track of students' progress and performance by moving around the classroom, assessing, proposing, explaining, questioning, listening, and complimenting their work

Aside from that, teacher feedback has its own set of disadvantages According

to certain research, teacher feedback is frequently not "text specific," can be inaccurate, and may not address the issues that it is intended to address (Ferris, 2006; Reid, 1993) Furthermore, Caulk (1994) discovered that instructor feedback is rather

"generic." As a result, as Berg (1999) and Chaudron (1984) point out, it can be considered "complementary." Furthermore, additional study reveals that there may

be a "mismatch" between what students desire or expect and what they really get (Ping, Pin, Wee, & Hwee Nah, 2003)

2.2.2.2 Self-editing

"What students truly need more than anything else," Raimes (1984:149), "is to have the ability to read their writing and critically analyze it, to learn how to communicate their meaning fluently, coherently, and accurately." Self-editing, he believes, requires students to be able to see and repair their own errors As a result, pupils' attempts at language learning are one of the most important determinants of their success If a learner is conscious of self-editing and attempted to learn from his own failure, he would have a better chance of overcoming learning issues than those who are unconcerned about why they failed Self-editing also improves pupils' critical thinking skills when it comes to their own work However, in order to assist pupils in properly revising their own compositions, the teacher should provide them with correction codes to use

2.2.2.3 Peer feedback in teaching

As preliminarily said, peer feedback is an issue that's extensively disputed There are a number of terms that are used interchangeably and relate to peer feedback similar to peer review and peer response, but all of them partake in the same idea where scholars offer a formative review after reading and assessing each other’s work To illustrate, blink feedback refers to the suggestions or commentary, questions, or inquiries that learners offer each other after reading any piece of writing with the end of producing' anthology grounded prose’ (Flower, 1979) Liu and Hansen (2002) defined it as “the use of learners as sources of information and interactants for each other in such a way that learners assume places and liabilities typically taken on by formally trained schoolteacher, instructor, or editor in opining

on and critiquing each other’s drafts in both written and oral formats in the process

of jotting” (p 75) In other words, peer feedback refers to engaging learners in the process of participating in their ideas and entering as well as offering formative

commentary and suggestions for perfecting a piece of jotting In this model of literacy, learners have great responsibility for their literacy as we're moving from schoolteacher- centered to the learner- centered approaches to tutoring and literacy

As stated by Brown (1997), “ scholars need to be suitable to look with new eyes

at the work they've accepted, to understand the reasons by which assessment opinions have been made and to look for ways of remedying blights and supplying deletions.’’ Hansen and Liu (2005) appertained to peer feedback as the “ use of sources of information, and commerce between each other” (p 1)

Peer feedback is an essential part of writing classes Studies carried out by experimenters have revealed the significance of the perpetration of peer feedback in perfecting what learners produce, therefore leading to meaningful variations (Hansen and Liu, 2005) Colorful experimenters, similar as (Hyland, 2005); Hansen and Liu (2005); Zainurrahman (2010); Beating (2009); Lewis (2009), define" peer feedback" else (2002) Still, the description of" peer feedback" seems to be agreed upon by these researchers

Yang (Zeng, 2006) defines peer feedback as feedback handed by a peer This entails having other scholars read what other scholars have written and give feedback, corrections, examens, and recommendations

Peer feedback, according to Bartels (2004), is feedback from classmates Peer feedback can involve swapping drafts and commentary on each other's drafts if two scholars are working on the same assignment

This study was bases on the definition of Bartels (2004) because it is a established or commonly used definition within the field The study has focused on the effectiveness of feedback from classmates in improving writing performance or some other related topic

Feedback appears to be crucial to the teaching and learning of writing, according

to Dheram (1995) and Brown (1988) Students' language awareness must be developed in order for them to do well in the writing classroom, and feedback in writing is a crucial part of that process

According to Lewis (2002, p.3-4), as cited in Muspiroh (2017) feedback has several roles when given in language classes

Firstly, feedback provides information for teachers and students Through feedback, teachers can get information about individual and collective class progress and, indirectly, is a form of evaluation of their own teaching

Secondly, feedback provides students with advice about learning teacher can provide students with more than simply a description of their language use Comments can also be made on the students learning process

Thirdly, feedback provides students with language input the teacher’s words both in their form and purpose, illustrating how language is used in one-to-one communication

Finaly, feedback is a form of motivation feedback can be more motivating than marks or grades It can encourage students to study and to use language to the best of their ability by taking into account whatever the teacher knows about the learners’ attitudes As a teacher, find out more about their students, the encouragement can take personal circumstances into account

2.2.4 Peer feedback in teaching writing

2.2.4.1 The principles of using peer feedback in teaching writing

Ferris (2003:165) suggests seven principles of implementing peer feedback in the writing process that should be done by the teacher Those are:

1 Utilize peer feedback consistently

It means that applying peer feedback should be consistent because it can influence the success of using it There are two factors that can affect its success The first is the way in which it is given, which the teacher should carefully consider Peer feedback can be used for all stages of the writing process or just for revising the first draft Using it only for revising the first draft would not take up too much time in a

regular classroom However, using peer feedback for all writing processes requires more time as students need to respond to the topic and outline as well Proper planning

is necessary to ensure that all students have the opportunity to give and receive feedback Time allocation is crucial for the success of this activity

2 Explain the benefits of peer feedback to students

It is advisable to apply this principle prior to the commencement of any activity This will help the students develop a positive attitude towards peer feedback as they usually have a negative perception of it Additionally, they tend to ignore comments from their peers as they believe they are insignificant and only value comments from their teacher Therefore, by comprehending the benefits of peer feedback, students will be motivated to provide helpful feedback

3 Prepare students carefully for peer response

Preparation is the key to the success of peer feedback According to Berg (1999) Ferris (2003:169) wrote eleven steps for implementing peer feedback:

▪ Create a comfortable classroom environment

▪ Explain the role of peer response in the writing class

▪ Discuss how professional writers use peer response

▪ Share how you (the teacher) utilize peer response in your own writing/teaching

▪ Model peer response with the whole class using a sample text

▪ Discuss (in) appropriate vocabulary and expressions for peer feedback

▪ Introduce the peer response form

▪ Practice the process by having groups of students write a paragraph collaboratively and then having another group critique it for revision

▪ Facilitate conversations among readers, writers, and the teachers about the feedback process

▪ Discuss strategies for implementing peers’ feedback in revision

▪ View and discuss video clips of a successful and an unsuccessful peer response session

4 Form pairs or groups thoughtfully

It is recommended that the students collaborate in pairs or teams for a certain amount of time This would provide them with a consistent group to engage in discussions, exchange ideas, and offer feedback on their own work An effective group size would be between two to four students, with a diverse mix of individuals

in terms of gender, language background, and ability A helpful approach to peer feedback involves grouping students with varying levels of proficiency, so that stronger students can aid the weaker ones and they can learn from each other

5 Provide structure for peer review sessions

The teacher's role is to give guidance to students in order to make them enjoy doing peer feedback Giving a clear example of peer feedback form would help the students to understand what aspects they should give attention to and the steps of giving feedback

6 Monitor peer review sessions

This indicates that a teacher should act as a facilitator during peer feedback sessions, rather than exerting too much control It is important for the teacher to be available to assist students, as high school students still require guidance during the peer review process If students are struggling to comprehend the feedback from their peers, they can turn to the teacher for assistance

7 Hold students responsible for taking peer feedback opportunities seriously Promoting the students’ responsibility is very necessary when they do peer feedback The ways to promote students’ accountability are asking them to write their peer feedback experience and submit their peer feedback forms

In conclusion, when teachers want to apply peer feedback they should pay attention to its principle It is because the principles are very important when teachers want to improve their students’ writing skills Those principles would be applied in this study by the researcher

2.2.4.2 The procedure of using peer feedback in teaching writing

There are the stages to do the peer feedback, namely:

Table 2.3: The procedure of using peer feedback

1 Introducing related concepts, namely, peer feedback activity to students

The teacher should carefully teach the students about peer feedback activities The importance to introduce those concepts is to avoid the peer feedback disadvantages as well as possible

2 Distributing devices that would be used in the peer feedback activity to

lead students to understand what their focuses are

3 Training students to do peer feedback activity because the student needs

to understand peer feedback activity completely by doing that

4 Dividing students into groups

5 Starting writing the first draft and then sharing the first draft with other

students

6 Giving feedback to their peers in writing

7 Revising their draft

8 Reflecting on what they have done in peer feedback activity

In this study, these stages would be applied in post – the writing stage They are divided into three stages: Training, Controlled practice, and Free practice corresponding to ten weeks of the intervention The teacher needs to build up the students’ confidence by starting with training, controlled practice, and free practice Training and controlled activities would help all the students to write with few mistakes in their writing products, which would encourage them to write more exactly and confidently in the free practice stage

2.2.4.3 Some problems and solutions when using peer feedback in teaching writing

Firstly, peer feedback is so time-consuming, especially when the learners are unfamiliar with the process Therefore, students would be clear about how to comment on a peer’s writing with the guidance of the criterion so that they can provide specific commentary on a work by the teacher

Some students prefer teacher feedback to peer feedback for various reasons such

as the lack of confidence in their peer reviewers To solve this problem, the teacher needs to give reasons and evidence to students that their friends comment on their writing in an objective, clear and accurate way

Lastly, maybe students would encounter three challenges when they give peer feedback vocabulary, grammar, and giving general comments With these problems, the researcher needs to the reasons behind these problems to propose a number of suggested solutions such as practice through daily exercises to deal with these difficulties

2.3 Attitude in language learning

2.3.1 Definition of attitude

In common, attitude is constructed by some different aspects Wenden (1991) divides attitude into three components, namely cognitive, affective, and behavioral The first one, the mental element, consists of the beliefs and thoughts about an object, people, behavior, event, and knowledge This component seems to affect learning very much since it relates to one’s mind, in this case, perception The second one, the affective component, covers the person’s emotions and feeling toward an object This affects one’s preferences, such as to stand for or against or to like or dislike The last one, the behavioral aspect, deals with an individual’s actions or disposition to practice special behavior (s) when one is in certain situations

According to Ajzen and Fishbein (1980), “attitudes are a function of beliefs” (p.7) Based on this theory, believing that performing a task would mainly result in positive outcomes results in a favorable attitude towards the task On the other hand, mistrust of the success of performing a task would lead to taking an unfavorable attitude Therefore, if participants believe that, for example, the Quizlet application would have a significant effect on students word retention, then this method would

be to their benefit Attitudes, once formed, can shape the way students think, understand, feel, and behave Generally, about language acquisition, attitude can be divided into three types: attitude towards the language, attitude towards the native

speaker of the language, and attitude towards language learning Attitude towards language learning is the focus of this study Besides, the researcher chose Ajzen and Fishbein’s (1980) definition of attitude to explore the students’ attitudes towards using Quizlet Application

2.3.2 Importance of attitude in language learning

In addition to other aspects, language attitudes may have significant impacts on second language acquisition The evaluation of attitudes in learning language is essential and necessary in language teaching and learning Smith (1971) also indicates that “attitude exists through the learning process because it is learned, it can

be unlearned Since it is learned, it can be taught Liking a foreign language can be learned

Indeed, students’ negative attitudes can also be changed positively to facilitate their learning results Having a positive attitude in language learning is believed to be

a good start in their learning process

In conclusion, students’ attitude plays a vital role in maximizing learning and teaching output, and it is one of the key factors influencing the success of second language learning It would be meaningful if the researcher could help her students develop and maintain their positive attitudes in the language classroom by using the Quizlet application

2.4 Previous studies on the effect of peer feedback on students’ writing

This part was the review of some typical research which have some common ideas about peer feedback It consists of both foreign and Vietnamese studies

Rollinson (2005) conducted a study on the benefits and drawbacks of peer feedback in ESL writing classrooms He used 3 research methods (content analysis, stimulated recall interviews, and factor interviews) with 18 Chinese university English learners over 16 weeks He found that the full benefits of peer feedback can only be achieved with proper class setup and training and that factors such as student age, cultural background, class size, and language level can impact the outcomes

Davies (2006) conducted a study to investigate the quality of peer review in student essays He collected data from 8 university students with a background in computer use and found that those who lacked understanding of course content gave inadequate feedback This highlights the importance of students having confidence

in their ability to provide helpful feedback, which requires understanding course content

Dippold (2009) studied the effectiveness of blogs as a tool for peer feedback in

a German language class She used a combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods (interviews and questionnaires) with a group of computer-savvy students The students used a computer program on MySpace to blog and provide peer feedback Dippold found that blogging facilitated peer feedback and concluded that teachers need to lead and guide students in giving proper feedback

In 2014, Wang conducted a study to investigate the changes in students' perceptions of peer feedback on their English as a Foreign Language (EFL) writing, the factors that impact their perceived usefulness of peer feedback for analysis, and their opinions on peer feedback rubrics The study involved fifty-three Chinese students and data was collected through essays, questionnaires, and interviews The findings revealed that students considered peer feedback helpful for improving their drafts However, the effectiveness of peer feedback in improving language usage was limited by the students' low English proficiency

In 2017, Kim conducted research on the peer relationships among adult learners during naturalistic EFL lessons The study involved college students from South Korea and utilized seven language tasks to gather data from paired peers The results indicate that working in pairs or interacting with peers is a key factor in achieving success Therefore, group work and other forms of peer input should be incorporated into classroom activities to improve accuracy

Besides foreign studies, there are also studies in Vietnam about peer feedback application in teaching writing skills

An analysis dispensed in 2009 by Hien (2008) at Can Tho University showed sensible results of the impact of online peer feedback on EFL learners’ writing motivation and performance The research participants were seventy-five intermediate students majoring in English language Studies in a {very} four-year B.A program at Can Tho University proof from the information highlighted the contribution of online peer feedback motivating students in writing classes The students’ perspective towards exploitation of online peer feedback as a formative assessment is additionally very optimistic However, this study failed to explain the main points concerning the kind of feedback students have made, which might be useful for the analysis of students’ writing improvement

Pham Ho and Usaha (2011) researched peer feedback on the L2 writing exam and found that students collaborated in the learning process when they frequently provided suggestions or advice to help each other revise to improve writing, clarification, confirmation, and evaluation, including the proposal Although the research is very positive on how peer feedback can be a good technique in undergraduate writing courses, it would be better news for ESL teachers if this technique could be applied in undergraduate writing courses where students are required to write a large number of research and critical articles

In a study conducted by Pham Thi Hong in 2016, the use of peer written feedback in developing paragraph writing skills among third-year students in Vietnam was examined in detail The study provided a comprehensive analysis of various aspects related to peer feedback and the challenges faced by students when practicing it A questionnaire was used as a popular research instrument, and the researcher also analyzed the writing samples of the students to identify the specific areas on which the feedback was focused, as well as the type of comments provided The study revealed that students mainly concentrated on grammar and vocabulary, but they lacked the ability to give constructive feedback to improve their peers' writing skills Additionally, students found it difficult to identify mistakes and offer suggestions Despite these challenges, the study's findings demonstrate that peer-written feedback can be effective in improving students' writing skills to some extent

Phuong Nguyen (2019) carried out empirical studies to discover the feasible consequences of peer remarks on Facebook on EFL excessive college students’ writing overall performance With the participation of 39 11th graders, four English instructors, and an instructor researcher who is chargeable for scoring writing papers, this look became designed to examine college students’ first drafts with very last drafts of writing topics Results from college students’ questionnaires and interviews found that college students’ writing overall performance after the 12-week look became drastically greater and college students had high-quality attitudes in the direction of the use of Facebook as a method of peer remarks in addition to getting to know English

In short, many researchers had been studying, practicing, and recognizing the benefits of peer feedback on writing There were many studies on peer feedback done abroad, but in Vietnam, there were few, and not very popular about this method was applied with high school students In particular, the research was for high school students or higher, there was little research on the use of peer feedback in writing skills for high school students by analyzing the students' writing drafts Therefore, that was the reason that the author chose this topic for research

2.5 Summary

This chapter has addressed some major issues relating to the peer feedback method that set the theoretical background for the current study Some understandings about writing performance and feedback were presented first The writer decided to choose the definition of writing performance from (Dewanti, 2019) The students’ performance is assessed in terms of vocabulary; content and organization of ideas; mechanic use and language use (grammar) Next, the researcher presented definition of feedback, and peer feedback of teaching peer feedback in improving students’ writing performance This provided a framework for the present study The third section discussed the students’ attitude toward language learning The last one presented previous studies on using peer feedback in improving students’ writing skills and their findings

Based on the existing literature, the researcher had a firm background to carry out her research that would be described in the next chapter In the next chapter, research questions, description of variables, data collection instruments, subjects, and data collection procedure would be presented

CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY

This chapter deals with the design and the procedures of the research This refers

to the research design, the subjects of the research, data collecting techniques, research instruments, research procedures, and data analysis procedure

3.1 Research questions

To accomplish the aims, the study was carried out with the hope of setting

up tentative answers to the two following questions:

1 To what extend does peer feedback improve the students’ writing performance?

2 What are the students’ attitudes towards the application of peer feedback

in writing performance?

3.2 Action research design

The researcher adopted the action research approach to examine the effects

of using peer feedback on 10th grade students’ writing skills at a high school in the second semester of the school year 2021/2022

Action research is defined as a process of three elements or components: (1)

a question, problem, or hypothesis, (2) data, and (3) analysis and interpretation (Nunan, 1992) According to Wallace (2000), action research is conducted by teachers and for teachers It is a small scale to discover, develop, or monitor changes

to practice Mertler (2009) restated, “Action research is characterized as research done by teachers for themselves.” Teachers examine their classrooms, instructional strategies, assessment procedures, and interactions with students to improve their quality and effectiveness

3.2.1 Rationale

The action research was conducted because of some reasons First, it helped

to identify problems, solve the issues, and improve classroom activities Moreover, it enabled teachers to recognize everything happening in the classrooms, students’ thinking, feeling, and reactions They also knew what aspects of the classroom they

need to focus on to develop their teaching in class and modify it to organize the course more effectively

Because of the outstanding advantages discussed above, this action research was conducted appropriately and logically In reality, through teaching experience and observation, the researcher discovered that her students encountered numerous problems relating to writing skills Therefore, an effective method was needed to develop and put into action to bring greater improvement for the students’ writing skills A general overview of an action research design and action research procedure would be explained in detail in the following sub-sections

3.2.2 Model

Different researchers have proposed different models for the action research process because action research process is dynamic and flexible, steps in action research may vary depending on different points of view held by researchers (Creswell, 2012)

Burns (2010) proposes a model of classical action research The model is illustrated in Figure 1 The four stages of an action research cycle are (1) Planning - identify a problem and create a plan of action, (2) Action - intervention in the teaching context over a certain amount of time, (3) Observation - the data collection phase, (4) Reflection - reflect on and evaluate the effects of the action (Burns, 2010)

Sagor (2000) has presented a seven-step action research process: Selecting a focus; Clarifying theories; Identifying research questions; Collecting data; Analyzing data; Reporting results; and Taking informed action

According to Nunan (1991), action research procedure concludes 7 steps: Initiation, Preliminary investigation, Hypotheses, Intervention, Evaluation, Dissemination and Follow-up (Henry, 2001) divides the action research cycle into five steps: problem identification, plan of action, data collection, analysis of data and plan for future action Susman (1983) suggests 5 steps: Identifying a problem, Action Plan, Taking Action, Evaluating, and Specifying Learning

The different models given above have one common purpose which is to develop an action plan to solve a problem existing in classrooms or schools The

action plan is developed through a systematic process of data collection and analysis The research phase precedes the action phase in such models

In this study, the researcher adopted Kemmis, McTaggart, & Retallic (2004) action research model which has four steps that are planning, acting, observing, and reflecting for two reasons Firstly, the problems of students and teachers in writing classes had been detected for a very long time, so the initial step of identifying the problems could be skipped and a basic model of action research is effective with the

study Secondly, it matched the limitation of the research time

Figure 3.1: Action Research Model (from Kemmis, McTaggart, & Retallic,

2004)

Each of these four action research components plays an essential role in this study The planning stage is about refining the focus and working out how researchers could enhance or extend what is currently happening in the classroom, or address the questions they have The action is about putting the plans in place and seeing what happens Observation means collecting information (data) on what happens when researchers introduce new ways of working The last stage, reflection, involves making sense of the processes researchers have used and gaining greater

understanding of what kinds of classroom practices and interactions could lead to promoting better learning or teaching

3.3 Subjects of the study

Thirty 10th grade students at a high School, Thai Nguyen Province participated

in this study They had been studying English as a compulsory school subject for at least seven years The students were between the elementary and pre-intermediate levels By the time of the study, they were at the beginning of the second term The researcher chosen the students in class 10A1 as the subjects of the study because the students in this class had more experience in learning English and were better at writing than other classes The important thing was that this class had one more extra period a week for English The researcher was simultaneously the teacher of the class, who was very concerned about the situation of the students and wanted to find the way to help her students out of difficulties, especially in writing skill

3.4 Data collection instruments

Two data collection instruments were utilized in the study, including document analysis and a questionnaire

3.4.1 Document analysis

3.4.1.1 Description

This study analyzed the first and the final draft of each writing task The class had been divided into 10 groups Each group was given and received feedback on the first draft for each writing task After that, the students would hand in the revised version to the teacher two days later The teacher would collect and give feedback on the final drafts of all the groups Then, the teacher would compare the first draft and the final one to see any improvement in the students’ writing performance Besides, the researcher also asked another teacher of the same English department to evaluate the student's writing The aim was to make the evaluation results more objective The purpose was to compare the students’ written products before and after the mutual feedback process of 10A1 students

The teacher also provided students with a list of commonly used symbols for common mistakes (Appendix 2) The students based on these to give the symbols above to the mistakes they underlined After that, the students were encouraged to provide suggestions to correct the mistakes they underlined

3.4.1.2 Justification

Document analysis is often used because of the many different ways it can support and strengthen research Document analysis can be used in many different fields of research, as either a primary method of data collection or as a complement

to other methods Documents can provide supplementary research data, making document analysis a beneficial method for most research Documents can provide background information and broad coverage of data, and are therefore helpful in contextualizing one’s research within its subject or field (Bowen, 2009) Documents can also contain data that no longer can be observed, provide details that informants have forgotten, and can track change and development

The reason for choosing document analysis as a tool for writing lessons was that

it allowed students to closely examine the structure, content, and language of a text

By analyzing various examples of writing, the students could identify effective writing techniques, learn how to develop their ideas, and understand the importance

of clarity and coherence in their own writing Document analysis also helped the students to become more critical readers, which in turn can improve their own writing

Peer feedback, on the other hand, allowed the students to receive input and suggestions from their peers, which can be particularly useful in improving their writing skills When the students receive feedback from their peers, they often gained new perspectives on their writing, which could help them to identify areas that need improvement Peer feedback also helped the students to develop their communication and critical thinking skills, as they learn to articulate their ideas and provide constructive feedback to their peers

3.4.2 Questionnaire

3.4.2.1 Description

The questionnaire (see Appendix 3) was developed based on the literature review conducted by the researcher The researcher adopted Sha Huang’s (2018) questionnaire for this research The questionnaire consisted of 12 statements with a 5-point Likert scale (strongly disagree, disagree, neutral, agree, strongly agree) The questionnaire was divided into 3 parts with the view to assessing the students’ attitudes in terms of three aspects: cognitive, affective and behavioural In part 1, there were 4 ranked questions from 1 to 4 The students were required to determine their cognitive viewpoints toward using peer feedback in writing lessons Part 2 was constructed with 6 questions from 5 to 10 to assess the students’ feelings toward using peer feedback in writing lessons Part 3, designed to determine the students’ behavior, had 2 ranked questions from 11 to 12

This questionnaire will be used after 10 weeks of applying peer feedback It was

to find the students' attitudes toward using peer feedback on their peers' writings The information collected from this questionnaire would be used to address research question 2 The questionnaire was completed by each learner at the end of the intervention

3.4.2.2 Justification

Questionnaires are said to be one of the most important popular instruments among educational researchers in general It is probably used with many participants, and the collected data are not too challenging to be analyzed (Brown, 1995) Moreover, Gillham (2000) also states the advantages of questionnaires: low cost in time and money, analysis of answers to closed questions is straight forward, less pressure for an immediate response, and respondents’ anonymity

Adapting Sha Huang’s (2018) questionnaire in applying peer feedback in writing performance could be beneficial for several reasons Firstly, Huang's questionnaire was a validated tool that has been tested and found to be reliable in measuring the effectiveness of peer feedback in writing performance This means that

it was a trusted instrument that could provide reliable results