An application of peer correction in 11th graders’writing process

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING VINH UNIVERSITY NGUYEN THI HOAI TRANG AN APPLICATION OF PEER CORRECTION IN 11TH GRADERS’WRITING PROCESS MASTER’S THESIS IN EDUCATION Nghe An, 2018 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING VINH UNIVERSITY NGUYEN THI HOAI TRANG AN APPLICATION OF PEER CORRECTION IN 11TH GRADERS’WRITING PROCESS Major: Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) Code: 8140111 MASTER’S THESIS IN EDUCATION Supervisor: Dr Nguyen Thi Kim Anh Nghe An, 2018 DECLARATION This thesis is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Education I certify that the thesis is the report of my own research, and that it has not been submitted for any other university or institution Thanh Hoa, June, 2018 Student’s signature Nguyễn Thị Hoài Trang i ACKNOWLEDGMENTS First and foremost, I would like to express my gratitude to Dr Nguyen Thi Kim Anh - my supervisor for his invaluable advice, constructive criticism, precious correction and helpful encouragement in the completion of my minor thesis My thanks also go to all of the lecturers and the staff of the Department of Post-Graduate Studies at Vinh University for their valuable lectures and supports I am also thankful to all the English teachers and students at Lam Son high school for answering the questionnaires and interviews, which are indispensable for the analysis and discussion in my study Last but not least, I greatly appreciate the support and encouragement from my family and friends ii ABSTRACT This study aims at investigating the attitude of students at high school Lam Son (Thanh Hoa) toward peer correction and if peer correction can help them improve grammar and lexical in their writing skill Seventy 11th graders participated in the experimental process They were classified into two groups: one control group and one treatment group All of them did an English general test and a pretest before the treatment and a post-test after the treatment They also had sheets of questionnaire after and before the treatment During the experiment, the treatment group was given peer correction in writing while the control group was not This was done to see if peer correction helped the treatment group improve their writing process It was found that peer correction helped the students to enhance grammar and lexical in their writings Based on the findings, implications for teaching in using peer correction in writing and suggestions for further research have been put forward It is hoped that the results of the study can be useful for both EFL high school students and teachers iii TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION .i ACKOWLEDGEMENTS iii ABSTRACT ii TABLE OF CONTENTS iv LIST OF TABLES vi LIST OF FINGURES vi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS .viii Chapter INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale 1.2 Aims of the study 1.3 Research questions 1.4 Scope of the study 1.5 Organization of study Chapter LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Writing skills 2.1.1 Definition of writing skills 2.1.2 Importance of writing 2.1.3 Writing in a second language 2.1.4 English writing process 2.1.5 Principles for teaching the writing skill 10 2.1.6 Some activities in writing 11 2.2 Errors in writing 14 2.2.1 Definition of errors 14 2.2.2 Types of errors in writing 14 2.3 Feedback to students’ writing 16 2.3.1 Definition of feedback 16 2.3.2 Types of feedback to students’ writing 16 2.3.3 Different ways of peer correction in writing 19 2.3.4 Guiding principles for effective peer written feedback 23 Chapter METHODOLOGY 26 iv 3.1 Research context 26 3.2 Participants 26 3.3 Materials 27 3.4 Procedures 28 CHAPTER FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 30 4.1 Results 30 4.1.1 English general test results 30 4.1.2 Questionnaires 33 4.1.3 Pre – test results 40 4.1.4 Post test results 46 4.1.4 Discussion 55 CHAPTER CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION 56 5.1 Summary of findings 56 5.2 Implications for teaching 57 5.3 Limitations of the study 57 5.4 Recommendation for future study 62 5.5 Conclusion 62 REFERENCES 64 APPENDICES v LIST OF TABLES Table 3.1: The writing topics of sixteen units in Tieng Anh 11 27 Table 4.1 The mean and standard deviations of participants’ general results 32 Table 4.2 The mean and standard deviations of grammar errors of the pre-test for both groups 41 Table 4.3 The mean and standard deviations of lexical errors of the pre- test for both groups 42 Table 4.4 The mean and standard deviations of grammar and lexical errors of the pre -test for both groups 43 Table 4.5 The mean and standard deviations of pre test scores for both groups 46 Table 4.6 The mean and standard deviations of grammar errors of the post test for both groups 47 Table 4.7 The mean and standard deviations of lexical errors of the post test for both groups 49 Table 4.8 The comparison on grammar and lexical errors of the pre- test compared to the post test for both groups 49 Table 4.9 The mean and standard deviations of decreasing in grammar and lexical mistakes of the post -test compared to the pre- test for both groups 52 Table 4.10 The mean and standard deviations of scores of the pre- test and the posttest for both groups 54 vi LIST OF FINGURES Figure 4.1 The general test result of two groups 31 Figure 4.2 The percentage of the general result of two groups 31 Figure 4.3 Students’ preference towards English writing 33 Figure 4.4 Students’ attitude about peer correction 34 Figure 4.5 The frequency of using peer correction 34 Figure 4.6 Kind of feedback that students want to receive 35 Figure 4.7 View of students toward effectiveness of peer correction after the treatment 36 Figure 4.8 Students’ feedback toward benefits of peer correction 37 Figure 4.9 Students’ attitude when they correct their friends’ writings 38 Figure 4.10 Students’ attitude when their friends correct their writings 39 Figure 4.11 Number of grammar errors made in the pre-test of the treatment group and the control group 40 Figure 4.12 Number of lexical errors made in the pre-test of the treatment group and the control group 41 Figure 4.13 Number of grammar and lexical errors made in the pre-test of the treatment group and the control group 43 Figure 4.14 The scores in the writing pre-test in the treatment group and the control group 44 Figure 4.15 The percentage of the scores in the writing pre- test in the treatment group and the control group 45 Figure 4.16 Number of grammar errors made in the post-test of the treatment group and the control group 47 Figure 4.17 Number of lexical errors made in the post-test of the treatment group and the control group 48 Figure 4.18 The scores in the writing pre- test and the post -test in the treatment group and the control group 53 vii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS EFL: English as a Foreign Language L1: First Language L2: Second Language viii APPEDIX C POST –TREATMENT TEST (30 minutes – 10 marks) Write a paragraph of about 100 words to tell about your most memorable festival Your writing should include the main points that follow: - What the name of the festival is - When and where you had the festival - Who you enjoyed with - What you did during the festival - What made it a memorable festival or what you liked most about the festival APPEDIX D PRE-QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS Dear students, This questionnaire is a tool that aims to identify English Language learners’ attitudes towards peer correction in English writing at Lam Son high school Please read the instructions carefully and choose your answers There are questions in this questionnaire Your answers and data will be used only for the purpose of the study Confidentiality is highly reserved I would highly appreciate your cooperation Students’ interest about learning writing Do you enjoy learning writing lessons at your school? Very much Yes Not much No Students’ attitude about peer correct Do you think peer correction is necessary for your writings ? Yes No The frequency of using peer correction How often are peer correction activities given to you in your writing lessons? Always/ often / sometimes/ seldom/never Who you want to correct your writing? My friends / My teacher This is the end of the questionnaire Thank you for your cooperation APPEDIX E POST-QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS Dear students, This questionnaire is a tool that aims to identify students’attitude toward some benefits of peer correction in English writing at Lam Son high school Please read the instructions carefully and choose your answers There are questions in this questionnaire Your answers and data will be used only for the purpose of the study Confidentiality is highly reserved I would highly appreciate your cooperation What you think of peer correction application in writing lessons? a very interesting b rather interesting c interesting d uninteresting Read the questions carefully and choose your answers No Items I can give good comments for my friends’ writing and improve my writing after correcting my friends’ writing It offers me an opportunity to learn from my friends’ mistakes Peer correction strengthens my rapport with my course mates Peer correction strengthens my personality Peer correction enhances autonomous learning among my class mates I become more aware of my writing mistakes Strongly Disagree Disagree Agree Strongly agree How you feel when you correct your friends’ writing? a excited b confident c bored d worried How you feel when your friends correct your writing? a excited b confident c bored d worried This is the end of the questionnaire Thank you for your cooperation APPENDIX F: LESSON PLAN FOR THE TREATMENT GROUP New Cutting Edge, Pre-intermediate Module 4: Special occasions Lesson 2: Reading A OBJECTIVES  Language objectives By the end of the lesson, students will be able to: - use key terms related to “birthday traditions around the world” to discuss the birthday traditions in the country they like - apply language knowledge and skills acquired from the unit to give some practical advice on what should be done on birthday to certain ages in certain countries  Content objectives By the end of the lesson, students will be able to: - recognize birthday traditions around the world - explain significances for a particular birthday occasion in different countries B LANGUAGE FOCUS Key terms: a party dress, a bunch of flowers, a key, birthday cake, birthday cards, blow out the candles, brand-new, ceremony, the arm forces, a member of parliament, celebrate C METHODS Communicative Language Teaching Method, mixed instruction medium approach D TEACHING AIDS Textbook, board, chalk, pictures, photos E PROCEDURE Time 7m Content I Warm-up Teacher's activities Students' activities Game: Magic Kiss - Have students close the - Play the game books and play "Magic Kiss" game in minutes - Listen to the teacher - Let students know the rules and remember the of the game in English: rule + Divide the class into teams + Choose the number in turns and answer the questions given + Get points and LETTERS with a correct answer + Get 20 points if finding out the key word based on the Letters + Get points if choosing a lucky kiss (there are lucky kisses) - Play the game + Have students know that the team with more points will be Mother's Day the winner Questions: How we call the following American Day? Independence Day In Britain, the Day is at the beginning of March, usually Christmas Day the first Sunday in March (Mother's Day) (T) The Day when Americans celebrate independence from the British New Year's Eve (American Independence Day) (D) LUCKY (Y) The Day when people celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ (Christmas Day) (H) Chinese New Year LUCKY (B) May Day The last Day of the year People usually have parties in the evening, and stay awake until after midnight (New - Listen and take Year's Eve) (R) notes The Day in the Chinese calendar celebrate when the people New Year.( Chinese New Year) (I) In some countries, this day is called Labor Day (May Day) (A) Key word: BIRTHDAY + Praise the winner - Lead to the new lesson: Reading : "Birthday traditions around the world" 2m II reading 6m Pre- Set the scene - Show the pictures on page 32 - Look at the pictures and ask them to find the things and find the things given in the box - Answer the - Ask students what occasion question: "Birthday" the things refer to? Pre-teach vocabulary - Look, listen and - Show the pictures, real learn the words object or the action to teach active words + birthday cards (real object) + blow (action) out the candles + brand-new (synonym) + ceremony (translation) + the arm forces (picture) - Practice saying the + a member of parliament words (illustration) + celebrate (translation) - Have students practice the words 8m III While- Group work reading - Ask students to work in - Read the text in group of four to read the text groups and the and tick the traditions which task given exist in Vietnam, and put a 8m cross next to the traditions - Compare the which are different answers to the other - Ask students to compare pairs their answers to the other pairs Pair work - Read the text in - Ask students to read the text pairs and the task in pairs and find a word or given phrase in the text that has the same meaning as the given phrase - Give the time for students to read - Check the answers with the whole class Answers: b particularly c brand-new - Compare the answers with the whole class d several e ceremony f the armed forces g shape h City Hall 7m IV reading Post- Writing activity - Have students close the - Listen to the teacher books and write sentences instruction and write based on the number given the sentence using (1,15, 21) their own words Suggested answers: 1: In China, the birthday is celebrated on New Year's Day 15: In Argentina and Mexico, the girls dance a waltz with their father and other boys on the fifth birthday 21: In many English-speaking countries, 8m people make a birthday cake with a key on - Look, listen and top or in the shape of key on take notes the twenty-first birthday - Give feedback - Work in groups to Discussion discuss the birthday - Ask students to work in tradition of a certain group of four to discuss the country birthday tradition of one country they like and remind them of giving significances - Prepare the for presentation a occasion particular birthday -Give the group - Give students time to the presentation task - Have students present what - Listen and take they have discussed notes - Give feedback 2m V Wrap-up - Have the students answer the - Listen and answer questions to consolidate the the questions lesson 1m VI - Ask students to exercises Homework in the workbook at home - Take notes APPENDIX G: LESSON PLAN FOR THE CONTROL GROUP New Cutting Edge, Pre-intermediate Module 4: Special occasions Lesson 2: Reading A OBJECTIVES  Language objectives By the end of the lesson, students will be able to: - use key terms related to “birthday traditions around the world” to discuss the birthday traditions in the country they like - apply language knowledge and skills acquired from the unit to give some practical advice on what should be done on birthday to certain ages in certain countries  Content objectives By the end of the lesson, students will be able to: - recognize birthday traditions around the world - explain significances for a particular birthday occasion in different countries B LANGUAGE FOCUS Key terms: a party dress, a bunch of flowers, a key, birthday cake, birthday cards, blow out the candles, brand-new, ceremony, the arm forces, a member of parliament, celebrate C METHODS Communicative Language Teaching Method; English only instruction medium approach D TEACHING AIDS Textbook, board, chalk, pictures, photos E PROCEDURE Time Content 7m I Warm-up Teacher's activities Students' activities Game: Magic Kiss - Have students close the books and - Play the game play "Magic Kiss" game in minutes - Let students know the rules of the - Listen to the teacher game in English: and remember the + Divide the class into teams rule + Choose the number in turns and answer the questions given + Get points and LETTERS with a correct answer + Get 20 points if finding out the key word based on the Letters + Get points if choosing a lucky kiss (there are lucky kisses) + Have students know that the team with more points will be the winner Questions: How we call the following Day? - Play the game In Britain, the Day is at the beginning of March, usually the first Mother's Day Sunday in March (Mother's Day) (T) The Day when Americans American celebrate independence from the Independence Day British (American Independence Day) (D) Christmas Day LUCKY (Y) The Day when people celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ (Christmas Day) (H) New Year's Eve LUCKY (B) The last Day of the year People usually have parties in the evening, and stay awake until after midnight Chinese New Year (New Year's Eve) (R) The Day in the Chinese calendar when people celebrate the New May Day Year.( Chinese New Year) (I) In some countries, this day is called Labour Day (May Day) (A) Key word: BIRTHDAY - Listen and take + Praise the winner notes - Lead to the new lesson: Reading : "Birthday traditions around the world" 2m II Pre- Set the scene reading - Show the pictures on page 32 and - Look at the pictures ask them to find the things given in and find the things the box - Answer the - Ask students what occasion the question: "Birthday" 6m things refer to? - Look, listen and Pre-teach vocabulary - Show the pictures, real object or learn the words the action to teach active words + birthday cards (real object) + blow out the candles (action) + brand-new (synonym) + ceremony (translation) + the arm forces (picture) + a member of parliament - Practice saying the (illustration) words + celebrate (translation) - Have students practice the words 8m III While- Group work reading - Ask students to work in group of - Read the text in four to read the text and tick the groups and the traditions which exist in Vietnam, task given and put a cross next to the traditions which are different - Compare the - Ask students to compare their answers to the other 8m answers to the other pairs pairs Pair work - Ask students to read the text in pairs and find a word or phrase in - Read the text in the text that has the same meaning pairs and the task as the given phrase given - Give the time for students to read - Check the answers with the whole class - Compare the Answers: answers with the b particularly whole class c brand-new d several e ceremony f the armed forces g shape h City Hall 7m IV Post- Writing activity reading - Have students close the books and - Listen to the teacher write sentences based on the instruction and write number given (1,15, 21) the sentence using Suggested answers: their own words 1: In China, the birthday celebrated on New Year's Day is 15: In Argentina and Mexico, the girls dance a waltz with their father and other boys on the fifth birthday 21: In many English-speaking countries, people make a birthday cake with a key on top or in the shape of key on the twenty-first 8m birthday - Look, listen and - Give feedback take notes Discussion - Ask students to work in group of - Work in groups to four to discuss the birthday tradition discuss the birthday of one country they like and remind tradition of a certain them of giving significances for a country particular birthday occasion - Give students time to the task - Have students present what they - Prepare the have discussed presentation - Give feedback - Give the group presentation - Listen and take notes 2m V Wrap-up - Have the students answer the - Listen and answer questions to consolidate the lesson 1m the questions VI - Ask students to exercises in the - Take notes Homework workbook at home ...MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING VINH UNIVERSITY NGUYEN THI HOAI TRANG AN APPLICATION OF PEER CORRECTION IN 11TH GRADERS’WRITING PROCESS Major: Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages... writing process instead of only their final writing version (Paige Way, Joiner and Seaman, 2000) Process writing can contain stages such as prewriting, writing, revising and rewriting or editing... The constant use of eye, hand and brain helps reinforce learning With all the roles mentioned above, we can see that writing is an important skill in teaching and learning languages at any levels