As English is an official language in the world, English communication skills are increasingly important. To foster the skills, the balanced improvement of English comprehension and expression skills is required. In our country, computer is one of maj...
As English is an official language in the world, English communication skills are increasingly important. To foster the skills, the balanced improvement of English comprehension and expression skills is required. In our country, computer is one of major instruments of information exchange, and everybody acquires information and share it with one another through the internet and e-mail. The importance of writing is consequently stressed, and an ability to describe one's own idea in English is emphasized as well. Indeed, the absolute necessity of effective writing education should be taken seriously.
This study focused on peer feedback as one of ways to improve the English writing skills of learners, and peer feedback training that was expected to boost the efficiency of peer feedback activities was investigated. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of peer feedback training on the quantitative and qualitative improvement of peer feedback, English writing and attitude to peer feedback. After two different types of feedback training involving meaning-focused feedback and form-focused feedback were selected, the two sorts of training were provided respectively to two different groups to see what changes each group underwent in the quantity and quality of feedback they provided, in writing skills and in attitude to peer feedback. The subjects in this study were middle school students who were in the ninth grade. After they made a composition, they were divided into two groups and engaged in peer feedback activities. And then a survey was conducted. The two groups respectively underwent meaning-focused and form-focused feedback training, and then they made a composition and engaged in peer feedback activities again, which was followed by another survey. All their compositions, peer feedback activities and survey data were analyzed to find out what results this study produced.
The findings of the study were as follows: First, both groups showed an increase in the quantity of peer feedbacks they provided after they got the feedback training, and there were differences in that regard between the two according to the focus of the training. Before the feedback training was offered, the two groups were similar in terms of the way of providing feedbacks, and the great portion of the feedbacks was concerned with grammar. After the training, there was a nearly two-fold increase in the quantity of feedbacks in both groups, and both of the meaning-focused and form-focused feedback training could be said to boost the quantity of feedbacks. The group that got the meaning-focused training showed an increase in the number and percentage of meaning-centered feedbacks. The number of their form-focused feedbacks was a little on the rise, but the percentage of those feedbacks dropped. Therefore this group showed a balanced increase in the number of meaning-focused and form-focused feedbacks. In contrast, the other group that got the form-focused training showed no change in the number of meaning- focused feedbacks, but there was a large decrease in the percentage of the meaning-focused feedbacks and an explosive increase in the number and percentage of form-focused feedbacks. Thus, the latter group leaned toward form-centered feedbacks, and it could be said that the learners were able to provide more balanced feedbacks when they underwent the meaning-focused feedback rather than the form-focused one.
Second, there was a superb change in the quality of peer feedbacks they provided after the feedback training was implemented, and there were intergroup differences in that aspect according to the focus of the training. The group that got the meaning-focused feedback showed a great increase in the number of meaning-focused feedbacks that could contribute to the composition of peers in quality, but the other group that got the form-focused training showed little change. In terms of form-focused feedbacks, the former showed a slight increase in the number of feedbacks that could contribute to the composition of peers in quality, and the latter showed a great increase in the number of feedbacks that could contribute to the composition of peers in quality. The findings imply that qualitative changes in peer feedbacks hinge on the focus of training. One notable finding was that both groups showed an increase in the number of inappropriate feedbacks. Specifically, the group that got the form-focused training provided more useless form-focused feedbacks though the form-focused training was offered to the group. Thus, this study produced a negative result, and as for the reason, it seemed because the group that got the form-focused training tended to overly lean toward form-focused feedbacks, which seemed to result in producing more inappropriate feedbacks and simple response to the writing. Another reason seemed that the three-week training wasn't long enough to learn how to give the right form-focused feedback. Moreover, it seemed that the students had a tendency to find it easier to give form-focused feedbacks than meaning-focused ones when they weren't convinced of the accuracy of the feedbacks they provided. In particular, the students who didn't got the meaning-focused training made no qualitative progress in a supply of the meaning-focused feedbacks, which indicated that it's needed to strike a balance between meaning-focused and form-focused training when peer feedback training is provided.
Third, the learners made progress in writing skills after they got the training, and there were intergroup gaps in that regard according to the focus of the training. Both groups got better scores in composition after training, and the group that got the meaning-focused training got significantly better scores in the meaning aspect. Likewise, the other group that got the form-focused training got significantly better scores in the form aspect. It proved that the changes in writing skills depended on the focus of the training. Overall, the group that got the meaning-focused training showed a greater improvement than the other that got the form-focused training. Therefore the meaning-focused training could be said to make a greater contribution to the writing skills of the learners than the form-focused one.
Fourth, the students went through a positive change in attitude to peer feedback after the feedback training was offered, and there were intergroup differences in that aspect according to the focus of the training. The group that got the meaning-focused training put higher value on the usefulness of peer feedback after the training than the other that got the form-focused training, and the former took a better view of the usefulness of both kinds of feedbacks than the latter. The group that got the form-focused training placed higher value just on form-focused peer feedbacks. Therefore it could be said that the meaning-focused training allowed the students to consider peer feedback more useful than the form-focused one. As for feedback preference, both groups preferred feedbacks from teachers after the training, but the group that got the meaning-focused feedback had a higher preference for peer feedback than before. So it could be concluded that the meaning-focused feedback training is more effective than the form-focused one at increasing the confidence of students about the usefulness of peer feedback, which is crucial for successful peer feedback activities.
The findings of the study illustrated that the feedback training had a positive impact on the quantity and quality of peer feedbacks, the writing skills of the learners and their attitude to peer feedback. Specifically, the group that underwent the meaning-focused feedback training showed equal changes in meaning-focused and form-focused feedbacks. Yet it doesn't mean that only the meaning-focused feedback training is efficient enough to ensure quality feedbacks. The group that got the meaning-focused feedback training was able to offer excellent meaning-focused feedbacks, and the other that underwent the form-focused feedback training was able to provide excellent form-focused feedbacks. So students should be taught to offer good feedbacks by striking a balance between the meaning-focused and form-focused feedback training. Teachers should keep it in mind and provide students with well-planned feedback training to boost the efficiency of their feedback activities.