Effects of reciprocal peer feedback on EFL learners’ communication strategy use and oral communication performance

Abstract

While most studies focus on individual training of oral communication in English as a Foreign Language (EFL), this study took a social constructivist perspective in examining the effect of an interpersonal process, that is, peer feedback, on the development of oral communication performance and communication strategy use. A mobile application was developed to facilitate learners' engagement in discussion tasks, replay their conversation as well as carry out peer feedback. To examine the effect of mobile-assisted peer feedback, a quasi-experimental was conducted at a vocational university in Taiwan for five weeks. Forty EFL participants were assigned to an experimental group (n = 20), who received peer feedback on their oral communication performance and strategy use, and a control group (n = 20), who received no peer feedback on their oral communication ability and strategy use. The results show that the use of peer feedback enhanced students' oral communication performance but did not improve their communication strategy use. The findings suggest that with the support of mobile-based peer feedback, students were able to monitor their oral production and provide/receive corrective feedback that enhanced their overall communication performance. It was also found that the feedback provided by the students was not concrete enough to address the use of the target communication strategies. However, the peer feedback data show that students tended to provide varying communication strategies that were not taught in the study but were considered beneficial to their overall oral communication performance. Possible explanations for the findings and future directions are discussed in this paper.

Effects of mobile-supported task-based language teaching on EFL students’ linguistic achievement and conversational interaction

“…The results are consistent with prior research that examined the effects of mobile-supported scaffolding on face-to-face instruction and showed improvement in learning outcomes through enhanced collaborative learning (Lan et al, 2007), facilitated task interactions (Lys, 2013), and reciprocal peer feedback (Fang, Cassim, Hsu & Chen, 2018). The mobile-supported TBLT designed in the current study appeared to provide supportive learning conditions for students to achieve pronounced gains in vocabulary (54%) and receptive knowledge to comprehend newly learned vocabulary and grammar in context (27%).…”

“…As to why the scaffolds did not increase negotiating for meaning, it is possible that the ability to negotiate requires additional instruction. According to Nakatani (2010) and Fang et al (2018), learners may lack the language knowledge to negotiate for meaning in communication tasks and thus may need consciousness-raising and additional training. These findings provide developmental implications that when learners were scaffolded in a challenging task they would actively adjust their language use during the conversational interaction, which suggested they were working toward the appropriation of L2 knowledge.…”

A Systematic Overview of Issues for Developing EFL Learners’ Oral English Communication Skills

“…The findings illustrated that mobile-based feedback monitored learners' oral production and the learners received corrective feedback that enhanced their overall communication performance (Fang, Cassim, Hsu, & Chen, 2018). Another study reported that teacher-based feedback, which involved the "praisecriticism suggestion" supported the development of learners' OECSs performance (Mulualem et al, 2019;Wang et al, 2017Wang et al, , 2018.In some EFL contexts, like in Indonesia, teacher feedback boosted learners' oral skills development (Saefurrohman, 2018).…”

Strategi Komunikasi Branding Impressive Probolinggo untuk Menarik Wisatawan

“…Strategi lebih ke arah implementasi sebuah program dijalankan secara efektif dan efisien dengan memperhitungkan berbagai peluang yang mendukung serta mencermati hambatan yang menjadi penghalang. Dikemukakan Fang et al (2018) strategi komunikasi yang tepat dapat mengurangi biaya tinggi serta mendorong lancarnya kegiatan. Karena itu, strategi komunikasi perlu dipersiapkan matang melalui riset komunikan, media, dan pesan.…”