Exploring tertiary English as a Foreign Language writing tutors’ perceptions of the appropriateness of peer assessment for writing

Abstract

Despite the increasing volume of research in peer assessment for writing, few studies have been conducted to explore teachers' perceptions of its appropriateness for local writing instruction. It is essential to understand teachers' perceptions of peer assessment as teachers play an important role in whether and how peer assessment would be implemented in their instruction. The current study investigated tertiary English writing tutors' perceptions of the appropriateness of peer assessment for EFL writing in China where peer assessment has been increasingly discussed and researched but only occasionally used in teaching. The current study scrutinised the reasons behind its limited use via in-depth exploratory interviews with 25 writing tutors with different teaching backgrounds.The interview data showed tutors' limited knowledge of peer assessment and unanimous hesitation in using peer assessment. The former was explained with regard to the insufficient instruction and training in peer assessment. The latter was further elucidated with the incompatibility of peer assessment with the examinations-oriented education system, learners' low English language proficiency and learning motivation, and the conflict of peer assessment with the entrenched teacher-driven learning culture. Based on the findings, suggestions were made about training and engaging teachers to effectively use peer assessment in instruction.Key words: Teachers' perceptions of the appropriateness of peer assessment; resistance in using peer assessment; constraints of using peer assessment; cultural of learning in China

New insights into the process of peer review for EFL writing: A process-oriented socio-cultural perspective

“…Total 26 When the focus of peer interaction was examined, Figure 3 revealed the prominent roles of wording and grammar across the three interaction patterns. It might be due to the essential role of language accuracy in examination essays and the prolonged examinationoriented culture of learning in China (Zhao, 2018). Nevertheless, Figure 3 showed that students also commented areas on the global level: organisation in the collaborative and expert/novice patterns, styles in the collaborative and dominant/dominant patterns, and content in all the three patterns.…”

“…All participants were aged 19. The students had very limited experience of peer review due to their prolonged teacher-centred and examination-driven education experience in China (Berry, 2011;Zhao, 2018). Therefore, to improve the quantity and quality of peer feedback (Rahimi, 2013;Yang & Meng, 2013;Zhao, 2014), an approximately 20 minute training session was provided by the writing tutor prior to each peer review activity.…”

“…The incompletion of discussing two assignments with the allocated time suggested that a longer discussion period was desirable. Nevertheless, the heavy curriculum asked for a short turnaround time for each task so that learners could be ready for examinations (Zhao, 2018). Table 1 also reveals that the data were derived from six pairs of learners at the same level of Table 1, the data were based on five genres resulting from self-selected topics, with argumentative essays as the main genre for being the sole genre required in exams.…”

Electronic Peer Feedback, EFL Academic Writing and Reflective Thinking: Evidence From a Confucian Context

“…This student-led learning practice is also endorsed as positive for students to take the roles and responsibilities of assessors; hence, students might attain the levels of higher-order thinking skills, particularly reasoning and argumentation (Lin & Xiang, 2019;Lu & Xie, 2019). Despite the potential benefits of peer feedback, accumulated empirical evidence has arisen a number of problems related to the hesitations of incorporating peer feedback into the instructions and learning process (Panadero, 2016;Zhao, 2018;Zhu & Carless, 2018). A key challenge lies in trust issues associated with peers' abilities because peer comments merely highlight surface problems (e.g., idea development, essay structure) rather than yielding marked learning improvements (e.g., vocabulary richness, grammar accuracy).…”

The Impact of Peer Assessment on Students’ Recount Text

“…Moreover, the students' capability and psychology in assessing peer's writing must be paid attention. The previous studies found that the students lacked confidence in delivering their opinion or feedback in the process of PA because of their capability in assessing their peers' writing (Cheng and Warren, 2005;Topping, 2003;Zhao, 2018). To overcome these problems, the teacher should design the instrument well (Ohland et al, 2012).…”