Scaffolded Peer Feedback and Second Language Writing Proficiency: Implications for Inclusive ESL Teaching Practice

Abstract

Although studies on peer feedback have identified several advantages for second language writing classes, the benefits of peer feedback to low-proficiency students have not been thoroughly investigated. This current study aims to determine how low-proficiency second-language students of English can improve their writing by giving and receiving peer feedback. Utilizing mixed methods, data collection and analyses were primarily conducted through posttest-only control-group design and focus group discussion (FGD). There were twenty university student participants randomly selected from two writing mixed-proficiency level classes. Framed under Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory, an analysis of the gains in writing ability measured from formative and summative writing samples indicated that the low-proficiency students, specifically in the experimental group, made more significant gains in their writing over the course of the semester than the high-proficiency students in both groups. Even though the results generally showed no significant difference, except for higher error avoidance efficiency between experimental and control groups and among the high-proficiency students in both groups, a significant difference was observed between the low-proficiency students in both groups (control group M = 81.6, experimental group M = 89.8, control group SD = 8.3, experimental group SD = 9.5, t(4) = -3.23, p = .032). This leads to the conclusion that low-proficiency students benefit from scaffolded peer feedback.

Secondary School Teachers' Perception of Classroom Assessment Practices in ESL Classrooms

“…Students' perceived inability to generate quality feedback independently or with peers, coupled with emotional concerns, leads teachers to rely more on teacher-centred assessment for its perceived reliability over self-and peer evaluations. Additionally, there is a recognised need for structured support to enable meaningful peer assessments (Bolourchi & Soleimani, 2021;Casinto, 2023). Ismail et al (2022) emphasise the benefits of peer assessment in enhancing motivation, reducing anxiety, and improving self-regulation skills.…”

E-peer feedback training on L2 writing: A case study of inexperienced learners

“…And how to provide e-feedback? It is critical to find out what technical skills and techniques students need, which arise during the implementation process, to help them know how to provide e-feedback appropriately (Casinto, 2023;Liu & Edwards, 2018). To do so, there are two rounds of data collection, which include students' electronic feedback on Google Docs, their revisions, their oral feedback on Zoom (recorded by students and sent to the researcher), the researcher's observations from recorded videos, and semi-structured interviews (questions provided in Appendix A).…”

“…Thus, the training for e-feedback is considered necessary if teachers want to apply the mode of computer-mediated communication to peer response in teaching L2 writing. Since this concern has been rarely studied in L2 writing research (Casinto, 2023), this poor background needs to be addressed to enrich the body of literature on the training of online peer feedback. The most recent study conducted by Zang et al (2023) was about online peer feedback; however, students' experience with this mode of feedback was not the focus of their study.…”