MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HO CHI MINH CITY OPEN UNIVERSITY -------- ∞0∞-------- LE THI CAM TU AN INVESTIGATION INTO STUDENTS’ PERCEPTION TOWARDS ONLINE PEER FEEDBACK AS A PROMOTION OF LEARNER AUTONOMY IN EFL WRITING MASTER OF ARTS IN TESOL HO CHI MINH CITY, 2022 Tai Lieu Chat Luong MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HO CHI MINH CITY OPEN UNIVERSITY -------- ∞0∞-------- LE THI CAM TU AN INVESTIGATION INTO STUDENTS’ PERCEPTION TOWARDS ONLINE PEER FEEDBACK AS A PROMOTION OF LEARNER AUTONOMY IN EFL WRITING Major: Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages Major code: 8 14 01 11 MASTER OF ARTS IN TESOL Supervisor: NGUYEN VU PHUONG, PhD. HO CHI MINH CITY, 2022 TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC MỞ CỘNG HÒA XÃ HỘI CHỦ NGHĨA VIỆT NAM THÀNH PHỐ HỒ CHÍ MINH Độc lập – Tự do – Hạnh phúc KHOA ĐÀO TẠO SAU ĐẠI HỌC GIẤY XÁC NHẬN Tôi tên là: LÊ THỊ CẨM TÚ Ngày sinh: 15/07/1985 Nơi sinh: Quảng Ngãi Chuyên ngành: MTESOL Mã học viên: 1881401110042 Tôi đồng ý cung cấp toàn văn thông tin luận văn tốt nghiệp hợp lệ về bản quyền cho Thư viện trường đại học Mở Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh. Thư viện trường đại học Mở Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh sẽ kết nối toàn văn thông tin luận văn tốt nghiệp vào hệ thống thông tin khoa học của Sở Khoa học và Công nghệ Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh. Ký tên Lê Thị Cẩm Tú CỘNG HÒA XÃ HỘI CHỦ NGHĨA VIỆT NAM Độc lập – Tự do – Hạnh phúc Ý KIẾN CHO PHÉP BẢO VỆ LUẬN VĂN THẠC SĨ CỦA GIẢNG VIÊN HƯỚNG DẪN Giảng viên hướng dẫn: Nguyễn Vũ Phương Học viên thực hiện: Lê Thị Cẩm Tú Lớp: MTESOL018A Ngày sinh: 15/07/1985 Nơi sinh: Quảng Ngãi Tên đề tài: Online peer feedback as a promotion of learner autonomy in EFL writing Ý kiến của giáo viên hướng dẫn về việc cho phép học viên Lê Thị Cẩm Tú được bảo vệ luận văn trước Hội đồng: Nghiên cứu về sử dụng “Online peer feedback as a promotion of learner autonomy in EFL writing” như một công cụ giúp học sinh tăng cường tự chủ và cải tiến kỹ năng viết.
Kết quả nghiên cứu mang lại nhiều hàm ý giúp cho giáo viên khi vận dụng tương tác giữa học sinh trong giảng dạy tiếng Anh. Phương pháp nghiên cứu phù hợp với mục tiêu nghiên cứu. Hình thức luận văn trình bày phù hợp theo quy định của trường. Có đầy đủ các nội dung cần thiết của một nghiên cứu.
Luận văn có thảo luận tương đối đầy đủ các nghiên cứu trước cho mô hình nghiên cứu. Mặc dù, việc lý giải đôi lúc chưa mạch lạc, việc lỷ giải sử “online peer feedback” trong mô hình giúp thể hiện nội dung trọng tâm nghiên cứu. Điều này giúp việc lựa chọn phương pháp phù hợp. Việc thu thập dữ liệu được thực hiện bằng nhiều công cụ, giúp cung cấp những mô tả phong phú về nội dung nghiên cứu và các phát hiện.
Luận văn đóng góp vào việc sử dụng sử dụng “online peer feedback” trong các hoạt động giảng dạy nhằm thúc đẩy quá trình học tập hiệu quả thông qua hoạt động tự chủ trong các nhóm học sinh. Nghiên cứu giúp đưa ra những hàm ý hữu ích cho giáo viên trong hoạt động tổ chức giảng dạy. Giảng viên hướng dẫn đồng ý học viên nộp luận văn để bảo vệ trước hội đồng. Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh, ngày 1 tháng 3 năm 2022 Người nhận xét Nguyễn Vũ Phương STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP I certify that this thesis entitled “An investigation into students’ perceptions towards online peer feedback as a promotion of learner autonomy in EFL writing” is my original work; it is based on my own research.
Except where reference is made in the text of the thesis, this thesis does not contain material published elsewhere or extracted in whole or in part from a thesis by which I have qualified or been awarded another degree or diplomat. No other person’s work has been used without due acknowledgement. This piece of work has not previously been submitted for assessment in this or any other subject or course at this University or elsewhere. Ho Chi Minh city, 2022 Le Thi Cam Tu i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS It is a pleasure to express my gratitude to all people who made this thesis a possible.
Firstly, I am extremely grateful to my supervisor, Dr. Nguyen Vu Phuong for his enthusiasm, inspiration and great effort to encourage me during the time for the research. Throughout my thesis writing period, his encouragement, sound advice, and enthusiastic guidance provided a good basis for my thesis. He devoted his precious time to read and give me valuable feedback and suggestions on the previous drafts of each chapter.
Without his patient and expertise supervision, I would not complete this thesis. I would like to show my gratitude to my students who spent time and effort to participate in this study. Their contribution and enthusiasm encouraged me to overcome tough time and complete this thesis. I also would like to express my deep thanks to all lecturers in Ho Chi Minh city Open University who provided me with invaluable sources of knowledge during my study there and all the staff members of the Department of Post Graduate Studies for their help during the course.
Last but not least, I wish to thank my family, especially my husband for encouraging and supporting me a lot when I am in difficult times. ii ABSTRACT This study aimed at studying perceptions of a group of twelve Vietnamese high school students at an English centre on the impact of online peer feedback in EFL writing to enhance learner autonomy. The researcher used a quantitative and qualitative case study design with three instruments, including questionnaire survey and semi-structured interviews and observation to collect data. From the thematic analysis, the research concluded that conducting online peer feedback in EFL writing could foster some aspects of learner autonomy including learner’s awareness to their own learning, learner’s motivation in learning, learner’s involvement in learning activities, learner’s evaluation of their own learning; but did not remarkably foster their confidence as well as their independence from teacher.
Besides, the research also revealed some challenges during the process including: Time-consuming, learner limited knowledge and learner’s preference of teacher’s feedbacks. iii TABLE OF CONTENT STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP. iii TABLE OF CONTENT .iv LIST OF TABLE .vii LIST OF FIGURE .vii Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION .1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY.2 RATIONALE OF THE STUDY .3 AIMS OF THE STUDY .5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY.6 STRUCTURE OF THE THESIS .5 Chapter 2: LITERATURE REVIEW .1 Theoretical approaches to learning .2 The definition of learner autonomy.3 Dimensions of learner autonomy .4 Fostering learner autonomy.2 ONLINE PEER FEEDBACK .1 Definition of peer feedback .2 The definition of online peer feedback .3 ONLINE PEER FEEDBACK AND LEARNER AUTONOMY .1 The advantages of online peer feedback .2 Procedure of online peer feedback .3 The role of online peer feedback in promoting learner autonomy in EFL writing .4 View of relevant studies .5 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK OF THE STUDY:.2 RESEARCH DESIGN AND RESEARCH INSTRUMENTS .1 The procedures of implementing online peer feedback .2 Data Analysis Procedure .38 Chapter 4: FINDING AND DISCUSSION.1 Benefits of conducting online peer feedback in writing to promote learner autonomy. Challenges in the implementation of online peer feedback .3 Learner’s preference of teacher’s feedbacks .1 How online peer feedback develop learner’s autonomy.
Challenges in the implementation of online peer feedback to enhance learner autonomy.1 Summary of findings:. Limitations of the study. Recommendation for further research. 74 vi LIST OF TABLE Table 3.3a: Summary of the items of each category in the questionnaire .3b: The interview questions .3: The procedures of the research .2: Methods of Data Analysis in Relation to the Research Questions and Instruments .2: Learner’s motivation and confidence .3: Learner’s active involvement in learning .4: Learner’s evaluation of their own learning .5: Student’s independence from teacher’s role .1: Number of writing and feedback of each student.
54 LIST OF FIGURE Figure 2.5: Theoretical Framework of the study. 23 vii viii Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY Nowadays, due to the rapid development of economic globalization, there is an increasing demand for learning English as it has been considered as a mean of communication for people all over the world. In order to enhance learning quality and learner’s development in language teaching and learning process, many researchers have shifted their focus from teaching and teachers to learning and learners. In this context, learner autonomy has become a common term in the language learning field over the past decades (Gremmo & Riley, 1995).
Learner autonomy is believed to increase motivation to learn and consequently increases learning effectiveness (Dickinson, 1995). In fact, numerous researchers have been conducting studies to investigate various aspects of learner autonomy. Among them, one of the most important point emphasized by researchers is how to promote learner autonomy in classrooms (Benson, 2011). On one hand, from the perspective of the constructivist approach, students can construct and evolve their knowledge structures only when they actively take responsibility for their learning (Grabinger and Dunlap, 1995, as cited in Naley, 2014).
Beside this, to support the autonomous learning development, teachers are also required to overcome the traditional authoritative role and present as a guidance provider. As a result, working collaboratively with peers, such as peer feedback activity in writing, which emphasis on learner- centeredness is one of the aspects proven to potentially enhance learner autonomy (Puspasari and Hudayani, 2018). Learners can take different roles in giving and receiving feedback and actively involve in their learning process. Also, in the process of peer feedback, teachers shift their control in the class over learners and play the roles of guides or counsellors.
On the other hand, along with the consecutive development of technology, Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) is argued to have potentials supporting learner autonomy (Benson, 2011). Various studies have shown the relationship between online learning activities and aspects of learner autonomy. The online discussion platforms are believed to transfer the power of authority of the teacher to learners and create opportunities 1 for learner interactions and collaborative learning. Eneau and Develotte (2012, as cited in Rohaya, 2015) concludes that the online learning brings positive effects on reflective and collaborative dimensions.
Anwar Ibrahim (2004, as cited in Rohaya, 2015) claims that online learning encourages learners take more responsibility in their learning, be more motivated and evaluative about themselves. Generally, learner autonomy plays an important role in effective language learning. It can be seen that learner-centered activities and online learning activities both potentially connect to the development of learner autonomy. As a result, conducting a collaborative learning activity like peer feedback in an online platform has potential for enhancing learner autonomy.
If it can be proved positively, the relationship between online peer feedback and autonomy may suggest teacher better writing activities for learners.2 RATIONALE OF THE STUDY According to Scharle & Szabo (2000), “teachers can provide all the necessary circumstances and input, but learning can only happen if learners are willing to contribute”, and “success in learning very much depends on learners having a responsible attitude” (Scharle & Szabo, 2000, p. It is likely that if learners are autonomous, then their learning is likely to succeed (Little, 2004). Hence, the topic of learner autonomy in English language education has become the key interest of numerous researchers around the world. In language teaching and learning field, making language learners become independent and autonomous should be considered as an important goal that educators and teachers should pursue.
In Vietnam, teacher-centeredness has been a dominant teaching style for a long time.