HUE UNIVERSITY UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES --------------- PHAN PHUC NHAT LY HUFLIS ENGLISH-MAJORED SOPHOMORES' PERCEPTIONS AND DELIVERY OF PEER FEEDBACK IN ENGLISH SPEAKING CLASSES MA THESIS IN THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts, University of Foreign Languages, Hue University THUA THIEN HUE, 2022 HUE UNIVERSITY UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES --------------- PHAN PHUC NHAT LY HUFLIS ENGLISH- MAJORED SOPHOMORES' PERCEPTIONS AND DELIVERY OF PEER FEEDBACK IN ENGLISH SPEAKING CLASSES MA THESIS IN THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING CODE: 8140111 SUPERVISOR: DR. PHAN QUYNH NHU THUA THIEN HUE, 2022 ĐẠI HỌC HUẾ TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ --------------- PHAN PHÚC NHẬT LY NHẬN THỨC VÀ THỰC HIỆN “PHẢN HỒI ĐỒNG ĐẲNG” TRONG LỚP HỌC KỸ NĂNG NÓI TIẾNG ANH LUẬN VĂN THẠC SĨ LÝ LUẬN VÀ PHƯƠNG PHÁP DẠY HỌC BỘ MÔN TIẾNG ANH MÃ SỐ: 8140111 NGƯỜI HƯỚNG DẪN KHOA HỌC: TS. PHAN QUỲNH NHƯ THỪA THIÊN HUẾ, 2022 STATEMENT OF ORIGINAL AUTHORSHIP The work contained in this thesis has not been previously submitted for a degree in any university. I certify that, to the best of my knowledge and belief, my thesis contains no material previously published or written by another person except where due reference is made in the thesis itself.
Signed: ………………………… (Candidate’s full name) Date: ……/ ……/……… iv ABSTRACT Peer feedback in English speaking classes plays an important role in students’ learning process. However, the perceptions and delivery of peer feedback has not been widely studied in the context of speaking classes of second year students at University of Foreign Languages and International Studies, Hue University. This research was conducted to explore English-majored students' perceptions of peer feedback, use of peer feedback and possible difficulties the students face in English speaking classes. In this study, a mixed- method design was adopted as the research approach, in which questionnaire and interviews were utilised as two major data collection instruments.
One a voluntary basis, one hundred sophomore English-majored students at University of Foreign Languages and International Studies, Hue University were invited to answer the questionnaire via a google form and ten of them were invited for semi-structured interviews. The study's findings revealed that most of the students were aware of the importance of peer feedback and its benefits in an English speaking class. When it comes to the use of peer feedback, students reported using peer feedback of various types, including verbal, nonverbal, positive, and negative comments to both their ideas and their speaking performances. Additionally, various challenges were reported upon implementing peer feedback in an English speaking class.
The highlighted challenges included the students' limited English proficiency, fear of expressing ideas, time constraints, inadequate guidance of peer feedback from the lecturer. In accordance with the findings, recommendations were suggested to program developers, lecturers and students to promote and maximize the effectiveness of peer feedback in English speaking classes for English major students. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Foremost, I would like to express my sincere respect and gratitude to Doctor Phan Quynh Nhu, my supervisor for her continuous support and professional guidance, for her enthusiasm, immense knowledge as well as constant encouragement through each step of my research and writing of this thesis. Without her guidance and persistent assistance, this dissertation would not be completed successfully.
I could not have imagined having a better advisor and mentor for my graduation thesis. My sincere gratitude will be sent to 100 second year English majored students at HUFLIS who completed the questionnaires and participated in the interviews with enthusiasm and interest. Moreover, I would like to show my thankfulness to my friends for their whole- hearted help and encourage when I dealt with the data analysis and downloaded the precious reference materials. Finally, I am indebted to my family for their encouragement and unconditional support throughout the period I conducted this research.
vi List of tables Table 2. Comparison of criteria used for good peer feedback. Feedback forms and prompts. Demographics of participants.
Reliability Statistics of questionnaire. Descriptive statistics of four clusters. Mean score of each item in students’ perceptions of peer feedback. One- sample T test of students’ perceptions of peer feedback in an English speaking class.
Students’ perceptions of peer feedback in an English speaking class. One-Sample Test of students’ speaking activities and peer feedback. English speaking activities students participated. Speaking activities in which students give feedback to peers.
Speaking activities in which students receive feedback from peers. One-Sample Test of peer feedback used of students in English speaking classes. Peer feedback giving in English speaking classes. Peer feedback received in English speaking classes.
One-Sample Test of students’ difficulties in giving and receiving peer feedback in English speaking classes. Difficulties in giving peer feedback in English speaking classes. Difficulties in receiving peer feedback in English speaking classes. 57 vii List of abbreviations HUFLIS: Hue University of Foreign Languages and International Studies PEERFB: Peer feedback PEERFB- REPLY: Peer feedback with reply EFL: English as a foreign language viii TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract.
vi List of tables. vii List of abbreviations. viii Table of contents. ix Chapter 1: Introduction.
Scope of the study. Significance of the study. Structure of the study. 4 Chapter 2: Literature Review.
Key terms: speaking skill, feedback and peer feedback. Types of feedback. Positive and negative feedback. Verbal and non-verbal feedback.
Oral and written feedback. Peer feedback with and without reply. The use of peer feedback in a speaking class. The significance of using peer feedback in a speaking class.
Guidelines to give effective peer feedback in a speaking class. Suggested peer feedback criteria and feedback forms. Stages in peer feedback activity. Possible challenges in using peer feedback in a speaking class.
Data collection tools. Data collection procedure. Quantitative data from questionnaire. Qualitative data from interview.
Reliability and validity of research. 35 Chapter 4: Findings and Discussion. Students’ perceptions of peer feedback in English speaking classes 37 4. Findings from questionnaire.
Findings from interview. Use of peer feedback in Speaking English classes. Findings from questionnaire. Findings from interviews.
Peer feedback used in English speaking classes. Findings from questionnaire. Findings from interviews. Difficulties in giving and receiving peer feedback in English speaking classes.
Findings from questionnaire. Findings from interviews. 63 Chapter 5: Conclusions and Implications. Summary of the key findings.
Second year students’ perceptions of peer feedback in English speaking classes. The practice of using peer feedback in collaborative speaking tasks. Students’ difficulties when applying peer feedback in English speaking classes. Limitations of the study.
Suggestions for further studies. 91 xi Chapter 1: Introduction 1. Rationale According to Pultra (2020), the importance of learning English in today's world cannot be overstated or denied, especially since English is the language spoken in the majority of the globe. In reality, English has been targeted and taught extremely early in a developing country like Vietnam, and the youth tend to be more aware of its relevance for such reasons as getting a good career, talking with people all over the world, and accessing foreign resources for employment and study.
These are also the reasons why an increasing number of students are choosing English language as a major for their undergraduate studies. Most English majors, on the other hand, are frequently perplexed when it comes to expressing their thoughts and feelings in various speaking situations. Speaking skill is the most fundamental for all individuals who want to learn English to “enhance their career, improve business, build confidence levels, get better job opportunities, make public speeches, attend interviews, participate in debates and group discussions, give presentations” (Rao, 2019, p. However, many of them are still struggling to improve their English speaking abilities.
In the same vein, Bueno, Madrid, and Mclaren (2006) claim that speaking is one of the most difficult skills language learners have to cope with. Hence, it is understandable that many learners learn the language for many years but still find it hard to engage in real-life communication. For this reason, learners of English language should realise the significance of speaking skill and work hard to achieve a high level of competence not just in English speaking classes but also in order to succeed in their social interactions as well as their future job-related situations. In a speaking class, the teacher is likely to utilize a variety of teaching methods and techniques to develop their learners' speaking skills, of which using feedback is not an exception.
Feedback has been regarded as one of the most beneficial technique in to enhance 1 language learning (Hattie & Timperley, 2007). Likewise, Narciss (2008) considers feedback is "all post-response information" delivered to the learner to update him or her "on his or her actual state of learning or performance" (p. Therefore, when developing courses, it may be good to consider cultivating a strong feedback culture. Nevertheless, it may be challenging for an instructor to conduct a feedback activity with a class with a large number of students because the teacher will be overloaded in giving feedback.
It will then affect the quality of feedback as well as the engagement of students in their learning process. At that point, feedback will no longer be a helpful tool for students to improve their speaking skills; instead, it may waste time and cause boredom in the classroom. To address this issue, Bratkovich (2014) suggests using peer feedback in English speaking classes since the feedback receivers may receive feedback from different sources: the self, the peer or the teacher. It is believed that peer feedback has an increasing potential for learning, and that it should be encouraged and incorporated into the overall assessment method in some combination with instructor feedback, which appears to be necessary for strategic reasons (Ishchenko & Verkhovtsova, 2019).
Moreover, some learners may feel less anxious and more confident when receiving feedback from peers rather than from the teacher (McDonough, 2004), so feedback from students to students is as important as feedback from teachers to students. Throughout the learning process, student-to-student feedback promotes objectivity, critical thinking, motivation, and engagement. However, it seems that peer feedback has not been used a common form of assessment in the context of speaking classes in Viet Nam. Remarkably, few studies in Viet Nam have related to the topic of students' usage of and delivery of peer feedback.
Generally, this research was implemented with the purpose of exploring English- majored sophomores’ perceptions and delivery of peer feedback in English speaking skill classes at University of Foreign Languages and International Studies, Hue University. Research objectives This research proposes three objectives as follows: • to examine second year English majors’ perceptions of peer feedback in English speaking classes. • to explore the practice of delivering peer feedback in English speaking classes. • to uncover the sophomores’ difficulties when applying peer feedback in English speaking classes.
Research questions The study was conducted with the view of finding answers to the following three research questions: 1. What are second-year students’ perceptions of peer feedback in English speaking classes? 2. How is peer feedback delivered in English speaking classes? 3. What challenges are encountered by second- year students when giving peer feedback in English speaking classes? 1.
Scope of the study This paper was carried out at Faculty of English, University of Foreign Languages and International Studies, Hue University. The subjects of the study will be 100 second-year English majors, enrolling in speaking 3 classes in their training program.