The Effect of peer feedback on the development of Turkish EFL students writing proficiency

Abstract

ABSTRACT Title: The effect of peer feedback on the development of Turkish EFL students' writing proficiency Author: Sabah Mistik Thesis Chairperson: Ms. Patricia J. Brenner Thesis Committee Members: Dr. Arlene Clachar, Dr. Phyllis L. Lim, Bilkent University, MA TEFL Program The goal of this study was to determine the effect of peer feedback on the development of Turkish EFL students' writing proficiency and to elicit their reactions to peer feedback. To test the hypothesis, 40 upper-intermediate Turkish EFL students at Çukurova University Preparatory School were randomly selected and assigned to an experimental and a control group. A writing pretest was administered to the groups in order to ascertain that both groups were equivalent at the outset of the experiment. The experimental group received peer feedback and the control group teacher feedback. After training the subjects in the experimental group on how to respond to and comment on one another's writing during peer feedback sessions, the experiment began. The subjects in both groups wrote two compositions during the experiment and 2 class hours were spent to evaluate each draft of each composition during the peer feedback sessions. At the end of the experiment a posttest was administered to the subjects in both groups to assess their writing proficiency with respect to content, organization, vocabulary, language use, and mechanics. A t-test was used to find out if there was a significant difference between the experimental and control groups. It wasfound that the experimental group made significant gains in content, organization, language use, and mechanics. The experimental group, however, did not outperform the control group with respect to vocabulary. Students' reactions to peer feedback was also very positive. 84% of the subjects in the experimental group stated that as a result of peer feedback, there was more active involvement in the lesson, more tolerance of peers' criticisms, as well as language improvement.