Elementary learners attitudes towards peer correction in english writing at VUS center

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY – HO CHI MINH CITY
UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES & HUMANITIES
FACULTY OF ENGLISH LINGUISTICS & LITERATURE

ELEMENTARY LEARNERS’ ATTITUDES
TOWARDS PEER CORRECTION
IN ENGLISH WRITING
AT VUS CENTER

A research project submitted to the
Faculty of English Linguistics & Literature
in partial fulfillment of the Master’s degree in TESOL

by
PH M PHÚC KHÁNH MINH

Supervised by
PHÓ PHƯƠNG DUNG, Ph.D.

HO CHI MINH CITY, JANUARY 2015


1
Table of Contents
Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... 2
CHAPTER 1: Introduction ......................................................................................................... 3
CHAPTER 2: Literature review ................................................................................................. 5
CHAPTER 3: Methodology ........................................................................................................ 7
CHAPTER 4: Results and discussion ........................................................................................ 9
CHAPTER 5: Conclusions and recommendations ................................................................. 11
References .................................................................................................................................... 12

Appendices ................................................................................................................................... 15


2
Abstract
It is known that teacher written feedback plays an important role in teaching writing
skill. By using a questionnaire, the study investigates elementary learners’ attitudes towards a
particular technique of error correction in English writing – peer correction. The questionnaire
findings reveal that students have both positive and negative attitudes towards peer correction,
depending on the role the students are playing. For instance, when the students correct their
friends’ writing, they tend to feel confident and excited; however, when the students have their
writing corrected by their peers, they become unsure, worried, and scared to an extent. Thus, the
researcher suggests that peer correction should be applied in a proper way, with teachers’ careful
supervision and monitoring.
Keywords: attitudes, peer correction


3
INTRODUCTION

1.1. Background of the study
The importance of providing feedback to learners’ writing cannot be denied in the second
language learning process. The available literature shows that there are various ways to provide
feedback that are commonly used in teaching a language: teacher correction (with comments),
error identification, commentary, teacher-student conference, peer correction, and selfcorrection.
Peer correction has been discussed in first language settings (George, 1984; Jacobs, 1987;
McKendy, 1990; Herrington & Cadman, 1991). Witbeck (1976) concluded that peer correction
leads to a "greater concern for achieving accuracy in written expression in individual students
and creates a better classroom atmosphere for teaching the correctional aspects of composition"
(p. 325). However, in most of the studies, the importance of feedback, ways of providing and

receiving feedback as well as what the effect of feedback on students' writing are perceived as
crucially significant aspects (Lee, 2005; Noora, 2006). What have been neglected in such studies
are the attitudes of the learners and teachers towards error correction (Katayama, 2007).
All of the above arguments have been a drive for this study to be conducted under the
title of Elementary Learners’ Attitudes towards Peer Correction in English Writing at VUS
Center.
1.2. Aims of the study
The study aims to investigate elementary learners’ attitudes towards a type of feedback –
peer correction. Then, the researcher will be able to find an appropriate way to apply peer
correction into practice for better quality of learning and teaching activities.
1.3. Research question
The main question of this research is “What are elementary learners’ attitudes towards
peer correction in English writing at VUS Center?”


4
1.4. Significance of the study
There is considerable significance of this study in the English writing teaching activity at
VUS Center. Firstly by reading this study, teachers of English are expected to have a better view
on learners’ attitudes towards peer correction. Secondly, this study will help the teachers of
English decide whether to use this feedback technique in teaching writing, hoping that this study
will give a contribution to writing teaching and learning activities using peer correction
approach. Finally, it is expected that this study will be one of the references for other researchers
in the same field to explore more deeply about learners’ attitudes towards peer correction.
1.5. Scope of the study
The study is carried out at VUS An Duong Vuong Center in District 5, Ho Chi Minh
City, Vietnam. The study only focuses on the attitudes of elementary learners towards peer
correction in English writing. Hopefully, the findings of the study will reflect the actual situation
and help the researcher find out effective approaches to teaching English writing, using peer
correction.

5
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1. Language attitude
Richards, Platt and Platt (1992) have defined learners’ attitudes as “the attitudes which
speakers of different languages or language varieties have towards each other’s languages or
their own language.” The authors have also emphasized that language attitudes may have an
effect on second language learning, and the measurement of language attitudes provides useful
information for language teaching and language planning. Moreover, Nunan and Lamb (1996)
have concluded that “the attitude of learners towards the target language, the learning situation
and the roles that they are expected to play within that learning situation will have an important
effect on the learning process.”
In brief, language attitudes can be seen as the attitudes of learners towards a language and
the learning situation of that language, which express the positive or negative feelings about the
language learning process. The importance of knowing learners’ attitudes cannot be neglected
since learners may lose their language competence easily when possessing a negative attitude.
Hence, it is advisable for teachers to decrease the negative attitude of learners, and to promote
their positive feeling with determination, courage and academic success.
2.2. Peer correction
In the early methods of language teaching, teachers were considered to be the sole
source of knowledge. However, the recent approaches and methods have emphasized on
learners’ cognition and their autonomy. With such a change, student-oriented techniques of error
correction, such as peer correction has come up.
As a correction technique, peer correction has been backed by a lot of theories of
language teaching. According to Paul Rollinson (2005), the principles operating behind applying
this technique are:

6
1. Peer feedback is less threatening than teacher feedback because students are more
comfortable with their classmates and therefore, getting corrected by own friends evokes less
anxiety.
2. When correction comes from the teacher, it reinforces teacher’s authority. In a
traditional language class, the teacher is the authoritative figure and he/she is considered the sole
source of knowledge. Students play the role of just a passive receiver of information. In contrast,
the practice of peer feedback leads the classroom to be less dominated by the teacher.
3. The involvement of peers in the correction process makes the classroom atmosphere
more supportive and friendlier.
Since peer correction offers opportunities to the students to be responsible for their own
learning, it is also advocated by the practitioners who believe in learner autonomy. Ágota Scharle
and Anita Szabó (2000) have strongly suggested peer feedback to be applied for checking,
especially, students’ written work. They have provided an outline of how it can be applied in
classroom; once students finish writing, the teacher gives one essay (or any written work) to each
student and students are asked to evaluate each other’s work. They correct the errors and send
notes to the respective authors about what they have corrected.
In conclusion, there is evidence to consider peer correction as a technique which is a
considerably “good thing” to do in class. Therefore, this study is conducted to acknowledge
learners’ attitudes towards peer correction and to find a good way to apply this technique into
practice.


7
CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY

3.1. Research methods
In conducting this study, the researcher used the descriptive method based on a designed
questionnaire to collect data needed. Elementary students whose ages range from twelve to
seventeen at VUS English Center, which is a considerably popular English center, are selected

and considered as the subject of the study.
All of the chosen learners have been practicing peer correction for a period of four
lessons with the instruction and assistance from the teacher in charge. On the next session, all of
the students will be given a questionnaire to complete. The questionnaires are to be collected
afterwards and the data will be processed by using the SPSS 18 software.
3.2. Participants and procedure
For the population of this study, twenty one students in an elementary class at VUS
English center were chosen. During four lessons, the class will be practicing peer correction
activity with the instruction and assistance from the teacher, following an outline from Ágota
Scharle and Anita Szabó (2000); once students finish writing, the teacher gives one essay (or any
written work) to each student and students are asked to evaluate each other’s work. They correct
the errors and send notes to the respective authors about what they have corrected. The next
stage is design for the learners to receive an attitude questionnaire which is designed to
investigate their attitudes towards peer correction in English writing.
3.3. Research tools
Questionnaire is the central tool of this quantitative research through which questions are
answered by participants. In order for the questionnaire to be reliable and valid, it is important
that the questions are constructed properly. Questions should be written so they are clear and
easy to comprehend. Another consideration when designing questions is whether to include
open-ended, closed-ended, partially open-ended, or rating-scale questions (Jackson,
2009). Advantages and disadvantages can be found with each type:


8
Open-ended questions allow for a greater variety of responses from participants but are
difficult to analyze statistically because the data must be coded or reduced in some
manner. Closed-ended questions are easy to analyze statistically, but they seriously limit the
responses that participants can give. Many researchers prefer to use a Likert scale because it is
very easy to analyze statistically. (Jackson, 2009, p. 89)
According to Jackson, it is important to emphasize that descriptive research methods can

only describe a set of observations or the data collected. It cannot draw conclusions from that
data about which way the relationship goes. Therefore, this study uses descriptive research tools
and mainly describes the learners’ attitudes towards a correction activity which they have
experienced.


9
CHAPTER 4: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The graph 1 below presents the percentage of the learners’ attitudes when they had to
correct their friends’ writing. In details, 38.1% and 47.6% of the students felt excited and
interested in doing peer correction with others’ writing respectively. However, there were nearly
30% of the learners that felt either confident or unsure towards correcting their friends’ writing.
Surprisingly, only 4.8% of the participants felt worried when they had to practice peer
correction; and none of them felt either bored or scared at all. From the result presented, it can be
concluded that when the learners had to correct their friends’ writing, most of them had positive
attitudes, such as excitement, interest, and confidence.
Graph 1: When I correct my friends' writing, I feel:
100%
90%
80%
70%

60%
No

50%

Yes

40%
30%

20%
10%
0%
Excited

Interested Confident

Unsure

Bored

Worried

Scared

Similarly, the graph 2 shows the learners’ attitudes when they had their writing
corrected by peers. There were 28.6% of the participants that felt interested but unsure and
worried about this activity. The percentage of confident attitude was 23.8%, and the number was
below 20% for the attitudes of excitement or scare. The similar attitude of the learners when they
correct or were corrected is the boredom feeling, with 0% presented. In brief, it can be stated that


10
when the students had their writing corrected by their peers, a small number of them had such
positive attitudes as interest and confidence. At the same time, they also felt more worried and
scared.
Graph 2: When my friends correct my writing, I feel:

100%
90%
80%
70%

60%
No

50%

Yes

40%
30%

20%
10%
0%

Excited

Interested

Confident

Unsure

Bored

Worried

Scared

As a result, it can be concluded that the participants in this research felt more confident
when they corrected their friends’ writing than the other activity. When they had their work
checked and corrected, the learners felt more unsure and scared. From this result, the researcher
feels that teachers who want to apply peer correction need to give careful instructions to the
learners in a detailed way. In order to be certain and ensure the quality of the learning process,
teachers should monitor this correction technique; for example, teachers should check the
comments or the corrections from students so that they can modify the misunderstandings and
avoid defective corrections. Moreover, since the participants in this research are not fully
developed cognitively and emotionally, it is suggested that peer correction should not be applied
intensively in the classroom at this level.


11
CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Two general conclusions can be drawn from the findings of this study. Firstly, attitudes
towards peer correction are not either positive or negative. The participants’ attitudes are
significantly different when they were the correctors or were corrected by others. The learners
had a tendency to feel more positive when they correct their friends’ writing; but they felt scared
and worried when they were corrected by peers. Secondly, the fact that more than 90% of the
learners considered the importance of teachers’ correction shows it is still the teacher’s main
responsibility to correct learners’ mistakes.
As a result, it is suggested that peer correction should be applied in a modest and proper
way, with the teacher’s careful monitoring. Furthermore, due to the low level of the participants
of this study, accurate findings with more detailed attitude manifestations cannot be drawn. The
attitudes towards peer correction thus are encouraged to be investigated with the larger
population, in a different context and with a higher level of English proficiency of learners.

Word count: 1957


12
References
Ágota, S., & Anita, S. (2000). Learner Autonomy. London: Cambridge University Press.
Ajzen, I. (2001). Nature and operation of attitudes. Annual Review of Psychology, 52.
Baker, C. (1988). Key issue in bilingualism and bilingual education. Clevedon, England:
Multilingual Matters Ltd.
Baker, C. (1992). Attitudes and language. Clevedon, England: Multilingual Matters Ltd.
Davies, P. & Pearse, E. (2002). Success in English teaching. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign
Language Education Press.
De Guerrero, M. C. M., & Villamil, O. S. (1998). Assessing the impact of peer revision on L2
writing. Applied Linguistics, 19(4).
Diab, R. L. (2005). EFL university students' preferences for error correction and teacher
feedback on writing. TESL Reporter, 38, 27-51. From
/>Eagly, A. H., & Chaiken, S. (1993). The psychology of attitudes. Fort Worth: Harcourt Brace
Jovanovich.
Ferris, D. R. (2003). Response to student writing: Implications for second language. Britain:
Routledge.
Gardner, R. C., & Lambert, W. E. (1972). Attitudes and motivation in second language learning.
Rowley, Mass: Newburry House.
Gower, R., Phillips, D. & Walters, S. (1995). Teaching Practice Handbook. London: Macmillan
Heinemann.
Harmer, J. (2004). How to teach English. London: Longman.
Jackson, S. L. (2009). Research methods and statistics: a critical thinking approach. 3rd
edition. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

13
Katayama, A. (2007 ). Japanese EFL students’ preferences toward correction of classroom oral
errors. Volume 9. Issue 4 Article 19. From />Krashen, S. D. (1985). The input hypothesis: issues and implications. Harlow: Longman.
Lavery, C. (2001). Language assistant. British Council ELT. From
/>Lee, I. (2005). Error correction in the L2 writing classroom: what do students think? TESL
Canada Journal, 22 (2). From
/>Macdonca, C. O., & Johnson, K. E. (1994). Peer review negotiations: revision activities in ESL
writing instruction. TESOL Quarterly, 28/4.
Nelson, G. (1996). Chinese students’ perceptions of EFL peer response group interaction.
Journal of Second Language Writing, 5/1.
Noora, A. (2006). Iranian non-English majors' language learning preferences: the role of
language institutes. From />Nunan, D., & Lamb, C. (1996). The self-directed teacher. Managing the learning process.
Cambridge Language Education.
Paul, R. (2005). Using peer feedback in the ESL writing class. ELT Journal, 59/1.
Richards, J. C., Platt J., & Platt H. (1992). Longman dictionary of language teaching and applied
linguistics. Longman.
Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind and society: the development of higher psychological processes.
Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Wang, P. (2010). Dealing with English majors’ written errors in Chinese universities. ISSN
1798-4769 Journal of Language. Teaching and Research, Vol. 1, No. 3, pp. 194-205,
From www.academypublisher.com/ojs/index.php/jltr/article/viewFile/.../1797


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Witbeck, M. C. (1976). Peer correction procedures for intermediate and advanced ESL
composition lessons. TESOL Quarterly, 10(3).


15
Appendices

Appendix 1: ENGLISH QUESTIONNAIRE FOR LEARNERS
QUESTIONNAIRE FOR ELEMENTARY LEARNERS OF ENGLISH
AT VUS AN DUONG VUONG CENTER
This questionnaire is a part of my M.A. research project. The study aims to identify preelementary learners’ attitudes towards peer correction in English writing at VUS An Duong
Vuong Center.
Please read the instructions carefully and tick () your answers. There are 22 questions
in this questionnaire. It should take you about 10 minutes to complete. Your answers and data
will be used only for the purpose of the study. Confidentiality is highly reserved. I would highly
appreciate for your cooperation.
Part 1: Personal information
Q1:

What is your gender?

A. Male 

B. Female 

Q2:

How old are you?

A. 12 – 14 

B. 15 – 17 

Part 2: Learners’ attitudes towards writing in English
With these questions, please read the questions carefully and tick () your answers.
1

2

3

4

5

Strongly

Disagree

Neutral

Agree

Strongly

disagree
Q3: I like writing in English.
Q4: I try to write in English as much as
possible.
Q5: I am nervous when I have to write in
English.
Q6: I am afraid of writing in English because

agree


16

I can make mistakes easily.
Q7: I am afraid of writing in English because
my English teacher will give me bad scores
for my mistakes.
Part 3: Learners’ attitudes towards types of correction in writing in English
With these questions, please read the questions carefully and tick () your answers.
1

2

3

4

5

Strongly

Disagree

Neutral

Agree

Strongly

disagree

agree

Q8: I think making mistakes in writing is
natural.
Q9: I think my mistakes should be corrected.
Q10: I think I can correct all of my mistakes
myself.
Q11: I think my teacher’s correction is
important.
Q12: I would prefer my teacher to correct:
1) all of my mistakes
2) some of my mistakes
3) none of my mistakes
Q13: I think I can correct my friends’
mistakes easily.

Part 4: Learners’ attitudes towards peer correction in writing in English
With these questions, please read the questions carefully and tick () your answers.
1

2

3

4

5

Strongly

Disagree

Neutral

Agree

Strongly

disagree

agree


17
Q14: I want to correct my friends’ mistakes in
writing.
Q15: I want my writing to be corrected by my
friends.
Q16: I appreciate my friends’ correction in
my writing.
Q17: I think it is better if my friends correct
my mistakes rather than my teacher.
Q18: I think I can give good comments for
my friends’ writing.
Q19: I think I can learn from my friends’
mistakes.
Q20: I think I can improve my writing after
correcting my friends’ writing.

With these questions, please read the questions carefully and tick () your answers. You can
choose MORE THAN ONE answer.
Q21: When I correct my friends’ writing, I feel:

a. excited
b. interested
c. confident
d. unsure
e. bored
f.

worried

g. scared















Q22: When my friends correct my writing, I feel:
a. excited
b. interested
c. confident








18
d. unsure
e. bored
f.

worried

g. scared









This is the end of the questionnaire. Thank you for your cooperation.


19
Appendix 2: VIETNAMESE QUESTIONNAIRE FOR LEARNERS
B NG KH O SÁT DÀNH CHO H C VIÊN TI NG ANH TRÌNH Đ

T I TRUNG TÂM ANH NG

SƠ C P

VUS AN DƯƠNG VƯƠNG

Bảng khảo sát này là một phần trong bài nghiên cứu của chương trình học Cao học
chuyên ngành Giảng dạy tiếng Anh. Mục đích của bài là nghiên cứu về thái độ của học viên đối
với việc sửa lỗi sai do bạn cùng lớp thực hiện đối với bài viết của học viên.
Học viên hãy đọc kĩ các câu hỏi và đánh dấu  vào câu trả lời của mình. Bảng khảo sát
này có 22 câu hỏi. Học viên nên sử dụng 10 phút để hoàn tất bảng khảo sát này. Câu trả lời cũng
như thông tin của học viên sẽ chỉ được sử dụng cho mục đích nghiên cứu. Tính bảo mật sẽ được
tuyệt đối giữ kín. Sự hợp tác của học viên rất được trân trọng bởi người làm nghiên cứu này.
Phần 1: Thơng tin cá nhân
C1:

Giới tính của bạn là gì?

A. Nam 

B. Nữ 

C2:

Độ tuổi của bạn là gì?

A. 12 – 14 

B. 15 – 17 

Phần 2: Thái đ của h c viên đối với việc vi t bài bằng ti ng Anh
Với những câu hỏi sau đây, học viên hãy đọc kĩ câu hỏi và đánh dấu  vào ơ phù hợp.
1

2

3

4

5

Hồn

Khơng

Trung

Đồng ý

Hồn

tồn

đồng ý

lập

khơng
đồng ý

C3: Tơi thích viết bằng tiếng Anh.
C4: Tơi cố gắng viết bằng tiếng Anh nhiều
nhất có thể.
C5: Tơi cảm thấy lo lắng khi viết bằng tiếng
Anh.
C6: Tôi cảm thấy sợ khi viết bằng tiếng Anh

toàn
đồng ý


20
vì có thể tơi sẽ có nhiều lỗi sai.
C7: Tơi cảm thấy sợ khi viết bằng tiếng Anh
vì có thể giáo viên của tôi sẽ cho điểm thấp.

Phần 3: Thái đ của h c viên v các hình thức s a ch a l i sai trong việc vi t bằng ti ng
Anh
Với những câu hỏi sau đây, học viên hãy đọc kĩ câu hỏi và đánh dấu  vào ô phù hợp.
1

2

3

4

5

Hoàn

Không

Trung

Đồng ý

Hoàn

toàn

đồng ý

lập

không
đồng ý
C8: Tôi nghĩ rằng việc có lỗi sai khi viết tiếng
Anh là tự nhiên.
C9: Tơi nghĩ rằng những lỗi sai của tôi nên
được sửa chữa.
C10: Tơi nghĩ rằng tơi có thể tự sửa chữa
những lỗi sai của mình.
C11: Tơi nghĩ rằng việc giáo viên sửa chữa lỗi
sai là quan trọng.
C12: Tôi muốn giáo viên:
4) sửa chữa tất cả những lỗi sai của tôi
5) sửa chữa một vài những lỗi sai của tôi
6) không sửa những lỗi sai của tơi
C13: Tơi nghĩ rằng tơi có thể dễ dàng nhận ra

lỗi sai trong bài viết của bạn bè.

toàn
đồng ý


21
Phần 4: Thái đ của h c viên với việc b n bè cùng lớp s a ch a l i sai trong bài vi t bằng
ti ng Anh
Với những câu hỏi sau đây, học viên hãy đọc kĩ câu hỏi và đánh dấu  vào ơ phù hợp.
1

2

3

4

5

Hồn

Khơng

Trung

Đồng ý

Hồn

tồn

đồng ý

lập

khơng

tồn
đồng ý

đồng ý
C14: Tơi muốn sửa chữa những lỗi sai trong
bài viết của bạn bè.
C15: Tôi muốn bài viết của mình được sửa
bởi bạn bè cùng lớp.
C16: Tơi đánh giá cao (xem trọng) việc bạn
bè sửa lỗi sai cho tôi.
C17: Tôi nghĩ rằng việc bạn bè sửa lỗi sai sẽ
tốt hơn là giáo viên sửa lỗi sai.
C18: Tôi nghĩ rằng tơi có thể cho những nhận
xét có ích cho bài viết của bạn bè.
C19: Tơi nghĩ rằng tơi có thể học được từ lỗi
sai của bạn bè.
C20: Tôi nghĩ rằng tơi có thể cải thiện bài viết
của mình sau khi sửa lỗi sai cho bài viết của
bạn bè.
Với những câu hỏi sau đây, học viên hãy đọc kĩ câu hỏi và đánh dấu  vào ô phù hợp. H c viên
có thể ch n NHI U HƠN M T (01) câu tr lời.
C21: Khi tôi sửa chữa bài viết của bạn bè, tôi cảm thấy:

a. hào hứng
b. thú vị






22


c. tự tin
d. không chắc chắn
e. tẻ nhạt
f.







lo lắng



g. sợ hãi

C22: Khi bạn bè sửa chữa bài viết của tôi, tôi cảm thấy:


a. hào hứng



b. thú vị



c. tự tin
d. không chắc chắn
e. tẻ nhạt
f.

lo lắng

g. sợ hãi









Kết thúc bảng khảo sát. Cảm ơn sự hợp tác của bạn.