| Summary: | 碩士 === 朝陽科技大學 === 應用外語研究所 === 101 === Mixed-ability in English as a foreign language (EFL) classes are commonly seen in public schools in Taiwan. It becomes a challenge for teachers to select course materials, as well as to find out a proper way of teaching which can address and fulfill the needs for both the more advanced and the less able ones. If the materials or activities in class do not compensate for any expectation students have about learning English, students become less motivated with negative attitudes towards learning English. Previous research suggested that peer tutoring can help reversing this disadvantage of a mixed-ability class (Sinclair Goodlad & Hirst, 1989; King, et al., 1998; Maddalena, 2002). Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of adapting peer tutoring as the major classroom activitieson students’ EFL academic performance, learning motivation and learning attitudes. Participants of 35 students were tested and then categorized as “tutors” or “tutees” according to their pre-test results, and were put into groups over a 10-week period of time A schedule indicating the tasks to be completed in each class was given to both the tutors and tutees. In addition, participants were tested on their language learning motivation and attitudes with Motivation and Attitudes toward Learning English Scale for Children (MALESC) at the beginning and the end of the tutoring session. Classroom observation by the teacher, as well as exit survey and comments after each class form the students, were administrated as the qualitative source of data. The changes in students’ grades indicated that peer tutoring has a positive effect on tutors’ and tutees’ academic performances in school. More students passed their school exams. Although not significantly differences were found from the analyzed quantitative data, students’ learning motivation and attitudes toward EFL learning had increased with respect to the positive feedback collected from the exit survey.
|
|---|
