The Efficacy of Peer Review in Improving E.S.L. Students' Online Writing

• Main Author: Butcher, Kathryn Fiddler
• Format: Others
• Published: ScholarWorks@UNO 2006
• Subjects: Teaching english as a second language
• Online Access: http://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/381; http://scholarworks.uno.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1402&context=td

This mixed method study investigated the development of E.S.L. writers' skills in revision when scaffolded by peer reviewers, with Lev Vygotsky's social-interactionist theory as the framework. Repeated-measures ANCOVA analyzed scores of four essay projects (first drafts and revisions) evaluated by blind holistic readings with a pretest score as covariant. Participants came from existing sections at a state university in the South in which the instruction was the same. The experimental group wrote revisions based on peer feedback; the control group received instructor feedback. Qualitative data came from semi-structured interviews with participants. Neither group showed significant improvement (at .05) in revising. Interviews revealed participants’ perception that they had improved and also their preference for instructor feedback.