Investigating Peer-Assessment in EFL Classes at University Level

Abstract

Peer assessment (PA) is a kind of evaluation which allows the learners to assess their peers’ work with the instructions of the teachers and agreed upon criteria. The Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (MHESR) has worked on reforming the higher education system since 2008. It tries to apply the student-centered approach of learning and prepare graduates to be lifelong learners and critical thinkers. One of the alternative methods of assessment in the Student-centered approach is PA. This paper aims to investigate the use of peer assessment in EFL classes at university level. Further, it tries to find out whether peer-assessment is used correctly! Finally, it discovers the challenges encountered by EFL students while implementing PA in the Essay Writing classes. In this study both qualitative and quantitative method are used. The study has conducted in the colleges of Education, Basic Education, and Languages at SUE with the third stage students. The study concludes that peer assessment is used in EFL classes, but it is not used as correct as it should be. The instructors who used it have to illustrate its procedures in the class before using it.