The Effect of Peer Review on Writing Skill of EFL Students

Abstract

Today more attention has been paid to peer-feedback/evaluation of students’ compositions at different levels. As such, the present study aims at investigating the interaction patterns among EFL learners, the effects of peer review techniques on improving the learners’ writing skill, and also the motivation aroused by writing in a synchronous writing environment of an EFL context. Fifty EFL students at the intermediate level were enrolled and randomly divided into two experimental and control groups. During a three-month period, both groups were instructed writing. The control group received the traditional teacher-correction/feedback procedure whereas the experimental group was provided with a one-hour of instruction on peer review at the beginning of the term and peer review process was run in this class. The data were collected using a background questionnaire, a pre-test and a post-test for language proficiency and writing skill, a peer response sheet, writing criteria and guideline sheet, and a topic list sheet. The results of the study indicated that the writings of the students in the experimental group improved more than those in the control group. Also, those engaged in peer review method were motivated to write more essays and enjoyed writing. It was concluded that peer review provides learners with an authentic audience, increases the students’ motivation for writing and enables them to receive different views on their writing.