Enhancing Learner Autonomy through Peer Assessment training – An Action Research = Tăng cường tính tự chủ học tập thông qua việc huấn luyện kỹ năng đánh giá ché

The guiding hypothesis of this study is that training students in peer assessment would empower them in the learning process so that they can become independent learners who take respons

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HA NOI UNIVERSITY

OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

NGHIÊN CỨU TÌM GIẢI PHÁP

M.A THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60.14.10

HANOI – 2012

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HA NOI UNIVERSITY

OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

NGHIÊN CỨU TÌM GIẢI PHÁP

M.A THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60.14.10

HANOI – 2012

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Acknowledgement

Abstract

List of tables, charts, and abbreviations

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale of the study

1.2 Aims and objectives of the study

1.3 Significance of the study

1.4 Methodology of the study

1.5 An overview of the rest of the chapter

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Learner autonomy

2.1.1 Concept of learner autonomy………

2.1.2 The importance of learner autonomy in learning

2.1.3 Components of Learner Autonomy

2.1.3.1 Learning strategies

2.1.3.2 Learning attitudes and motivation

2.1.3.3 Self – esteem

2.2 Peer Assessment

2.2.1 Definition of Peer Assessment

2.2.2 Advantages of Peer Assessment

2.2.3 Disadvantages of Peer Assessment………

2.2.4 Training students for Peer evaluation………

2.2.5 Peer evaluation and the teacher………

2.3 Writing

i

ii vii

1

4

4

5

6

7

7

10

10

10

13

15

16

16

17

18

20

21

23

2.4 Previous studies on Peer assessment and Learner Autonomy

2.4.1 Review of related studies worldwide

2.4.2 Review of related studies in Vietnam

2.4.3 Literature gaps

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 3.1 Rationale for Action Research Design

3.1.1 Action Research

3.1.2 Design of the study

3.2 Participants………

3.2.1 Sampling of Test and Questionnaire Phases………

3.2.2 Sampling of Interview Phase………

3.3 Data collection instruments

3.3.1 Questionnaires

3.3.2 Interviews

3.4 Procedure of data collection

3.3.1 Phase 1 – Questionnaire

3.3.2 Phase 2 – Interview

3.5 Data analysis

3.5.1 Phase 1 – Questionnaire

3.5.1.1 Methods of data analysis

3.5.1.2 Procedure of data analysis

3.5.2 Phase 2 – Interviews

3.5.2.1 Step 1: Transcribing the interviews

3.5.2.2 Step 2: Classifying the data

3.5.2.3 Step 3: Interpreting the data

25

25

27

28

30

30

34

37

37

38

40

40

42

43

43

44

45

45

45

46

46

46

47

47

CHAPTER 4: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

4.1 Research question 1 4.2 Research question 2 & 3 4.3 Discussion

REFERENCES

APPENDICES

Appendix 1: Questionnaire English version

Appendix 2: Questionnaire Vietnamese version

Appendix 3: Interview Questions - English version

Appendix 4: Interview Questions - Vietnamese version

Appendix 5: Transcription of Interview

Appendix 6: Peer Evaluation Sheet

Appendix 7: Samples of Writing

LIST OF TABLES, CHARTS AND

ABBREVIATIONS

Table 1: A summary of the students‘ background…………

Table 2: Profiles of participants in phase two………

Table 3: Advantages of Peer Assessment………

Table 4: Disadvantages of Peer Assessment………

38 39 51 60 CHARTS Chart 1: Simple Action Research Model………

Chart 2: Detailed Action Research Model………

Chart 3: Results of Pre – Test and Post – Test………

Chart 4: Learning Strategies Related Benefits………

Chart 5: Attitude and Motivation Related Benefits………

Chart 6: Self- esteem Related Benefits………

32

33

48

52

55

56

ABBREVIATIONS

USSH: University of Social Sciences and Humanities

HULIS: Hanoi University of Languages and International

Studies

VNUH: Vietnam National University, Hanoi

FIS: Faculty of International Studies

EFL: English Foreign Language

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION Introduction

This initial chapter outlines the research problem and rationale for the study as well as its scope and significance More importantly, the aims and objectives are highlighted with three research questions to provide guidelines for the whole research Finally, the chapter concludes with an overview of the rest of the paper, serving as a compass to orientate the readers throughout the research

1.1 Identification of the problem and rationale for the study

Learner autonomy has been a central theme in educational debate over the last thirty years In mainstream education, there has been a paradigmatic shift away from teacher-centred learning towards more individualized or participative models of the learning process, and trends

in language teaching have mirrored the developments in mainstream educational practice (Nunan, 2000) In EFL, moves towards greater learner independence have been advocated for both practical and pedagogical reasons, with a view to offering greater flexibility of timetable and syllabus, while making learning more learner-centred, more motivating and more efficient (Dickinson, 1987) According to Benson & Voller (1997), ―learning is more effective when learners are active in the learning process, assuming responsibly for their learning and participating in the decisions which affect it‖ Furthermore, autonomous learning becomes increasingly necessary to university students as Malcolm and Rindfleisch (1998, p.2) have pointed out in their study

―students arrive at university with the potential to be autonomous in their learning‖

It is clear that one of the areas that have the greatest potential for adopting learner autonomy is writing (McCarthy, 1990, p.129) In any educational settings, writing constitutes a very important factor As a productive skill, writing requires the learners to have profound knowledge to produce a standard written product Writing in general has

a very important role in society (Tribble, 1996; Martin, 1985) However, writing is not as easy for the learners to acquire as the speaking skill It also takes a long time to have a habit of writing the targeted language and many learners have failed to master this skill This failure can be attributed to many reasons, one of which is possibly the attitudes and responsibility of students in practicing writing autonomously On the one hand, it is recently agreed among language teachers and researchers that making mistakes and committing errors are inevitable parts of learning a foreign language, especially in one productive skill like writing In the past, students often made assumptions that evaluations of their errors made by teachers are more accurate, which may not always be true (Orsmond & Merry, 1996) Falchikov and Goldfinch (2000) raised concerns about the potential bias of teacher assessment Since teacher assessment is not always the most valid method, it would be more appropriate to triangulate learning achievement via different sources such

as peer assessment In other words, studying writing in their own by checking errors among peers is required for all learners

Undoubtedly, peer assessment has received much attention in recent years due to the growing focus on learner independence and autonomy Despite the growing popularity of peer assessment, this idea is still novel to most English teachers and students in Vietnam where traditional assessment is still dominant Universities put emphasis

on measuring learning achievement and knowledge through tests (i.e multiple-choice, essays, short-answer tests and the like) Alternative

assessment methods such as portfolios, interviews and journals are not widely used in language classrooms Besides this problem, students' grades are usually determined solely by the judgment of teachers In this case, the assessment culture is quite narrow in the sense that teachers do not collect diverse sources of learning samples as some researchers (Huba & Freed, 2000; Shohamy, 1992) recommended and students have no say regarding their assessments

In the research area, a relative large body of research has been done

on learner autonomy, writing and peer assessment which can be named here as Nunan (2000), Dickinson (1987), Holec (1981), Trinh (2008), and

so on However, a few of those have examined into the close relationship between peer assessment and autonomy in writing learning, and it seems that none leaves room for specific enquiring into the difficulties that students encounter when learning writing autonomously

At the Faculty of International Studies, writing is often taught integrated with other international issues and the task of checking errors

is left to students Therefore, the role of learner autonomy in learning writing is always put at one of the top goals in the course syllabus for FIS – USSH students However, the research interest among the university teaching staff and students has seemingly moved away from this field At the Department library where research papers in English are kept, no lecturers‘ research on peer assessment as well as writing skill can be found

This fact has inspired and urged me to conduct this study in an attempt to explore the possibility of enhancing learner autonomy through peer assessment training The guiding hypothesis of this study is that training students in peer assessment would empower them in the learning process so that they can become independent learners who take responsibility for their own learning

1 2 Aims and objectives of the study

The study aims at identifying the possible impact of peer assessment on the students‘ writing performance towards independent learning as well as the role that teachers play in this process Furthermore,

I wanted to gain deeper insights into the aspects of learner autonomy that peer assessment training fail to promote and more importantly the reasons that lead to this failure From this investigation, I wanted to examine the relationship between peer assessment training and learner autonomy These aims could be achieved by finding answers to the three following research questions:

1 To what extent does the training of peer assessment in writing help learners become independent learners?

2 What aspects of learner autonomy does peer assessment training fail to promote?

3 Why does peer assessment training fail to promote those aspects of learner autonomy?

1 3 Significance of the study

As the study is finished, it is expected to be of great benefit for the target population, their teachers, and other researchers interested in the topic To begin with, as the current research into the area of using peer assessment to promote students‘ autonomy in writing is highly limited, this study will partly fill the gap in the literature and serve as a reliable source of reference for other researchers who share an interest in related issues

Furthermore, the researcher also hopes this study can, to some extent, raise the awareness of students of their own difficulties and perception on the benefits of learner autonomy to their English learning process in general, and to their writing learning in particular Besides, the

researcher wants to suggest one new kind of assessment method among to develop their autonomy in writing learning and ultimately to expand their lexical knowledge After all, it is the students that play the most decisive role in their success in learning English in general, and writing in particular

1.4 Methodology of the study

To meet the objectives of the study, both qualitative and quantitative approaches are exploited Pre - Test and Post – Test, student survey questionnaire and interviews are the main research tools

Pre – test and Post – test are given to subjects to complete in Week

3 and Week 9 of the schedule to see whether they made a progress in improving their mistakes in writing through giving and receiving assessment from their peers or not

Survey questionnaires are employed to obtain information from the

20 students The language of the questionnaires is simple English so that the participants can easily answer The terminologies when presented in the questionnaires are immediately followed by their definitions Besides, instructions as well as explanations of key terms are clearly given in advance, and the researcher was always ready to answer any questions

Meanwhile, semi-structured interviews are conducted among seven students to triangulate the data collected from the tests and questionnaires and to gather further information about their thoughts and expectations The language used is Vietnamese so as to make the respondents most comfortable and, therefore, they will provide reliable information All the interviews are recorded with the respondents‘ permission Also, notes are taken when necessary to record important non-verbal behaviors

Lastly, the data collected are analyzed to address the research questions Tables, charts and diagrams are used for clearer presentation and comparison

1.5 An overview of the rest of the paper

The rest of the paper includes four chapters as follows:

Chapter 2 – Literature review – provides the background of the study, including definitions of key concepts (learner autonomy, peer assessment, etc) and critical review of related studies

Chapter 3 – Methodology – describes the participants and instruments of the study, as well as the procedure employed to carry out the research

Chapter 4 – Results and discussion – presents, analyzes and discusses the findings according to the four research questions

Chapter 5 – Recommendation – presents the author‘s suggestions

on solving some drawbacks of peer assessment on promoting learner autonomy in writing to second – year FIS students based on the research findings

Chapter 6 – Conclusion – summarizes the main issues discussed in the paper, the limitations and contributions of the research, as well as some suggested directions for further studies

Summary

By stressing the importance of learner autonomy in peer assessment as well as disclosing the research gap, the chapter has provided the rationale for the study Besides, the framework of the paper has been set in place with the four research questions and the clearly defined scope

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

Introduction

This chapter provides an overview of the literature related to this study, laying the solid foundation for the sequent development of the paper Not only are the terms like learner autonomy, peer assessment, and action research defined but critical background information about the key terms is also presented to ensure a thorough understanding of the research matters Besides, the review will reveal the research gap thus rationalizing the need to carry out the study

2.1 Learner Autonomy

2.1.1 Concept of learner

The concept of autonomy has been around for a few years and even become a buzzword within the context of language learning Many theorists and scholars define autonomy in many different ways, which makes the results in this field quite immense This study, however, only reviews the literature concerning autonomy in studying English as the second language

One of the earliest advocates of autonomy in language teaching, Holec (1981), defines autonomy as ―the ability to take charge of one‘s own learning‖ According to this author, autonomous learners understand the purpose of their learning, share in the setting of learning goals, take initiatives in planning and executing learning activities, and regularly review their learning and evaluate its effectiveness (Holec, 1981) From this point of view, autonomy is understood to involve activities and attitudes that students possess, and then develop to various degrees, among which are learning strategies Nunan (2000) and Benson (2001)

share the same idea that autonomy implies a capacity to exercise over one‘s own learning

Dickinson (1987) states that autonomy is a ―situation in which the learner is totally responsible for all of the decisions concerned with his or her learning and implementation of those decisions‖ That does mean that the learners should have much of the responsibility for planning and organizing their learning, for assessing its values and even for suggesting the mark that the work produced should get As for language teachers, the main roles they play should be information provider, counselor, assessor, administrator, and organizer For Richards and Schmidt (2002, p 297), this term refers to ―the principle that learners should be encouraged to assume a maximum amount of responsibility for what they learn and how they learn it.‖ Nevertheless, how much responsibility and independence

an autonomous learner should take is a source of dispute among scholars

Nunan (1997, p.193) states that ―the fully autonomous learner operates independently of classroom, teacher, or textbooks.‖ In contrast, Palfreyman asserts, ―learner autonomy does not mean avoiding any reliance on sources of help around you‖ but ―means being aware of these sources and what they have to offer in different situations.‖ For example,

if students rely on their teachers for explaining of new words, it is teacher dependence However, if a student asks his/ her teacher to validate his/

her own distinction of several synonyms after he/ she already looks up the dictionary and other sources of reference, it is a sign of learner autonomy

In this case, the student has drawn his/ her teacher into his/ her own learning agenda, effectively using the teacher as a source of help Thanasoulas (2000) finally concludes that if someone is characterized as

an autonomous learner, he can independently choose aims and purposes, and set goals; choose materials, methods, and tasks; exercise choice and

purpose in organizing and carrying out the chosen tasks; and choose the criteria for evaluation

It is noteworthy that autonomy can be thought of in terms of a

departure from education as a social process, as well as in terms of

redistribution of power attending the construction of knowledge and the roles of the participants in the learning process The relevant literature is riddled with innumerable definitions of autonomy and other synonyms for it, such as ―independence‘‖ (Sheerin, 1991), ―language awareness‖ (Lier, 1996), ―self-direction‖ (Candy, 1991), and ―andragogy‖ (Knowles, 1980), which testifies to the importance attached to it by scholars As has been intimated so far, the term autonomy has sparked considerable controversy, in as much as linguists and educationalists have failed to reach a consensus as to what autonomy really is For example, learner autonomy is ―essentially a matter of the learner‘s psychological relation

to the process and content of learning…a capacity for detachment, critical reflection, decision-making, and independent action‖ (Little, 1991) It is not something done to learners; therefore, it is far from being another teaching method In the same vein, Holec (1981) defines autonomy in terms of the learner‘s willingness and capacity to control or oversee her own learning

To all intents and purposes, the autonomous learner takes a (pro-) active role in the learning process, generating ideas and availing himself

of learning opportunities, rather than simply reacting to various stimuli of the teacher (Boud, 1988; Kohonen, 1992; Knowles, 1975) For Rathbone (1971), the autonomous learner is a self-activated maker of meaning, an active agent in his own learning process He is not one to whom things merely happen; he is the one who, by his own volition, causes things to happen Learning is seen as the result of his own self-initiated interaction with the world

In fact, according to the theories mentioned above, autonomy learning is without doubt the best way to reach our educational goal McDevitt (1997) points out ―the end product of education is an independent learner‖, and that cultivating a learner‘s independence or autonomy should be regarded as the end goal that teachers and educators try to pursue Many educators believe that developing some degree of autonomy is essential if learners are to become effective language users (Littlewood, 1996; Nunan, 1997; Breen, 1984)

2.1.2 The importance of learner autonomy in language learning

As an old saying goes, you can bring a horse to water but you cannot make him drink This proverb highlights the importance of learners during the language learning process Learning will not occur even if the teacher has provided all the necessary circumstances but the learner is unwilling to participate in the process In Scharle and Szabo‘s words (2000, p.4), ―success in learning very much depends on learners having a responsible attitude‖ – a building block of learning autonomy

Moreover, language learning is lifelong learning: formal lessons alone will not enable them to communicate effectively in complex life and work situation Hence, there is a need for learners to study on their own and the best way to prepare them for that is to ―help them become more autonomous‖ (Scharle and Szabo, 2000, p.4)

2.1.3 Components of Learner Autonomy

2.1.3.1 Learning Strategies

2.1.3.1.1 Concept of Learning Strategies

A central research project on learning strategies is the one surveyed

in O‘Malley and Chamot (1990) According to them, learning strategies are ―the special thoughts or behaviours that individuals use to help them

comprehend, learn, or retain new information‖ (O‘Malley and Chamot,

1990, cited in Cook, 1993)—a definition in keeping with the one

provided in Wenden (1998): ―Learning strategies are mental steps or

operations that learners use to learn a new language and to regulate their efforts to do so‖

Learning Strategies are an essential part of effective language learning They aim at improving learners‘ communicative competence as well as enhancing their self – direction in learning (Oxford, 1990) According to Sandra (2008), sstrategies are especially important for language learning because they are tools for active, self-directed involvement, which is essential for developing communicative confidence Appropriate language learning strategies result in improved proficiency and greater self-confidence Naturally, all learning strategies their individual users, making the field of learning strategies full of variety The employment of learning strategies by a learner depends on his/ her level of proficiency in the target language, age, task, individual style, context, and possible cultural differences (Rubin, 1975) If a language learner does not use learning strategies as an aid, there is a big gap in his/ her learning capacity (Oxford, 1990) Moreover, better language learners exploit a greater diversity and number of learning strategies in the classroom then poorer learners (Wesche, 1981)

2.1.3.1.2 Classification of Learning Strategies

 Cognitive strategies

According to O‘Malley and Chamot (1990), cognitive strategies ―operate directly on incoming information, manipulating it in ways that enhance learning‖ Learners may use any or all of the following cognitive strategies (Cook, 1993):

a Repetition, when imitating others‘ speech

b Resourcing, having recourse to dictionaries and other materials

c Translation, that is, using their mother tongue as a basis for

understanding and / or producing the target language

d Note-taking

e Deduction, conscious application of L2 rules

f Contextualisation, when embedding a word or phrase in a meaningful

sequence

g Transfer, that is, using knowledge acquired in the L1 to remember and

understand facts and sequences in the L2

h Inferencing, when matching an unfamiliar word against available

a Directed attention, when deciding in advance to concentrate on

general aspects of a task

b Selective attention, paying attention to specific aspects of a task

c Self-monitoring, checking one‘s performance as one speaks

d Self-evaluation, appraising one‘s performance in relation to one‘s

own standards

e Self-reinforcement, rewarding oneself for success

At the planning stage, also known as pre-planning (Wenden,

1998), learners identify their objectives and determine how they will achieve them Planning, however, may also go on while a task is being

performed This is called planning-in-action Here, learners may change

their objectives and reconsider the ways in which they will go about

achieving them At the monitoring stage, language learners act as

participant observers or overseers of their language learning, asking themselves, ―How am I doing? Am I having difficulties with this task?‖

and so on Finally, when learners evaluate, they do so in terms of the outcome of their attempt to use a certain strategy According to Wenden

(1998), evaluating involves three steps: 1) learners examine the outcome

of their attempts to learn; 2) they access the criteria they will use to judge it; and 3) they apply it

2.1.3.2 Learning Attitudes and Motivation

2.1.3.2.1 Learning Attitudes

Wenden (1998) defines attitudes as ―learned motivations, valued beliefs, evaluations, what one believes is acceptable, or responses oriented towards approaching or avoiding‖ For her, two kinds of

attitudes are crucial: attitudes learners hold about their role in the learning process and their capability as learners In a sense, attitudes are a form of

metacognitive knowledge At any rate, ―learner beliefs about their role and capability as learners will be shaped and maintained…by other beliefs they hold about themselves as learners‖ (Wenden, 1998) For example, if learners believe that certain personality types cannot learn a foreign language and they believe that they are that type of person, and then they will think that they are fighting a ―losing battle,‖ as far as learning the foreign language is concerned Furthermore, if learners labour under the misconception that learning is successful only within the context of the ―traditional classroom,‖ where the teacher directs, instructs, and manages the learning activity, and students must follow in the teacher‘s footsteps, they are likely to be impervious or resistant to

learner-centred strategies aiming at autonomy, and success is likely to be undermined In a way, attitudes are ―part of one‘s perception of self, of others, and of the culture in which one is living [or the culture of the target language‖ (Brown, 1987), and it seems clear that positive attitudes are conducive to increased motivation, while negative attitudes have the opposite effect

2.1.3.2.2 Learning Motivation

Motivation is probably the most important characteristics that students bring to a learning task Chomsky (1988) points out the importance of activating learners‘ motivation, ―The truth of the matter is that about 99 percent of teaching is making students feel interested in the material‖ However, the relationship between motivation and autonomy

in language learning has been a very controversial issue, the controversy being on whether it is autonomy that enhances motivation or it is motivation that produces autonomy Dickinson (1995) suggests that

―autonomous learners become more highly motivated and work more effectively‖ According to Gardner and Miller (1993), motivation is comprised of three components: ―desire to achieve a goal, effort extended

in this direction, and satisfaction with the task‖

It is manifest that in language learning, people are motivated in different ways and to different degrees Some learners like doing grammar and memorising; others want to speak and role-play; others prefer reading and writing, while avoiding speaking Furthermore, since

―the learning of a foreign language involves an alteration in self-image, the adoption of new social and cultural behaviours and ways of being, and therefore has a significant impact on the social nature of the learner‖ (Williams, 1994, cited in Dornyei, 1998), an important distinction should

be made between instrumental and integrative motivation Learners with

an instrumental orientation view the foreign language as a means of

finding a good job or pursuing a lucrative career; in other words, the target language acts as a ‗monetary incentive‘ (Gardner & MacIntyre, 1993) On the other hand, learners with an integrative orientation are interested in the culture of the target language; they want to acquaint themselves with the target community and become integral parts of it Therefore, in helping learners develop motivation to learn and thus promoting learning autonomy, teachers can allocate more class time for students‘ engagement in activities and materials that interest them and that they wish to engage in for their own sake Teachers can introduce into the classroom ―the kinds of motivating activities in which learner – centeredness as a precursor to learner autonomy can be integrated‖ (Spratt, Humhreys & Chan, 2002) Teachers should also serve as models

of motivation themselves, which can be one of the most effective ways for the development of motivation

2.1.3.3 Self – esteem

Closely related to attitudes and motivation is the concept of esteem, that is, the evaluation the learner makes of herself with regard to the target language or learning in general ―Self-esteem is a personal judgement of worthiness that is expressed in the attitudes that the individual holds towards himself‖ (Coopersmith, 1967, cited in Brown, 1987) If the learner has a ―robust sense of self‖, his relationship to himself as a learner is unlikely to be marred by any negative assessments

self-by the teacher (Benson & Voller, 1997) Conversely, a lack of self-esteem

is likely to lead to negative attitudes towards his capability as a learner, and to ―a deterioration in cognitive performance‖, thus confirming his view of himself as incapable of learning (Wenden, 1998)

2.2 Peer Assessment

2.2.1 Definition of Peer Assessment

Traditional assessment techniques saw the student as a passive receiver of information who should be held accountable for absorbing information in the course, and giving it back to teacher in the test Recently, however, the student is being ever more increasingly seen as a plausible source of self-assessment Moreover, students are seen capable enough to assess their peers Self-assessment requires the individual to assess oneself; peer assessment requires his peers to assess him There has been a larger number of definitions of peer assessment from scholars and theorists

Peer assessment is a process of a group of individuals grading their peers in which may or may not involve an agreed criteria among teachers and students (Falchikov, 1995) More specifically, Topping (1998) defined peer assessment as "an arrangement in which individuals consider the amount, level, value, worth, quality, or success of the products or outcomes of learning of peers of similar status" (p 250) The process of peer assessment ought to involve students grading and/or giving feedback on their peers' work, and being judged for the quality

of the appraisals they made (Davies, 2006) Such an assessment method is usually associated with group work in which students wish to separate the assessment of individual contributions from the assessment of the groups' final products According to Patri (2002), in a situation where learners are able to assess their own quality and level of performance and those of their peers, it is very likely that they will

be capable of understanding the assessment criteria Brown (2004) said that both self and peer assessment involve students in their own destiny, encourage autonomy, and increase motivation Cheng and Warren (2005) maintained that involvement in and control over the

methods, procedures, and outcomes of assessment as well as understanding the underlying rationale are crucial for both teachers and students Peer assessment is an alternative that has significant pedagogical value because it enables learners to take part in the evaluation process and gives learners opportunities to participate in and evaluate their peers' learning process and products

Peer assessment is an assessment method through which the peers

of a candidate or student are requested to provide information about his performance It is considered by many educators and teachers to be a key technique to get students to take more responsibility for their learning Reinders and Lazaro (2007) claimed that that if conducted appropriately, peer assessment can provide numerous benefits for the learners Peer-assessment has the advantage of helping students to critically examine the learning in progress Through this, students understand their own learning better It also helps the students to foster collaboration skills and improve autonomy Self and peer-assessment are often considered together since they share many advantages Peer assessment can help self-assessment When students judge their peers' work, they can actually have the opportunity to examine their own work as well Peer and self-assessment help students develop the ability to make judgments (Brown and Knight 1994) Simply defined, peer assessment is students' evaluating their peers Van Den Berg, Admiraal, and Pilot (2006) define peer assessment as a process in which students assess the quality of their fellow students' work and provide each other with feedback

2.2.2 Advantages of Peer Assessment

Race (1998) and Bostock (2000) argued about the usefulness of peer assessment and listed its advantages as follows:

 Peer assessment gives students a sense of belonging to the

assessment process and fosters their motivation;

 Peer assessment encourages a sense of ownership of the process in a sense that students feel they are a part of the evaluation process;

 Peer assessment improves learning;

 Peer assessment makes assessment a part of the learning process;

 Peer assessment encourages students' sense of autonomy in learning;

 Peer assessment helps students identify their weak and strong points;

 Peer assessment encourages students to analyze each other's work;

 Peer assessment improves self-assessment capabilities;

 Peer assessment encourages deep, meaningful learning;

 Peer assessment helps students to become more involved in the learning process;

 Peer assessment helps students recognize assessment criteria;

 Peer assessment reduces the instructor's marking load;

 Peer assessment provides better quality feedback;

 Peer assessment gives students a wider variety of feedback;

 Peer assessment saves time since several groups can be evaluated without teacher's presence

 Peer assessment develops a wide range of transferable skills that can be later transferred to future employment

2.2.3 Disadvantages of Peer Assessment

In spite of the advantages of peer assessment, it can cause potential problems which need to be taken into account Bostock (2000) and White (2009) argued that there are some potential problems in peer assessment They claimed that, at first sight, the validity and reliability of assessment

done by students will be under question It is not clear whether the feedback from fellow students is accurate and valuable Indeed, students may not be qualified enough to be able to evaluate each other; students may not take the assessment process seriously The danger is that students may be influenced by friendships and solidarity among themselves; students may not like peers' marking because of the possibility of being negatively or unfairly evaluated by their peers, or being misunderstood Another problem that may arise here is that since teachers are not involved in the evaluation process, students may

provide each other with false information

Given the fact that peer assessment is not void of problems, some researchers (e.g., Karaca, 2009) have presented some rules for peer assessment to be taken into consideration; these rules can considerably decrease the problems of peer assessment and hence

make it more effective The rules are listed below:

 Students should be presented with brief information on what they

are supposed to do and what is expected of them;

 Students need to be familiar with the purpose of the evaluation;

 Students need to know what criteria to follow;

 Teachers need to make sure that students are following the criteria clearly and appropriately;

 Students need to practice the process in stress-free environments;

 Teachers should cooperate with colleagues who have already used

peer assessment;

 Teachers should not expect peer assessment to be perfect at first

attempt

2.2.4 Training students for peer evaluation

A vast number of studies focus on how to prepare or train students for peer evaluation Smyth (2004) argues that teaching students about self and peer evaluation is an integral part of learning By discussing and analyzing assessment practices with their peers, students can gain a better understanding of how formative assessment forms part of the learning process and increase their confidence levels in critical evaluation skills In addition, the students can focus on making contribution to seminar tasks as team players instead of lone individuals Elliott and Higgins (2005) argue that it is vital to give students time to develop skills in self and peer evaluation In their study, the cohort of students openly discussed possible grading options for self and peer evaluation and finally decided to use the positive grading options as the means to moderate a peer's grade for their group projects In Stanley's (1992) study, students were prepared for peer evaluation in an elaborate training scheme of approximately seven hours, in which the students were sensitized to the written drafts by being urged to judge the writer's claims and assumptions in evaluation analysis sessions, and developed an agreed evaluator tact to communicate their feedback to their peers after a number

of role plays Compared with another group receiving only one hour of evaluation preparation, the trained group demonstrated 'a greater level of student engagement in the task of evaluation, more productive communication about writing, and clearer guidelines for the revision of drafts' (p 217) Nevertheless, Stanley (1992) ended her studies with an acknowledgement that the productive outcomes were the fruit of a considerable investment of time and effort in getting students ready for peer evaluation

Similarly, Inoue (2005) considers it important to train or develop students to take control of all writing and assessment practices of the

class Over a period of three semesters, the students were pushed to develop their assessment rubrics and become critical peer and self evaluators and reflective writers, "articulate and theorize their assessment practices" to improve writing (p 234) Inoue (2005) did not assess, evaluate, or grade his students' writing although they still received course grades at the end of the course The teacher had private conferences with the students about their portfolio grades, administered and set reflection prompts for the discussion board, hosted in-class discussion and read the written work without giving students comments or replies to their posted questions Instead, the students were given ample opportunity to critique their peers' drafts and finished work, query the assessment criteria in the rubrics, and eventually give grades to their classmates on their work

Although most of his students finished the course with a sense of improvement, Inoue (2005) could not help wondering "if drafts really get better, if writers learn to actually write better" (p 232) The portfolio of a very responsive, analytical student stirred in him the question: "Would she have done better if I had assessed her writing?" (p 233) While the students were developing the skills and ability to be capable peer evaluators, the issue arising from the teacher's perspective was: was the quality of a student's work more crucial than the development of his ability as a learner and assessor?

2.2.5 Peer evaluation and the teacher

With the change of the students' roles in learning and assessment, the teacher's role has changed inevitably The question about the role played by the teacher and his expertise in assessment has to

be answered now as assessments need not be teacher-centered Some research has been assessing the reliability of peer evaluation as substitutes

for instructor evaluation MacAlpine (1999) finds that a more detailed method of peer assessment results in an enhanced correlation of the average grade for a given student from the class with the lecturer's grade for the same student Moreover, the new approach of grading four aspects

of presentation using a Likert scoring scale is found to give a very significant improvement in consistency and discrimination MacAlpine (1999, p 24) hence suggests inclusion of peer assessment of student presentations "covering syllabus material in lieu of the lecturer" as part

of syllabus teaching Similarly, Campbell, Mothersbaugh, Brammer and Taylor (2001) find that both holistic and analytical peer evaluations of oral business presentations are reasonable substitutes for instructor evaluations, when the students have been trained for an hour as raters and the rubric provides detailed descriptions of four aspects of a presentation

on a five-point scale These researchers (2001, p 37) conclude that peer evaluation can provide "needed, supplemental instruction" for students to improve on future performances and to predict the instructor's evaluation

Inoue (2005), on the other hand, points out that many students

"complain about the intense focus on peer assessment and constructed rubrics They say the teacher should be the centre of knowledge about writing, and the creator of rubrics" (p 232) Therefore,

class-it seems essential to address the issue of striking a balance between the teacher-based and the students-based evaluation so that the strengths and perspectives of both parties can be best explored to maximize learning Gopinath (1999, p 10) observes that the role of teachers has changed from experts or judges to coaches or facilitators, "sharing the assessment process with the students can potentially be attractive as well as efficient, and can release faculty time for more educationally worthwhile pursuits"

It is thus of research interest to find out how to make the best use of the surplus time and energy of a teacher possibly released by peer evaluation

2.3 Writing

There used to be an assumption that the written language is just the visual realization of the spoken language However, the assumption is much similar to saying that a house is merely the combination of bricks together without accounting for other important ingredients Writing, in deed, means more than that

Writing, according to Brown (2001: 335), is actually composing, with all its ―permanence‖ and ―distance‖, ―coupled with its unique rhetorical conventions‖

The parts of the writing process, suggested by Nation (2009: 113), are as follows:

• considering the goals of the writer

• having a model of the reader

• gathering ideas

• organizing ideas

• turning ideas into written text

• reviewing what has been written

• editing

What is more, writers have to find ways of compensating for the

‗prosodic features‘ and ‗paralinguistic features‘, which are missing in writing In terms of the language used, good writers should be very skillful at the implementation of elaborated and complex sentences, as well as at the choice of lexical items to make their writing tasks as vivid

as what is there in their minds Apart from this, learning to write is

associated not only with learning new genres and new ways of using grammar but also with different ways of dealing with the world because the social functions of writing tend to focus on ―recording things, completing tasks, developing arguments and assembling ideas‖ (LoCastro, 2006) Apparently, ―writing is a process requiring writers to explore, oppose, and make connections between propositions for themselves.‖ (Boughey, 1997: 127) In addition, Potts claims that the process

of writing involves not only composing but also communicating (Potts, 2005) According to Hedge (1988), when writing in real life, writers often bear in mind the reader they are writing to This ―provides the writers with a context without which it is difficult to know exactly what or how

to write‖ (Hedge, 1988: 9) Therefore, to write effectively the writer needs to have ―content knowledge, context knowledge, language system knowledge and writing process knowledge‖ (Tribble, 1996: 67) From the viewpoint of Second language acquisition researchers, writing is the most significant productivity activity for L2 learners when they have to use the language for academic purposes In order to fulfill these purposes, the process of writing is even more important as it contributes to the success

of learning a second language (Yule, 2006) According to Crystal (1997), there are three factors in linguistics that should be put into consideration when judging proficient writing: content knowledge, context knowledge and culture knowledge

2.4 Previous studies on peer assessment training and learner autonomy

2.4.1 Review of related studies worldwide

The subject of peer assessment and autonomy has been discussed through a large body of research studies In their book, Learner Autonomy, Scharle and Szabo (2000) mention seven factors contributing

to learner autonomy, namely motivation and self – confidence, monitoring and evaluation, learning strategies, cooperation and group cohesion, (teacher‘s) sharing information with the learner, (teacher‘s) consistent control and involving learners in delegating tasks and decision Besides these factors, the authors also offer a three – stage process to boost learner autonomy, starting with ―raising awareness‖ to ―raising attitudes‖ and concluding with ―transferring roles‖ Among these, it is noted that the last stage is the most demanding with class management changing hands from the teacher to the learner Likewise, Nation (2001) suggests three factors of autonomy: attitude, awareness, and capacity Attitude is defined by Nation as the learner wanting ―to take control and responsibility for learning‖, thus resembling motivation in Scharle and Szabo (2000, p.7) Meanwhile, awareness in Nation‘s terms is quite similar to monitoring and evaluation since both refer to metacognition Finally, capacity refers to ―the need for the learner to possess the skills and knowledge to be autonomous‖ (Nation, 2001, p.395) Therefore, it can be perceived that the most critical difference between the two viewpoints lie in the absence of the teacher role in Nation (2001) Instead

of positioning the teacher directly in the factors of autonomy, he suggests that it is the teacher‘s role to boost students‘ awareness, motivation and capacity through training students in learning principles and strategies

An extensive body of research on peer assessment exists This section will briefly review some of the most important looks at peer

assessment White (2009), in a review of student perceptions of assessment in higher education, claims that students have strong views about assessment methods and that these views affect how they approach learning White further noticed that, when faced with peer assessment, students are worried about:

• their own awareness of their own deficiencies in subject areas

• not being sure of their own objectivity

• fairness of the peer assessment process

• the influence of such factors as friendship and hostility on their assessment

• the belief that it is not their job but the teachers' to assess

White (2009) also tried to find out students' feelings about the peer assessment process in an EPS course, and to show if it helped foster learning in students in such a way as to help them become more effective public speakers The results of White's study indicated that a majority of students had a positive attitude towards the peer assessment format that was used in the EPS course However, some of the students expressed some doubts about this type of assessment Although this type of assessment proved to be liked by most of the students, a minority of students expressed a sense of dislike or dissatisfaction with the process The findings indicated that many students liked the process since they believed that it promoted their learning significantly Furthermore, White's findings were indicative of the fact that for many of the students who took part in the study, the peer assessment process helped them to support and promote student learning about preparing, giving, and judging effective presentations

An important study which dealt with students' perceptions of the peer assessment process was conducted by_Ballantyne, Hughes, and Mylonas (2002) Unlike most of the studies which focused on the use

of peer assessment with small groups of students, these researchers investigated the implementation of peer assessment in large classes Their results indicated that the benefits received through peer assessment outweigh its shortcomings in spite of the fact that there were specific problems associated with using peer assessment with larger classes

2.4.2 Review of related studies in Vietnam

As regards learner autonomy, although widely discussed worldwide, this concept remains comparatively new in Vietnam It is obvious that in Vietnam, unlike in many other countries, the traditional method of teaching and learning, which puts heavy weight on teacher – centered method, prevails and presents considerable challenges to new more progressive approaches and methods Therefore, Vietnamese students are quite unfamiliar with learner autonomy, especially in learning vocabulary However, the current educational reform has resulted in significant changes in both teaching and learning In the field

of English language teaching and learning, some schools as well as universities are trying to encourage learner autonomy in their curriculum

As one of the pioneer in renovating teaching and learning method, Vietnam National University has regarded autonomy and writing learning

as the top goals for students in learning English Concerning with VNU students‘ graduation paper, there have been many studies on vocabulary acquisition as well as the role of autonomy in learning Being highly evaluated, Tran (2005)‘s thesis revealed a number of advantages attributed to promoting second year students‘ autonomy in English stress practice at the Faculty of English Language Teacher Education Some tactics to encourage greater students‘ autonomy were also found, like dictionary training, self – reflection, and the use of technology when aiming at practicing English stress effectively Besides, Ngo (2009)‘s

thesis focusing on vocabulary acquisition and vocabulary learning strategies of first year HULIS mainstream English majors can be considered to be an useful source for this research thanks to the related issue

So far, several studies have been carried out in relation to autonomy in Vietnam Some studies such as Trinh‘s research paper (2008) and Duong‘s research paper (2008) were about learner autonomy

in Asian context in general, and in Vietnam in particular The authors claim that learner autonomy is not biased just to Western values and that Asian learners are not un-autonomous by nature Learner autonomy can

be stimulated in a non – western context such as Vietnam by implementing self – regulated learning at the classroom level

2.4.3 Literature gaps

Undoubtedly, the studies listed above have made immense contributions to the reality of peer assessment and autonomy in Vietnam and in the world Although these studies provide valuable insights into different aspects of peer assessment and autonomy, the results were mainly from the researchers‘ personal experience with a limited number

of their own students Moreover, there is paucity in a detailed description

of using peer assessment to promote learners‘ autonomy in writing, especially for second year FIS students in USSH, VNU who are expected

to have an appropriate background of the English language skills from intermediate to advanced level Therefore, there is a need for more formal and systematic examination to confirm the effectiveness as well as the difficulties of using learner autonomy in learning vocabulary To address this major gap, the researcher has carried out a study on second year FIS students The methodology of which will be elaborated in the coming chapter

at Faculty of International Study Finally, the chapter discloses the gap

that the researcher is attempting to bridge via this study

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY Introduction

In the previous chapter, a brief overview of the literature on the research topic was given, which laid the theoretical basis for the whole study In this chapter, the method employed to answer the research questions would be described in details The participants, the instruments and the procedure of data collection and analysis would be justified

3.1 Rationale for Action Research Design

3.1.1 Action Research

3.1.1.1 Definition of Action Research

Action research is known by many other names, including participatory research, collaborative inquiry, emancipatory research, action learning, and contextural action research, but all are variations on a theme Put simply, action research is ―learning by doing‖ - a group of people identify a problem, do something to resolve it, see how successful their efforts were, and if not satisfied, try again While this is the essence

of the approach, there are other key attributes of action research that differentiate it from common problem-solving activities that we all engage in every day A more succinct definition by Kemmis &

McTaggart (1988) is:

"Action research aims to contribute both to the practical concerns of people in an immediate problematic situation and to further the goals of social science simultaneously Thus, there is a dual commitment in action research to study a system and concurrently to collaborate with members of the system in changing it in what is together regarded as a desirable direction Accomplishing this twin goal requires the active collaboration of researcher and client, and thus it stresses the importance

of co-learning as a primary aspect of the research process."

What separates this type of research from general professional practices, consulting, or daily problem-solving is the emphasis on scientific study, which is to say the researcher studies the problem systematically and ensures the intervention is informed by theoretical considerations Much of the researcher‘s time is spent on refining the methodological tools to suit the exigencies of the situation, and on collecting, analyzing, and presenting data on an ongoing, cyclical basis

Several attributes separate action research from other types of research Primary is its focus on turning the people involved into researchers, too - people learn best, and more willingly apply what they have learned, when they do it themselves It also has a social dimension - the research takes place in real-world situations, and aims to solve real problems Finally, the initiating researcher, unlike in other disciplines, makes no attempt to remain objective, but openly acknowledges their bias

to the other participants

3.1.1.2 The Action Research Process

Stephen Kemmis has developed a simple model of the cyclical nature of the typical action research process (Figure 1) Each cycle has

four steps: plan, act, observe, and reflect

Chart 1: Simple Action Research Model

(from MacIsaac, (1995)

Gerald Susman (1983) gives a somewhat more elaborate listing

He distinguishes five phases to be conducted within each research cycle

(Figure 2) Initially, a problem is identified and data is collected for a

more detailed diagnosis This is followed by a collective postulation of

several possible solutions, from which a single plan of action emerges

and is implemented Data on the results of the intervention are collected

and analyzed, and the findings are interpreted in light of how successful

the action has been At this point, the problem is re-assessed and the

process begins another cycle This process continues until the problem is

resolved

Chart 2: Detailed Action Research Model

3.1.1.3 The reason for choosing Action Research for this study

Action research is carried out subject to a specific teaching situation, when teachers have to be responsive to the changing demands

of a situation As for me, I was appointed as the teacher for second – year FIS students for the second semester of this year 2011 – 2012 I had a chance to approach and teach Writing skill to them in the whole second semester During this time, some specific problems related to writing were identified It can be seen that in most cases, it takes a long time to have a habit of writing the targeted language and many learners have failed to master this skill This failure can be attributed to many reasons, one of which is possibly the attitudes and responsibility of students in practicing writing autonomously It seems, therefore, necessary that

language learners should be given a method that helps them to promote their own autonomy during their writing process Consequently, I really wanted specific actions to be implemented so that the changes could be brought out and solutions could finally come up with to solve the problems There is no doubt that while other types of research focuses on experimenting or testing a pre-assumed theory or concept, action research

aims at improving the situation This is the most crucial factor that

urged me to choose Action Research for my study in order to make my students have a progress in autonomous writing learning, which ultimately leads to their competence in writing skill

3.1.2 Design of study

The study was carried out during 15 weeks of semester 2 in the year 2011 - 2012 The lesson plan was established to induce the activities for developing learners‘ knowledge and ability in assessing peer‘s writing and writing development Each lesson plan consisted of three main steps: presentation, practice, and production Subjects learned how to do peer assessment through the schedule In week 1 and week 2, each subject learned about Paragraph Writing and produced a paragraph of his or her own in the pre – treatment Test in Week 3 From Week 4, they learned the peer assessment and editing principles and techniques based on assessment criteria In Week 5 and Week 6, each subject practiced assessing peer‘s work and had peer assess his or her writing In week 7, each subject revised his or her own writing according to the feedback from peers and produced the final version which was supposed to be perfect in terms of contents and language use In week 9, all subjects were required to participate in a Post – treatment Test to see whether they made a progress in improving their mistakes in writing through giving