Nghiên cứu phản hồi của bạn học thông qua google classroom trong giảng dạy môn biên dịch tiếng anh tại khoa ngoại ngữ đại học thái nguyên

THAI NGUYEN UNIVERISITY SCHOOL OF F O R E I GN L A G UA GESTO THI BICH THUY A STUDY ON PEER RESPONSE VIA GOOGLE CLASSROOM ON AN ENGLISH TRANSLATION COURSE AT SCHOOL OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES

THAI NGUYEN UNIVERISITY SCHOOL OF F O R E I GN L A G UA GES

TO THI BICH THUY

A STUDY ON PEER RESPONSE VIA GOOGLE CLASSROOM

ON AN ENGLISH TRANSLATION COURSE AT SCHOOL OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES – THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY

(Nghiên cứu phản hồi của bạn học thông qua Google Classroom

trong giảng dạy môn Biên dịch tiếng Anh tại Khoa Ngoại ngữ - Đại học Thái Nguyên)

M.A THESIS

Field: English Linguistics Code: 8220201

THAI NGUYEN – 2020

THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES

TO THI BICH THUY

A STUDY ON PEER RESPONSE VIA GOOGLE CLASSROOM

ON AN ENGLISH TRANSLATION COURSE AT SCHOOL OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES – THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY

(Nghiên cứu phản hồi của bạn học thông qua Google Classroom

trong giảng dạy môn Biên dịch tiếng Anh tại Khoa Ngoại ngữ - Đại học Thái Nguyên)

M.A THESIS (APPLICATION ORIENTATION)

Field: English Linguistics Code: 8220201

Approved by Supervisor

Dr Vu Kieu Hanh

THAI NGUYEN – 2020

I hereby declare that no part of the enclosed Master Thesis has been copied

or reproduced by me from any other‟s work without acknowledgement and that thethesis is originally written by me under strict guidance of my supervisor

Sincerest and profound gratitude and appreciation are extended to all thepersons who in their own special ways have made this dissertation a reality Theauthor is most grateful to:

Dr Vu Kieu Hanh, her adviser, for her dedication, enduring patience andconcern, guidance, sincere hopes and encouragement for the researcher to finishthe manuscript;

The Panel of Examiners, for their invaluable comments, suggestions andrecommendations to enhance the manuscript of this study;

To the Learning Resource Center of Thai Nguyen University, for thevaluable sources of books and references;

To the authors and researchers of books and unpublished graduate thesesthat served as reliable source of data and information presented in the study;

Special thanks to:

Dr Dang Thi Thanh Huong, the Vice Rector of School of ForeignLanguages – Thai Nguyen University, for her patience and support;

The respondents of the study, for their active involvement Without theircooperation the result of this thesis may not be possible;

Her loving classmates and colleagues, for endless support and friendshipwhich inspires the researcher to put in her best in finishing the study;

Her parents and sibling, for their encouragement, financial, moral andspiritual supports and for continuously believing that she can finish the task tothe best of her abilities

To Thi Bich Thuy

In teaching English, beside the four skills (reading, writing, listening andspeaking), translating is often supposed to be one of the most necessary anddifficult skills, for both the lecturers and the students have to face great challenges.Traditional translation classes are boring and stressful, so finding ways to create amore dynamic, positive, and vibrant learning environment has always been one ofthe goals of translation teachers Based on previous studies that have showncertain benefits of peer response in the EFL translation and writing class, as well

as the benefits of technology in teaching, this study is intended for finding out theeffects of applying Peer responses through Google Classroom in an EnglishTranslation Course at School of Foreign Languages - Thai Nguyen University 27students of English Language Teaching undergraduate program participated in thisstudy They were then given questionnaires to refine and provide information tothe writer, from which, combined with data from classroom observations andassessment of student‟s translations drafts, the author obtained the results of thestudy The study shows that, thanks to the application of peer response via GoogleClassroom, not only the student‟s motivation, engagement and interaction havegreatly increased, but also the student‟s translation skills have significantlyimproved This study is a valuable reference for researchers, teachers of translationcourses and others interested in the field

Keywords: Peer response, Google Classroom, English Translation Course

TABLE OF CONTENT

DECLARATION i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii

ABSTRACT iii

ABBREVIATIONS vi

LISTS OF TABLES vii

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Rationale of the study 1

1.2 Aims of the study 5

1.3 Objectives of the study 5

1.4 Research Questions 5

1.5 Scope and limitation 5

1.6 Significance of the study 6

1.7 Design of the study 6

1.8 Definition of terms 7

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 8

2.1 Review of literature 8

2.1.1 Collaborative learning 8

2.1.2.Peer response 9

2.1.3 Peer response in translation training 13

2.1.4 Peer response on translation courses via Google Classroom .

16 2.2 Related studies 17

2.3.Present status of learning and teaching Translation in School of Foreign Languages – Thai Nguyen University 19

2.3.1 Courses 19

2.3.2 Teachers/Tutors 20

2.3.3 Students 21

CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 24

3.1 Research Questions 24

3.2 Research population and sample 24

3.3 Research Context and Settings 24

3.4 Data Collection Instruments 26

3.4.1 Primary Data 26

3.4.2 Secondary data 28

3.5 Data Analysis 28

3.6 Summary 29

CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 30

4.1 Analysis and Findings 30

4.1.1 Profile of the respondents 30

4.1.2 Students‟ perceptions toward peer response and Google Classroom 32

4.1.3 Students‟ perceptions toward peer response via Google Classroom in 33 Translation Courses 33

4.1.4 The students learning outcomes 44

4.1.5 Class Observation 45

4.2 Discussion 48

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION 51

5.1 Summary of the research 51

5.2 Implications and Recommendations 53

REFERENCES 55

EFL : English as a foreign language

ESL : English as a second language

ICT : Information and Communications Technology

L1 : First language

L2 : Second language

LMS : Learning Management System

SFL-TNU : School of Foreign Languages – Thai Nguyen University

SL : Source language

ST : Source text

TEFL : Teaching English as a Foreign Language

TESL : Teaching English as the Second Language

TL : Target language

WTO : World Trade Organization

LISTS OF TABLES

Table 1: Participant by age 31

Table 2: The students' experience of learning English 31

Table 3: Data of the effectiveness of Peer Response and Google Classroom 34

Table 4: Data of the factors affecting students‟ response to peer‟s works 36

Table 5: Data of the impact of peers‟ comments on students‟ correction of errors 38

Table 6: Data of respondent‟s rating of the convenience of Google Classroom in giving peer response 39

Table 7: Data of respondent‟s rating of the impact of commenting others‟ works on their self-revision 40

Table 8: Data of respondent‟s rating of the peer response‟s effect on students‟ next translation 41

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1: Participants by gender 30Figure 2: Students' perceptions toward Google Classroom 33Figure 3: The Students‟ perceptions toward the effectiveness of Peer Response andGoogle Classroom 35Figure 4: The factors influencing students‟ response to peer‟s works 37Figure 5: The impact of peers‟ comments on students‟ correction of different errors 39

Figure 6: Students‟ evaluation of the convenience of the Google Classroom inmaking comments on peers‟ work 40Figure 7: Students‟ assessment of the impact of commenting others‟ works on their self-revision 41Figure 8: Students‟ assessment of Peer Response‟s Effect on Students‟ next

Translation42

Figure 9: Change in Student‟s Outcomes 45

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION1.1 Rationale of the study

In the context of globalization, the role of translation to foster internationalintegration has been extraordinarily enhanced According to Nguyen, Thi Nhu Ngoc

et al (2016), since Vietnam officially became a member of the World TradeOrganization (WTO), translation has been now considered as an in-demand job inthe labor market Also in this context, translators have been playing an importantrole in transferring important information from diplomatic, economic and politicaldocuments from a source language (SL) to a certain target language (TG), directlyaffecting the exchange and cooperation process among countries throughout theworld Additionally, the WTO official membership of Vietnam requires translators

to equip themselves with more professional skills and knowledge, includinglanguage skills as well as socio-economic, socio-political, and cultural knowledge

Realizing the importance of translators in both the dynamic domestic andforeign labor markets, most universities with foreign languages studies in Vietnamhave developed translation one of the major degree programs, or to the least extentthe core courses in their curriculum However, translation is considered as achallenging subject not only for students but also for teachers because it requires awide range of specialized knowledge, vocabulary, grammar structure, and deepunderstanding of culture, context, and good knowledge of the mother tongue (Pham

Vu Phi Ho, 2015) Translation requires a lot of practice and expertise in both the SLand the TG According to Searls-Ridge (2000), good translation skills are not aninnate talent but an industrious practice For instructors, Razmjou (2004) assertedthat even though instructors have a good amount of knowledge about translationtheories as well as good translation practice skills, it is not certain that they will helpstudents gain good translation skills Only meticulous and systematic teachingmethods can do this The more difficult problem for teachers is that whencommenting on the student‟s translation, teachers not only have to point out thecorrect translation, but also help the students create a good alternative; if thetranslation is qualified, it should be made to become better Besides, in terms oftranslation as an art (Zaixi, 1997), surely translation cannot be a single answerbecause there are so many different expressions of language in the process of

translation, not always the only way (Pham Vu Phi Ho, 2016) As Pym (2003)explained, translation is a problem-solving process, and translators must be able todecide which option is more suitable for different translation purposes Therefore,teachers need to create a conducive learning environment, not only for students tolearn how to solve problems, but also to be exposed to other solutions of problems.

Despite the importance and popularity of translation programs, teachingtranslation in many universities is still challenging in terms of pedagogy, teachinginstruments or teachers‟ capacity According to Tran, Thi Thu Trang (2019),currently, course books and related materials are not adequately available Some ofthe course books available are not suitable for Vietnamese context Teachers thenhave to design teaching materials based on their own experiences Therefore, eachuniversity has its own teaching model and internal circulation materials There is noperfect material that suits every situation is any classroom or that suits all students‟needs of learning styles and strategies In this respect, teachers may usesupplementary relevant materials, substitute or even omit trivial or irrelevantelements where the need arises either to comply with student needs in order tocompensate for any weak or unsatisfactory points in the textbooks or to meetspecific needs in certain teaching situations In terms of training programs andteachers, Nguyen, Thi Nhu Ngoc et al (2016) concluded that the majority ofteachers had not yet received intensive training in translation Many teachersfavored theoretical training and offered few practical activities close to translationservices in society Training content often revolved around familiar issues, and didnot correspond with market‟s demand With regards to using translation strategies

in the translation process, Huynh, Van Tai (2016) pointed out some limitations ofstudents as follows: Firstly, students often performed their translation worksubjectively, ignoring the analysis of the source text (ST) Second, students did notunderstand the rules of language in each type of ST Third, they lack the coherenceand cohesion in the translated text, and the social knowledge Pham Vu Phi Ho &Phu Thi Kieu Bui (2013) also found that the majority of students felt they werelimited in language and lacked effective strategies in the translation process.Nguyen, Thi Nhu Ngoc et al (2016) conducted a survey interview with 28 lecturers(teachers) in 10 universities across the country and found that most lecturers

provided texts and asked students to analyze the structure, vocabulary and thentranslated them In a different way, they asked students to analyze the translation ofsome phrases or sentences, and then came up with the new translations Moreover,the majority of teachers provided students with the final translation as an answer fortranslation exercises; only a few let students give their own answers and discusstogether.

In a study on the status of teaching and learning Translation at SchoolofForeign Languages – Thai Nguyen University, where translation is obligatory for allstudents majoring in English Language, Le, Vu Quynh Nga et al (2016) found thatteachers used the traditional “read and translate” method in a long time The mostobvious consequence was that many students made poor translation; some even didnot dare to translate Therefore, they would depend entirely on the translationmachines if they were forced to produce a translation Students also lacked a lot ofimportant qualities in translation such as a linguistic and cultural background inboth target and source languages as well as an in-depth understanding of translationtechniques and strategies In addition, teachers did not reveal professionalcertification and skills; they also did not receive further training in the field.However, the authors also found that the majority of students were able to becollaborative learners rather than competitive ones They enjoyed working in groupsand discussing together because they had the opportunity to exchange ideas forbetter works

Previous research has confirmed the positive effects of peer response or peerfeedback in student learning However, despite the overwhelming amount ofresearch pointing to the benefits of the practice of peer response in languageeducation, there has been very little research done on adopting peer response intertiary level interpreting and translation training

A few studies have unveiled the success of peer response-not only in atraditional classroom, but also in an online learning classroom-to improve students‟translation skills In a non-online learning environment, the results of a studyconducted by Flanagan and Heine (2015) revealed that the students wereempowered and have gained more from the task In today‟s era, in whichtechnology is often used and integrated to classroom, teachers can utilize

Information and Communications Technology (ICT) to their teaching and learningprocess Here, peer response can be conducted outside classroom through the use ofonline platforms, such as Google Classroom, Edmodo, Google Docs, Facebook,Whats App, Wikipedia, and so on to make it timesaving instead of time-consuming.

In an online learning environment, the findings of a study conducted by Wang andHan (2013) demonstrated that most of the participants realized that this strategy isvaluable and beneficial to increase their translation skills However, learners‟attributes, especially engagement in online peer response environment has not yetreceived enough attention

The literature on collaborative translation, especially collaborative based learning, shows its effectiveness to empower the students to meet theirpotential challenges, create meaningful learning experiences, and enhance theirtranslation competence (Galán-Mañas, 2011; Kiraly, 2000, 2012; Mitchell-Schuitevoerder, 2011) With the success of the collaborative project-based learningapproach, it is interesting to explore how students collaborate with each other in theprocess of peer feedback, and also how peer response contributes to thedevelopment of their translation abilities

project-Against the aforementioned background, this study aims to fill in the gap of alack of study in peer response in translation training The problem which this studyaimed at addressing was the lack of collaborative approaches in teaching andlearning translation in tertiary level in the Vietnamese context Various studies havedealt with collaborative teaching approaches through the use of online learningplatforms; nevertheless, to the best of the researcher‟s knowledge, the use of GoogleClassroom in the teaching and learning of translation at the university level inVietnam has not received much popularity As such, this paper studies theapplication of peer response activities in a bilingual English-Vietnamese translationcourse via the comment function of Google Classroom in School of ForeignLanguages – Thai Nguyen University, to explore the effects of peer response on theteachers’ teaching and the learners’ learning outcomes as well as the impact it have

on the students’ abilities to deal with translation tasks

1.2 Aims of the study

The current study aimed to examine the students‟ perceptions ofpeerresponse activities via the comment function of Google Classroom and theirengagement in these activities in order to achieve highest effectiveness in learningtranslation The other focus was to examine the effects of peer response activitiesvia the comment function of Google Classroom in a bilingual English-Vietnamesetranslation course in School of Foreign Languages – Thai Nguyen University

1.3 Objectives of the study

1 To determine the students‟ perceptions of peer response activities viaGoogle Classroom in a bilingual English-Vietnamese translation course inSFL-TNU

2 To examine the effectiveness of the application of peer response viaGoogle Classroom in a bilingual English-Vietnamese translation courses in SFL-TNU through student‟s learning outcomes

1.4 Research Questions

The research was conducted to answer the following questions:

1 What are the effects of peer response activities via the commentfunction of Google Classroom in a bilingual English-Vietnamese translationcourse in SFL-TNU?

2 What are the student‟s perceptions of peer response activities via GoogleClassroom?

1.5 Scope and limitation

The study was conducted in School of Foreign Languages – Thai NguyenUniversity where approximately 1600 students are studying the English language inseven degree programs Upon graduation, the students are expected to achieve level

5 on 6 based on Six-level Vietnam‟s Framework of Reference for Languages inorder to be eligible to work in cross-cultural organizations, multinationalcorporations (MNCs), as professional translators or interpreters or tourist guides

Translation courses belong to the basic knowledge section that students have

to finish in the third year or the fourth year of the curriculum Due to the limitation

of time, resources as well as some other conditions, this study surveyed only 27third–year undergraduate students enrolled in Translation Module 1 course in

School of Foreign Languages – Thai Nguyen University during the second semester

of the academic year 2019-2020 As such, the primary data collected derive fromthe group of above-mentioned respondents

1.6 Significance of the study

This study provides an overview of the theoretical frameworks and practices

on peer response via Google Classroom in teaching and learning translation with acase study in SFL-TNU

For the researcher, this study helps the researcher determine the effectiveness

of using peer response via the comment function of Google Classroom in teachingand learning translation in general and in SFL-TNU in particular

For teachers, this study may help arise some practical ideas for change inteaching methods using collaborative learning environment in addition to thetraditional face-to-face classrooms

For students, this study provide them with relatively clear understanding ofthe advantages of peer response via Google Classroom, so they can be willing toactively engage themselves in learning activities utilized with the above-mentionedcollaborative digital platform in order to improve their translation skills as well asimprove the effectiveness of their study

For further research, this study can be used as a reference for future researchrelated to the investigated topic

1.7 Design of the study

This study includes five following chapters:

Chapter 1: Introduction

This chapter introduces the rationale, aims, objectives, research questions,the significance, the scope and limitation, the design of the study and the definition

of key terms

Chapter 2: Literature review

This chapter conceptualizes the framework of the study through thediscussion of issues and ideas on theories of teaching translation and theimplementation of peer response activities via Google Classroom LearningManagement System (LMS) A brief review of related studies is included to provideinsights into the research topic

Chapter 3: Research Methodology

The chapter presents the context, the methodology used in this studyincluding the context, the subject, the data collection instruments, and datacollection procedure

Chapter 4: Findings and Discussion

The chapter covers an analysis of survey results and discussion on the datacollected from the students‟ translation drafts, class observation as well as findings

Collaborative learning refers is an educational approach to teaching and

learning that involves groups of learners working together to solve a problem orcomplete a task

Collaborative Translation is a translation carried out by a group of students

who work together via an online platform

Google Classroom is a collaboration tool developed by Google Inc for

teachers and students Teachers can create an online classroom, invite students tothe class then create and distribute assignments Within the Google Classroomstudents and teachers can have conversations about the assignments and teacherscan track the student's progress

Peer feedback refers to comments, assessments and suggestions that learners

receive from their classmates

Peer response involves students working together and interacting with one

another on a specific task

Virtual classroom refers to an online learning environment that allows

teachers and students to communicate, interact, collaborate, explain ideas

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter covers the theories for the study There are five main featureswhich will be presented: collaborative learning and teaching, peer responses, peerresponses in Translation Courses, peer responses in Translation Courses via GoogleClassroom, and the teaching and learning translation at School of ForeignLanguages - Thai Nguyen University

2.1 Review of literature

2.1.1 Collaborative learning

Collaborative learning has been described as “an approach to teaching thatmakes maximum use of collaborative activities involving pairs and small group oflearners in the classroom” (Richard and Rodgers 2001, p 192) It is also described

as “group learning activity organized so that learning is dependent on the sociallystructured exchange of information between learners in groups and in which eachlearner is held accountable for his or her own learning and is motivated to increasethe learning of others.” (Olsen and Kagan in Richard and Rodgers, 2001, p 192)

In other words, collaborative learning is a learning strategy where learners work ingroups to achieve a certain learning goal, and in which each member of the group isnot only responsible for his/her own learning, but also for the learning of othermembers in the group

Collaborative learning covers a broad territory of approaches with widevariability in the amount of in-class or out-of-class time built around group work.Collaborative activities can range from classroom discussions interspersed withshort lectures, through entire class periods, to study on research teams that last awhole term or year The goals and processes of collaborative activities also varywidely Some faculty members design small group work around specific sequentialsteps, or tightly structured tasks Others prefer a more spontaneous agendadeveloping out of student interests or questions In some collaborative learningsettings, the students‟ task is to create a clearly delineated product; in others, thetask is not to produce a product, but rather to participate in a process, an exercise ofresponding to each other‟s work or engaging in analysis and meaning-making

Cooperative learning, normally referred to as on form of collaborativelearning, represents the most carefully structured end of the collaborative learningcontinuum Defined as “the instructional use of small groups so that students worktogether to maximize their own and each other‟s learning” (Johnson et al 1990),cooperative learning is based on the social interdependence theories of Kurt Lewinand Morton Deutsch (Deutsch, 1949; Lewin, 1935) These theories and associatedresearch explore the influence of the structure of social interdependence onindividual interaction within a given situation which, in turn, affects the outcomes

of that interaction (Johnsonand Johnson, 1989) Pioneers in cooperative learning,David and Roger Johnson at the University of Minnesota, Robert Slavin at JohnsHopkins University, and Elizabeth Cohen at Stanford, have devoted years ofdetailed research and analysis to clarify the conditions under which cooperative,competitive, or individualized goal structures affect or increase studentachievement, psychological adjustment, self-esteem, and social skills

In collaborative learning, the development of interpersonal skills is asimportant as the learning itself The development of social skills in group work-learning to cooperate – is key to high quality group work Many cooperativelearning tasks are put to students with both academic objectives and social skillsobjectives Many of the strategies involve assigning roles within each small group(such as recorder, participation encourager, summarizer) to ensure the positiveinterdependence of group participants and to enable students to practice differentteamwork skills Built into cooperative learning work is regular “group processing,”

a “debriefing” time where students reflect on how they are doing in order to learnhow to become more effective in group learning settings (Johnson,Johnson andHolubec, 1990)

2.1.2 Peer response

Being defined as “the use of learners as sources of information, andinteractants for each other in such a way that learners assume roles andresponsibilities normally taken on by a formally trained teacher, tutor or editor incommenting on and critiquing each other's drafts in both written and oral formats inthe process of writing” (Liu & Hansen, 2002, p.1), peer response, also referred to aspeer review, peer feedback or peer editing, is a learning activity that aims to foster

collaboration among students, and at the same time enhances students‟ learning inthe writing and translation classrooms In the peer response activity, students work

in pairs, groups or classes, review and evaluate other‟s work, make comments andsuggestions for a better work

Previous research has confirmed the positive effects of using peer responses

to the development of foreign language learning as well as language education Forexample, the studies of Lee (1997), Mendonca & Johnson (1994), Min (2005),Rollinson (2005), Wakabashi (2013) found that classmates can provide many usefulfeedbacks to students in ESL writing classes Although peer response is less likely

to be adopted by learners than teacher response, learners do welcome peer response,and evidence suggest that peer response leads to improvements in learners‟ writing(Miao, Badger, & Zhen, 2006) Mei & Yuan (2010) found that response receivers

do value and incorporate peer response and corrections into their subsequentrevisions Furthermore, in a study to explore the effectiveness of peer‟s corrections,Wong, Kingshan, and Ronica (1999) confirmed that the corrections of peersproduced fewer errors of writing In Hyland‟s (2000) study, the students commentedthat the feedback of peers on grammar improves their learning Making commentsand revising others‟ writing improves students‟ evaluation and helps them becomecritical readers It improves their ability to assess their own work and become morequalitative revisers of their own writing and errors (Rollinson, 2005) In Tsui &Ng‟s (2000) study, a student also showed that he recognized his own mistakes byreading their peers‟ work One large scale study also found a strong correlationbetween assessment marks given by peers and marks given by experts (Tseng &Tsai, 2007) From a learner-centred perspective, the practice of peer responseempowers the students who provide the response (Coit, 2004), reduces learneranxiety and increases learner confidence (Lin & Chien, 2009; Mei & Yuan, 2010).Furthermore, while much attention is given to the reception of response, a recentstudy found that learners derive more benefits from providing response on others‟work than from receiving response from others, i.e there is more in giving thanreceiving (Lundstrom & Baker, 2009) Berg (1999) found that those trained incommenting on other people‟s writing produced more meaningful changes

With the utilization of new ICTs, the benefits of peer response via onlinelanguage learning platforms have also been proven As pointed by Kibler (2005), intraditional, teacher-fronted EFL classrooms, it was unlikely that teachers wouldhave enough time to attend to students‟ needs and to support students to fullyengage in the learning process; however, with computer and online peer feedbackactivities, teachers could maximize the amount of time for the students to engage inthe learning process.

Peer response can enhance students‟ confidence and make them moreindependent and positive As explained by Xing (2014), the students will feelrelaxed and it will give them more “confidence and inspiration to speak out freely”(p 375) In addition, their works will be given feedback first before beingsubmitted, so they still have time to revise them first before giving it to the teachers.Tsui & Ng (2000) mentioned that peer feedback increases students‟ sense ofownership of text because peers‟ comments are often not considered as authoritativeones (compared to teacher‟s feedback) Students can decide whether they shouldaccept peers‟ comments or not Thus, students are less dependent on their teachersand more confident in themselves

Additionally, peer response via online platforms can also improve students‟critical thinking By making a critical response to the writing of their peers, theycarry out the critical thinking which they must use to their work (Mittan, 1989 ascited in Mendoca and Johnson, 1994) Besides, students must make a great effortand reflection to apply the knowledge they have learned to give critical andbeneficial comments Therefore, their metacognitive consciousness was stimulated(Wong and Storey, 2006 as cited in Chen & Lin, 2008)

Moreover, online peer response helps establish collaborative and cooperativelearning Wakabayashi (2013) stated that by joining peer response activity, studentsinvolved in critical review of others‟ texts with the aim of exchanging help formodification In addition, Hyland (2000) pointed out one of the useful strategies forcreating mechanisms to support classmates was allowing and inspiring students tointeract with their peers

Despite all the aforementioned benefits, some drawbacks of peer responsehave been outlined in previous studies Firstly, such activity takes a lot of time and

effort of learners, especially when learners are not familiar with the process.According to Rollinson (2005), peer editing was a time-consuming process Itincludes many stages such as reading drafts, taking notes, discussing with otherreaders to have agreement, then writing comments or comments directly with thewriter, which will need learners to spend a sizable amount of time Secondly,between teachers and classmates, students prefer teachers to comment on their workfor various reasons, such as lack of belief in peers‟ evaluation, awareness of theirlimitations of linguistics (Ferris, 2002; Hyland & Hyland, 2006).Students arefamiliar with and believe that teachers are the only audience with more experienceand able to give more valuable comments (Chen & Lin, 2008) Some students feltthat they were not knowledgeable about how to counsel appropriately so they werenot confident to give comments to peers‟ works This issue may be even moreevident when a low-achieving student is asked to work with a high achiever Lastly,cultural factors also influence the quality of peer response activity Topping (2009)mentioned that the benefits of peer response could be invalidated due to the forces

of social interaction such as: friendship bonds, enmity, and conformity, amongothers For example, Asian students, who are known to be collectivists, tend not togive comments openly to their peers because they are afraid that it might make theirpeers lose face, resulting in damaging good relationships or conflicts with others.However, Gielen and De Wever (2015) acknowledged the fact that students need todevelop skills in order to perform their peer response role appropriately Theyconcluded in their study that a practical instructional intervention on the feedbackprocess increases the potential impact of peer response and boosts students‟ learning

in higher education Moreover, explicit instruction for students on the benefits ofpeer response will positively impact their motivation and level of responsibility, aswell as engagement in the task (Topping, 2009)

Regardless its limitations, peer response cannot be denied having variousbenefits to the improvement of students‟ skills If the students are trained to makeeffective comments, the teacher understands the characteristics of the students andcreates a suitable learning environment for students to feel comfortable makingcomments on their peer‟ work, the disadvantages of peer response can be limited, aswell as the efficiency of this activity will be increased

How to implement peer response

When peer response is first introduced to the classroom, students may not becomfortable critiquing each other‟s product and may be reluctant to judge others, so

to promote substantive and constructive feedback, the teacher has to make sure thestudents clearly understand the purposes and the process of peer response The lists

of responsibilities as the authors and the editors should be elaborated anddiscussed in class After peer response, it is also a good idea to have the studentsreflect on the process in order to consider how well they worked together andwhat actions they will take in the next peer-response situation (Barkley, Cross, &Major, 2005; Byrd, 2003)

In translation classrooms, Mossop (2007) suggests that the degree of revisioncan vary, depending on types of texts and particular working contexts, such as howthe text is going to be used, who is going to be the readers, and the factor of timelimitation He also proposes practical parameters to be used in peer response, such

as accuracy, completeness, facts, smoothness, tailoring, sublanguage, mechanics,layout, etc

2.1.3 Peer response in translation training

Many researchers have severely criticized the traditional translation classroombecause of its rigidity, backwardness, being teacher-centered and lacking creativity(Kiraly, 1995, 2000; Colina, 2003; Stewart, 2008) One of the characteristics of atraditional translation class is transmission of knowledge Instead of activelyparticipating in the class, the learners acquire knowledge passively If the studentsmake a mistake in their translations, equivalent translations and strategies will beprovided immediately by the teacher, which leads to the feeling that the answer ofthe teacher is the only correct one (Colina, 2003, p.52) The translation product ispaid more attention on than the translation process, therefore, the learner‟sindependence and confidence are eliminated Actually, a traditional translationclassroom focuses too much on the precision of translation products Zhong (2002)emphasized that this has the deep implications for translation training However,teachers also need to pay attention to its downside as it easily makes the translationclass become a teacher‟s dominant discourse Because of those drawbacks oftraditional classrooms, many teachers are trying to build modern translation classes

where students are the center and they are provided chances to increase students‟creativity and imagination.

Zhong (2002) emphasized that “we as educators must not dis-empower[students] by depriving them of their subjectivities and their right to thinkindependently” (p.579) In order to achieve this, both teachers and students need toreorient their teaching and learning, avoiding the translator as only a tool incommunication Modern translation classes not only focus on learners but alsoempower learners as it enhances learners‟ autonomy with long-term learning skills.The modern translation class develops the self-thinking skills, team collaborationand responsible thinking so that they can self-assess the strengths and weaknesses

of their activities With skills created and higher-order thinking activated, translatorsdevelop lifelong learning skills to help them continue to progress and learn evenafter graduation

In addition, to be able to be a skilled translator, one needs to master otherskills as well, such as “language acquisition, text competence, research competence,cultural competence, transfer competence and abilities such as decision-making,creativity, to give quick responses” (Coban, 2015, p 708) These kinds of skills arenot easy to be mastered without any regular practice In translation class, teachersneed to not only make students practice translating regularly, but also provideopportunities to give feedback, whether it is from them or the students themselves.Feedback is essential to improve students‟ translation skills since it can make themlearn from their mistakes and guide them to the right track In addition, it can alsohelp them to develop their professional skills (Flanagan & Heine, 2015) and makethem self-regulated learners (Nicol and Dick, 2005) Mucha (as cited in Pietrzak,2014) also states that proofreading is an essential sub-competence for translators Infact, there are various kinds of feedback viewed from the ones providing it, namelyself, peer, and teacher feedback Nonetheless, regarding self-feedback, some peopleargue that it is difficult to be unbiased and to notice their own mistakes In addition,they sometimes find teacher feedback can make them down and lost theirmotivation and confidence to translate Hence, peer response is chosen as a strategy

to help the students to enhance their translation skills Hyland (2003) states that peerresponse usually comprise “assigning students to groups of two, three, or four who

exchange completed first drafts and give comments on each other‟s work beforethey revise them” (p 200) In this case, they need to share their works with eachother, find the errors, and provide constructive response to improve the quality oftheir groupmates‟ translation.

To achieve the goals of the modern translation classroom, researchers andteachers have now adopted a variety of learning activities and models, one of which

is peer response which can improve their editing skill, one of the key skills studentsneed to master in building professional translation skills A peer editing study in aThai student translation project has shown that in spite of their different translationcapability and language proficiency, students can get profit from cooperation withothers, in terms of improving their correcting abilities and engaging to learn fromeach other in translation process (Sakolkarn & Tongtip, 2017) The students in thestudy of Chong (2013) also appreciated feedback from their peers as it helps them

to solve language problems in their drafts of translations, but they are not willing tospend time on giving responses to their peers

Innovations in online peer response have started to change the peer feedbacktask The introduction of online LMSs or online learning platforms into the modernclassroom has required investigation and research into how technology has affectedand effected the experience of peer response Xing (2014) argued that online peerresponse can be considered as a kind of collaborative and cooperative learning It isbecause when providing feedback to each other, it opens chances for them tocollaborate and cooperate with each other The findings of a study conducted byDemirbilek (2015) showed that social media as a peer feedback tool increase criticalthinking skills Here, the students need to think critically to give feedback and todecide whether they want to revise their translation based on their groupmates‟feedback or not Ching and Hsu (2013) also argued that the students are intended toget maximum freedom to control their learning pace and make up their tasks Theyalso can decide whether they want to revise their translation based on theirgroupmates‟ feedback or not

Consequently, the present research has incorporated the peer response inonline learning platforms to create a learning environment that can facilitatestudents‟ collaboration and also engage them throughout the process

2.1.4 Peer response on translation courses via Google Classroom

With the rocketing development of technology and the Internet, the 21stcentury has been witnessing great changes in education and educators‟ thinking.When computers have become extremely valuable teaching tools, classrooms are nolonger the rooms with traditional tables and chairs and a blackboard and chalk withreal teachers and students Classrooms now are anywhere in and out of the schoolswhere the students can learn things which are normally called as Flexible LearningSpace Our classrooms are now even on the race to nowhere with the great help oftechnology which is normally called Virtual Classroom These new classrooms aresupposed to create a new learning environment for teachers and students, help themmove away from passive learning one and move towards a space that encouragesstudents‟ activeness and involvement as well as improve the students‟ results

Understanding not only the value of traditional classrooms, but also the value

of technology in the teaching and learning process, teachers have applied learningplatforms such as Google Classroom to the teaching of many English modules aswriting or translation and gain certain benefits A study on student attitudes towardthe use of Google Classroom in translation courses also found that students have apositive attitude toward the use of this application in translation projects (MarsikaSepyanda, 2018)

In Google Classroom, the teachers can store class materials, makeannouncements, create assignments, give feedback or mark students’ works Thisapplication can be used on smartphone where both lecturer and students candownload it freely and log in easily The lecturer only need to create a class andshare the class code to the students to let them to join with the class created.Through this application, students can submit their assignment easily, revise theirassignment, and also check their scores given by the lecturer With all of thosefunctions, how to appropriately utilize them in the lessons is one of the matters thatmany teachers are very interested in Currently there is not much research onwhether common activities of writing and translation classrooms such as peerresponses should be applied to the Google Classroom and how it impacts onstudents’ learning Therefore, in this study, the author focuses on applying peer

response activity to translation class through Google Class’s commenting function

in order to find out its effect on teaching and learning translation

2.2 Related studies

A recent study by Ken Chuaphalakit, Bhornsawan Inpin, and PrarthanaCoffin (2019) investigated the quality of feedback produced via anonymous onlinepeer feedback activity in a Thai EFL writing classroom The participants were anintact group of 21 students who enrolled in Academic Writing course in the firstsemester of academic year 2017 None of them had experience doing any kind ofpeer feedback activity before The Google applications, Google Classroom andGoogle Docs, were be used in the present study as a platform for the students toshare their writing pieces The Google classroom served as a place where thestudents submitted their writing, while the Google Docs was used as a platformwhere the students produced their works and gave feedbacks to their peers Peerfeedback tasks, questionnaires, and an interview were used to collect theinformation The results showed that they students agreed that the anonymousonline peer feedback benefit them in many areas of writing However, there weresome problems about the process of the activity and the feedback givers and theyshould be improved The results from the interview showed that most students saidthat they would do the same if they knew who the feedback givers were It wasfound from the study that training is an essential part of the success of the peerfeedback activity, especially when implementing with students having noexperience with such activity This finding suggests a guidance to those who want

to utilize online peer response activities into their classes

Marsika Sepyanda (2018) conducted a study to know the students’ attitudetoward the use of Google Classroom as an application used in collecting theirassignment on translation subject Google Classroom has been used as supportingtool in collecting students’ assignments on several subjects taught at DepartmentFKIP UMMY Solok, one of which is Translation subject that contains severalassignments that should be submitted by the students directly The participants ofthis research were 9 third year students of English Department FKIP UMMY Solok

in 2017/2018 academic year The result of this study found that students’ attitudetoward the use of Google Classroom in collecting their assignment on Translation

subject was in the “good” level In other word, the students’ attitude toward the use

of Google Classroom on Translation subject at third year of English Departmentstudents of FKIP UMMY in 2017/2018 academic year Solok was positive Thisstudy confirms that Google Classroom can be used as an effective tool in collectingstudents’ assignments, especially in translation subject

In their empirical study of online peer feedback in translator education,Wang and Han (2013) asserted that peer feedback has received very little attention

in the literature on translation pedagogy, despite the tremendous amount of researchwritten on the benefits of peer feedback in other areas of language education Thetwo researchers had 17 Chinese-speaking students, who were enrolled in anundergraduate translation class at an Australian University, translate a 250-wordtext then mark and provide anonymous peer feedback on another fellow student’stranslation Original translations along with their anonymous peer feedback wereuploaded onto an online forum Students were encouraged to download and perusetheir own translation along with its feedback, and to download other students’reviewed translations for comparisons The researchers found that online peerfeedback was highly appreciated by translation students Students reported that peerfeedback was a valuable activity that gave them the opportunity to examinealternative approaches and perspectives on the translation task Some students notedthat peer feedback enabled them to assume elevated roles as markers and quasi-teachers, which gave them a sort of empowerment and responsibility (p 68) Thecorrection of careless errors/mistranslations, as well as errors at lexical anddiscourse levels, were also noted by students as obvious benefits of the activity.Students indicated that among the three processes of (1) providing feedback, (2)receiving feedback, and (3) perusing other classmates’ reviewed work, the secondand third processes were the most beneficial and rewarding Finding of the researchreveals that Collaborative Translation Task interactions among students andteachers benefited students in a deep learning of translation, development of criticalthinking, and cooperation between/among translators

In addition, among the small number of studies done on learner autonomy ininterpreting and translation training, a good majority focus on oral interpretingtraining (Bartłomiejczyk, 2007; Ficchi, 1999; Hartley, Mason, Peng, & Perez, 2004;

Wang, 2009); only one study discusses learner autonomy and peer response inwritten translation training (Lindgren, Sullivan, Deutschmann, & Steinvall, 2009).Lindgren et al.‟s (2009) study looked at peer discussion in computer-basedtranslation exercises and concluded that encouraged student reflection of thetranslation task.

In short, little or no prior studies exist into the peer response process inTranslation Course via Google Classroom Further, we found no prior researchspecifically address-ing the operational aspects of online peer review at SFL-TNU.This research addresses that gap by studying the application of peer response onTranslation Course via comment function of Google Classroom at School ofForeign Languages – Thai Nguyen University

2.3 Present status of learning and teaching Translation in School of Foreign Languages – Thai Nguyen University

2.3.1 Courses

There are five minor translation courses offered for English Language students

in School of Foreign Languages – TNU: Theories of Translation which mostlyfocuses on theoretical knowledge, Translation 1 and Interpretation 1 with very basicknowledge, Translation 2 and Interpretation 2 which have more advancedknowledge Apart from Theories of Translation, the four others concentrate on thestudy and implementation of translation strategies

Although the above 5 courses of translation have similarities, only Translation

is within the research scope of this study The Translation Course is uniformlydesigned as follows:

● In-class activities

In the translation class, students are facilitated with appropriate inputtranslation techniques Before each session, teachers provide students with shorttexts of different genres and topics corresponding to different translation techniques,

so that students can prepare them at home on their own or with classmates Throughthis activity, students are prepared with the knowledge they will gain in theteacher‟s upcoming lecture as well as problems that they may encounter due to notknowing the necessary translation skills Sometimes teachers will assign studentsother texts to translate in the classroom right after the students have been introduced

to the respective translation skills This can help teachers get more reliable resultsabout what they have facilitated the students Several students are chosen to sharetheir ideas with other members of the group Other students, especially the teacher,will make comments or give other ideas to the whole class Sometimes teachersonly mark students‟ works after they submit without giving any comments orsuggestions.

In the second semester of the academic year 2019-2020, due to thecomplicated situation of Covid-19 epidemics, the School of Foreign Languagesapplies the form of online teaching, so like other subjects‟ teachers, the teachers ofTranslation Course have also used Google Classroom to manage classrooms All theactivities of the class were online

● Home activities

When studying Translation 1, students have to do a long translation at home ingroups and then submit it to their teacher in the allotted week The teacher will markthe products as real test scores When participating in Translation 2, students arealso asked to prepare a long translation at home, but that is a personal assignment,then submit it to the teacher at the scheduled time Products are also marked as realexams Teachers can also ask students to prepare a portfolio with a series of shorttranslations in which students highlight what they do best and what they need helpwith The teacher will assess the quality of translation through the ability toreproduce the source language into the most natural equivalent of the students‟target language and the students‟ efforts in translation that are perceived in asubjective way by the teacher

2.3.2 Teachers/Tutors

Although teachers are always aware of translation teaching approacheseffectively, the teaching process still favors “read and translate” methods asemphasized by Davis (2004) Davies recognized that training students to acquire theessential language skills and maintain the “delicate balance” when working withlanguage and culture is important in teaching translation The actual process inSFL‟s translation classes is as follows: First, the teacher explains the translationtechnique and then selects the document with the suitable difficulty degree forstudents to translate according to the goal of the lesson Second, students then read

(including a quick reading and a detailed reading) the given text Next, with the help

of teachers, students analyze texts, being aware of the text type, the author, thereader, the context of the text, etc Then, students must prioritize their work, self-adjust, and create reader-friendly materials in the target language After that,students have to objectively evaluate their work At the same time, they can edittheir own works and others‟ ones Finally, by revising the texts, the studentunderstands the similarities or differences between the two languages

This process, despite being considered as the “standard” way of translationclass, the author of this study argues that it is the “habit” of many teachers Thosewho are responsible for the courses can certainly apply their individual initiatives,however, they can return to this process easily after sometimes

A common feature of most SFL‟s translation teachers is that they have notreceived any type of specialized training in translation teaching They are those withM.A degrees of TEFL/TESL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language / TeachingEnglish as the Second Language) or of literature or linguistics Any teacher in theEnglish Department who is interested in teaching translation can register to teachthese courses In addition, there are no requirements Therefore, translation is oftentaught in theory and practice as an academic subject, like many other subjects, thisseems to be struggling as teachers cannot determine whether they should train theirstudents like normal courses to acquire language knowledge or train them tobecome professional translators after graduation Because of lacking continuingtraining programs for teachers, translation course‟s teachers have to self-explore,come up with spontaneous innovations in practical teaching as well as try toimprove themselves, although sometimes these efforts still have not yielded manypositive results The arbitrary approaches applied in the courses discourage alleducational efforts and prevent SFL from meeting one of the essential goals oftranslation courses: to prepare competent graduates who can undertake effectivetranslation work if required, not to mention becoming a professional translator

2.3.3 Students

As a young foreign language training institution, School of Foreign Language

- Thai Nguyen University does not have much history in translation training.Though, many students in the school with low average entrance marks, get quite a

few improvements after two years of training in basic knowledge before taking a translation course.

However, students also have strong points such as: having been trained in thelanguage for two years before taking the translation course, the readingcomprehension competence is quite good, the ability to manage the resources well,having the good ability to analyze and self-criticism; being able to developteamwork to maintain constructive interpersonal relationships; being familiar withdictionaries and translation tools; and being creative, dynamic and patient

Meanwhile, the weaknesses of the students are: the lack of systematicpragmatic and cultural backgrounds in both languages; the lack of knowledge ofregisters, text-type in both source language and target language; the lack of theproper knowledge and usage of translation strategies and skills, and showing anunstable interest in learning, especially when encountering difficult exercises

Overall, to have good translation skills is not easy, becoming a professionaltranslator even more difficult Students must have a good knowledge of bothlanguages and cultures, and be patient and creative in reproducing text from sourcelanguage to target language Students in SFL need more effort to improvethemselves when learning translation because they are also one of the problems ofteaching and learning the subject, although the subject itself still has many problems

to be solved

2.3 Summary

This chapter reviews the literature of collaborative learning, a method whichhas been widely studied, and the benefits of using it have also been acknowledged.Research studies show applicability of collaborative across different subject areasand at different levels of ducation Therefore, the use of collaborative learningmethod in teaching translation at undergraduate level can be of great effectiveness.This chapter also gives a broad picture of peer response, an activity aimed atenhancing student interaction and thereby improving student learning, and has beenused in ESL writing and translation classes Although there are some downsides,the effects it brings to ESL writing and translation classes are undeniable If theteacher understands the student‟s characteristics and this activity as well as the

class‟s goals, the advantages of this activity will be promoted, bringing many benefits to the class.

The traditional teacher-centered translation classes are often quite dry andtedious Therefore, nowadays, with the motto of being student-centered, teachers areconstantly changing, applying new teaching methods, interactive activities betweenstudents and teachers, between students and students, in order to create interest forstudents to learn and practice professional translation skills

One of the features of modern classrooms is that teachers can applyinformation technology in the classroom to create a convenient and friendlylearning environment for students However, how to apply and combine theteaching activities with information technology properly and effectively, still needs

a lot of research and experimental efforts of researchers and teachers Therefore, theapplication of peer activity in translation classes through Google Classroom is themain content of this study

This chapter also summarizes the current situation of teaching and learningtranslation at SFL-TNU, where teachers and students still face many difficulties andproblems in teaching and learning this course

CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

The framework of the theoretical background from which the peer responseand other issues related to the matter of this thesis have been introduced in theprevious chapter In this chapter we deal with the method that was employed for theachievement of the aims of the study, the methods of collecting data for analysis.This chapter also aims at exploring the following issues respectively: (1) researchquestions; (2) research population and sample; (3) research context and settings; (4)data collection instruments; (5) data analysis method and (6) summary

3.1 Research Questions

As stated in the previous part, this study was conducted to explore the effects

of applying peer response to translation through Google Classroom, so it wasdesigned to find the answers to the following questions:

1 What are the effects of peer response activities via the comment function ofGoogle Classroom in a bilingual English-Vietnamese translation course in SFL-TNU?

2 What are the student‟s perceptions of peer response activities via GoogleClassroom?

3.2 Research population and sample

The population of this research was third–year-students of the Translationmodule 1 in School of Foreign Languages – Thai Nguyen University during thesecond semester of the academic year 2019-2020.There were 27 students in anintact group who were enrolled in the Translation module 1 The reason of takingthis group was because they learn Translation subject during the time of the study.The participants had not studied any module related to Translation beforeattending the Translation Course 1 In the second semester of the third year, theystudied the module English Translation 1 and Interpretation 1 at the same time.They only had 3 hours per week to study the theory and to practice translating in theclass, and they had to spend 3 hours each week for self-study or teamwork

3.3 Research Context and Settings

The course in the study was divided into eight topics: 1 Introduction of theCourse, 2 Translating Cultural Terms, 3 Dealing with Non – subject sentences, 4

Translating News, 5 Dealing with Metaphors, 6 Dealing with Repetition &Reformation, 7 Dealing with Repetition & Reformation, 8 Dealing with BusinessLetters & Contracts The course ran for 15 weeks, except for the last week whichwas final revision week, two weeks for two mid-term tests, we had 12 weeksremaining for the study.

All of the students had at least one smartphone, or a tablet, or a laptop whichcould help them access to the Internet very easily At the beginning of the term, thestudents had to submit their email address to the teachers and they were invited tothe Google Classroom The teacher dealt with the class through another onlineplatform (Zoom), and the teacher assigned assignments, checked submissions,marked them and interacted with students when needed in Google Classroom

Before each lesson, teachers provided students with theoretical materialrelated to the lesson and a text that required students to translate first at home Threedays before the class (on Zoom), students must submit work to the teachers Theteacher chose one or two students‟ work to comment on the class In the first fourweeks, the teacher guided students how to read others‟ works critically and to makeeffective comments, in terms of grammar factors, usage of words, accuracy, culturalfactor, completeness, smoothness, tailoring, etc The teacher also asked students inthe class to give comments on the selected product to practice the ability to detecterrors and the ability to make useful comments, to help peer response activities inthe next period more effectively Besides, in this period the teacher also helpedstudents to get familiar with the functions of Google Classroom

From the fifth week onwards, the teacher divided the class into small groups

of three members, so there are a total of nine groups Then the teacher gave the task

to students which consisted of 3 steps In the first step, they are asked to work ontheir own to study the theoretical material and translate a text on the topiccorresponding to the theory (skill) they have self-studied This work then continues

to the Google Classroom which students can access from home during the week InGoogle Classroom, the students posted their works and tagged the two othermembers of their group The students are asked to post their work at least 4 daysbefore the lessons, so that the other students in the group have enough time to readand comment on it, the students in each group can interact together on Google

Classroom, it is also the second step of the task The last step was after two days,students revised their work based on the comments of their peers and re-post a finaldraft in the comment section of their own post The teacher would follow theactivities of the groups and in the class still select the one or two students‟ work forcomment and correction, as well as giving suggestions for peer response activities

of the students (if necessary) The teachers also encouraged the groups to exchangeideas and discuss with each other

3.4 Data Collection Instruments

3.4.1 Primary Data

For the purpose of this research, the primary data is collected throughstudents‟ translation drafts, self-administered questionnaires for students and theteacher, and class observation

● Translation drafts

With the aim of evaluating the effects of peer response via Google Classroom

to students‟ translating skill, assignments are created for students corresponding toeach topic in class Every week, the students produce two translation drafts tosubmit to the teacher: the first translation draft, and the final draft after they receivefeedback from their peers The teacher marked students‟ translation first draft andtheir last drafts in the fifth week (right after applying peer response activity) and in

This was one of the principal instruments of assessing the impact of peerresponse activity on the students‟ translation ability By marking and evaluating thetranslation drafts before and after students received comments from their groupmembers, the author discovered whether this affected the students‟ revision process,

as if their group members made useful comments to them or not Likewise, thetranslation drafts of the first and last week applying Peer response activities throughGoogle Classroom also helped the researcher to evaluate the impact of this activity

on the student‟s translation ability as well as their critical reading skills

● Questionnaires

There are two questionnaires for students and one questionnaire forteachers.The questionnaire will include both qualitative and quantitative data andquestions

At the beginning of the semester, students are given Questionnaire 1(Appendix 1) to investigate the students‟ general information The questionnaire isdivided into 2 parts: Part 1 is personal information including gender, age, time oflearning English and Part 2, a total of 10 open-ended questions, provide the authorwith information about the students‟ experience and understanding of peer responseactivities as well as the Google Classroom.

At the end of the semester, Questionnaire 2 (Appendix 2) is distributed tostudents in order to investigate the students‟ attitude to applying peer responseactivity through Google Classroom in Translation class There are all 10 questions,including 8 questions on the Likert rating scale, mainly asking about the student‟sassessment for the application of peer response, factors affecting peer responseactivities, from which the author can obtain information to evaluate theeffectiveness of the activity with teaching translation Two open-ended questionsabout students‟ comments on peer responses conducted through Google Classroomand in the face-to-face class, and the last question is about students‟ challengeswhen attending peer response activities through Google Classroom

A questionnaire (Appendix 3) has also been delivered to the teacher to find outthe teacher‟s difficulties as well as her subjective assessment about the effectiveness

of applying Peer responses through the Google Classroom in the Translationclassroom This is also a reference information channel for authors and readers tohave a more comprehensive view of the results of this study

● Class observation

Besides questionnaire, the class observation was also a strategic instrument togather the pertinent information in this study objectively It would highly supportwhat we obtained through questionnaires

According to Sykes (1977), observations can be used to collect data byviewing events or behaviors in its natural environment Furthermore, observationcan be used as both a research method and a data collection method (Powell &Connaway, 2004) The aim of systematic classroom observation is to identify andquantify classroom teaching activities that may be considered important to aparticular teaching process (Fahri, 2003) Stenhouse (1975) also stated thatclassroom observations have many important educational purposes: describing

instructional practice, investigating instructional equity for different groups ofstudents, and improving teacher‟s classroom instruction basing on responses fromeach classroom or school profile Therefore, observing the entire process of peerresponse application and classroom activities of teachers and students helpsresearchers obtain objective and reliable information for the research, whereby,asemi-structured observation checklists was designed (Appendix 4).

In particular, the author was provided the password of the online class (viaZoom Meeting) to join and observe the class by record function of Zoom The class

week (the last week applying peer response using Google classroom)

week of the application), the writer also observed the Google Classroom by beingadded to the Google Classroom as a second teacher with all the right of seeing theposts and the comments as well as other activities of students in the class

3.4.2 Secondary data

The secondary data gathering included the collection of related studies andliterature about confidence in public speaking through websites, journals, books,articles and printed materials

3.5 Data Analysis

There are two types of data that will be generated in this study, qualitativedata and quantitative data Qualitative data is used to analyze information obtainedthrough open-ended questions in questionnaires and class observations From there,the data will be qualitatively discussed, interpreted, summarized and analyzed Thedata was analyzed using sample testing for mean, standard deviation, through dataanalysis tool pack of Microsoft Excel The results are then transformed intoquantitative measurement and for clear understanding Additionally, the results ofthe study are presented using tables, bar charts and pie-charts in order to present thefinal results to be complete and comprehensible Besides, the quantitative approachwill be used to analyze the data gathered through Likert-scale questionnaire items,

marking students‟ translation drafts, and closing questions in questionnaires Therelevant evaluations will then be used to reinforce the idea of the findings to formthe overall picture of the analysis.

3.6 Summary

In this chapter, we have an overview of the research participants - students ofEnglish Language Teaching undergraduate program K40 of School of ForeignLanguages - Thai Nguyen University as well as the teacher in the study, who hasexperience of teaching many English modules like translation, grammar, writing, etc

Besides, research progress has also been clearly introduced so that readerscan understand Along with that, this chapter also concerns data collectioninstruments, including students‟ translation drafts, questionnaires and observation.The data gathered from these instruments will be discussed, interpreted, andanalyzed in the next chapter of the thesis