Peer vs. teacher corrective feedback and its effect on grammar

Abstract

CF is a useful tool to learn English as a foreign language (EFL) (Bitchener, 2008). Data from several studies suggest that students highly benefit from teacher feedback as well as from peer feedback (Ellis, Loewen & Erlam, 2006; Bitchener, 2008; Bitchener & Knoch, 2008). Many studies have investigated the benefits and effects of peer feedback, and the effectiveness of teacher vs. peer feedback. However, very few have been conducted in secondary schools and even fewer have been carried out with students with low proficiency levels. The present study aims to compare the effects of peer and teacher feedback on secondarylevel EFL students in the north of Spain. Two tests were simultaneously conducted and corrected either by peers or by the teacher in parallel groups following a different order. Both had been preceded by a pre-test and followed by a post-test. With the aim of investigating the relative effectiveness of peer feedback vs. teacher feedback on grammar accuracy, the results of the post-tests were compared. Findings of the present study indicate that both peer and teacher feedback are effective teaching tools to use in the classroom. Moreover, results indicate that peer feedback may be slightly more effective than teacher feedback. It seems thatspecific circumstancessuch as the age, socioeconomic status and proficiency level of the participants may have influenced the results