Revising Strategies for EFL Students, Research Paper Example

The “Comparative Study of Three Revision Methods in EFL Writing is an article that compares three teaching methods when dealing with EFL students in particular. The three different methods compared were self-revision, peer revision, and teacher revision. In particular, the study paid attention to the overall quality of the work of writing, revision behavior, as well as the perception of the revisions by the students themselves.

The subjects of the experiment were ten students chosen from Bangkok University that had virtually identical backgrounds in English. The individual data was collected through an identical writing task, a peer response sheet, as well as a “semi-structured” interview conducted by the teacher.

The entire aim of the study was to point out and highlight the errors in these students, and how best they learned from their mistakes in order to benefit the students the most. The results were that ultimately students benefit from a combination of the three, but clearly highlighted the pros and cons of each method.

In the peer review for example, although there was some merit on the grounds of how the students’ were able to relate, having similar issues overall, it was empirically clear that the students’ better responded to teacher critique. While they were able to relate on the basis of similar difficulty, this also led them to mistrust each others’ critiques.

The article cites a quote from Huang (2002: 20): “…sometimes the feedback from an error can be so strongly negative that the learner would give up making new attempts, and the learning would end up in a failure.” This brings up s valid critique as to how humans as a whole take critique, removing the English as a Foreign Language situation altogether. In conjunction with, this can be more than frustrating but simply dejecting.

Again, the peer reviewed writing was less effective, though for another reason that can be surmised by the article. The students were unsure of their own ability to critique someone with a similar situation, and creating what was perhaps an unforeseen result…further adding to the overall ineffectiveness of this method.

It is clearly stated that although all three learning methods have their individual merits, that instruction from a teacher is always the most effective. The study was able to easily conclude that while there was no statistical difference between peer and self-revision, the addition of an instructor significantly fostered positive results as a whole.

This article was very effective as a whole in proving its point that teacher-based instruction in EFL students with regards to revision in particular is the most effective way in many ways. The case study provided evidence to support and to deconstruct all possible counter-points, and informed the reader of all the data adequately.

By deconstructing the contrasting arguments while simultaneously slowly providing evidence to support the claim based on the findings of the study, it was very easy for the reader to draw their own conclusions, which happened to be the conclusions the writer intended.

By using a relatable argument that gave all the information, the case study was very effective in proving its point that English as a Foreign Language students respond better to instructor-based revisions, compared to both peer based, and self-examination. The authors’ credibility is undeniable–she has literally written textbooks on the subject of EFL learning, as well as being a full-time lecturer of the sponsor of the study, Bankok University in Thailand. This is an article with a solid argument I would certainly recommend.

Resources

Srichanyachon, N. (2011). A comparative study of three revision methods in EFL writing. Journal of College Teaching and Learning, 8(9), 1-8. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/893908764?accountid=10359