The Development Of An English Essay Writing Course Based On The Self-monitoring And Peer Feedback Strategies For Thai Undergraduate English For International Communication Students

Abstract

The objectives of this study were (1) to investigate the needs of English essay writing skills of Thai undergraduate English for Intermational Communication students and their teachers, (2) to develop an English essay writing course based on the SMPFS to enhance English essay writing performance of English for International Communication students, (3) to investigate the effectiveness of the course developed based on the SMPFS, and (4) to explore the students' attitudes toward the course developed based on the SMPFS.

In this mixed methods study, it comprised of three phases: needs analysis, course development, and main study. This study was conducted with 30 third-year undergraduate English for International Communication students who were required to take an English essay writing course in the first academic year 2016 at Rajamangala University of Technology Isan, Khon Kaen Campus. To evaluate the effectiveness of the course, the scores from the pre- and post-expository essay writing test and students’ annotations and peer feedback were compared. Moreover, a four-point Likert scale attitude questionnaire, semi-structured interview, student log, and teacher log were used to find out the students’ attitudes toward the course. Results revealed that the course was somewhat effective as the post-test, the annotation, and the peer feedback scores significantly improved (t = 8.68; p = .000), (t = 7.53; p = .000) and (t = 3.10; p = .002) respectively. In addition, the students viewed the SMPFS course positively, stating that it helped to develop critical reading skills and opened up their horizons to collaborative process writing. Although this course may have benefitted students of higher proficiency level in particular, it is recommended to introduce the self-monitoring and peer feedback strategies to learners of all levels as it serves as a springboard to honing self-monitoring skills as well as critiquing skills in writing classes.