Use of Peer Tutoring in Improving the English Speaking Ability of Thai Undergraduate Students
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
This paper aims to explore how higher proficiency students delivered peer tutoring programs to help improve lower proficiency students’ speaking ability and build up their confidence in English speaking due to limited research studies on peer tutoring, especially in Thailand. Three groups of fourth-year undergraduates, each consisting of a high proficiency user of English as a tutor and three lower proficiency users, participated in the study. Video recordings of each tutoring session, the tutors’ record forms, semi-structured interviews and speaking tests were implemented as research instruments. All data were analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively through thematic analysis. The findings showed that a peer tutoring program can enhance the tutees’ speaking ability and assist them in gaining more confidence in speaking. Also, the results revealed that the tutees could obtain higher scores in the post-test by applying some of the tutor’s techniques. The tutoring sessions helped them learn how to form full sentences and anticipate possible test content, and encouraged them to be willing to speak. This paper suggests that peer tutoring can be promoted either inside or outside the classrooms so as to improve the speaking ability and confidence for low proficiency students
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
References
Achmad, D., & Yusuf, Y. Q. (2014). Observing pair-work task in an English speaking class. International Journal of Instruction, 7(1), 151-164.
Aktas, E., & Yurt, U. S. (2016). The effects of peer tutoring on university students’ success, speaking skills and speech self-efficacy in the effective and good speech course. Educational Research and Reviews, 11(11), 1035-1042.
Archana S., & Rani, K. (2017). Role of a teacher in English Language Teaching (ELT). International Journal of Educational Science and Research (IJESR), 7(1), 1-4.
Beasley, C. J. (1997). Students as teachers: The benefits of peer tutoring. Teaching and Learning Forum, 97, 21-30.
Bonwell, C., & Eison, J. A. (1991). Active learning: Creating excitement in the classroom. ASHE-ERIC Higher Education Reports, Washington DC, 50-52.
Boudouris, C. (2005). Peer-tutoring: Positive peer interactions. Ohio Reading Teachers, 37(1), 9-19.
Buchmann, M. (1984). The priority of knowledge and understanding in teaching. In J. Raths & L. Katz (Eds.), Advances in teacher education Vol. 1 (pp. 29-48). Ablex Publishing.
Chen, C., & Liu, C. (2011). A case study of peer tutoring program in higher education. Research in Higher Education Journal, 11, 1-10.
Chiu, E., & Wong, M. (2011). Peer tutoring in speaking. https://mafiadoc.com/peer-tutoring-in-speaking_59899dbb1723ddd269e53741.html
Clarkson, B., & Luca, J. (2002). Promoting student learning through peer tutoring – A case study. Proceedings of ED-MEDIA 2002--World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia and Telecommunications, 1176-1181. https://www.learntechlib.org/p/9640/
Damon, W., & Phelps, E. (1988, April 5-9). Three approaches of peer learning and their educational uses [Paper presentation]. The Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Associations. New Orleans, LA.
EF Education First, (2022). EF EPI, EF English proficiency index 2022. https://www.ef.co.th/ epi/regions/asia/thailand/
Eggers, J. E. (1995). Pause, prompt and praise: Cross-age tutoring. Teaching Children Mathematics, 4(2), 216-220.
Fiorella, L., & Mayer, R. E. (2018). What works and what doesn’t work with instructional video. Computers in Human Behavior, 89, 465–470.
Gearheart, B., Weishahn, M., & Gearheart, C. (1992). The exceptional students in regular classroom. Merril.
Goodlad, S. (1999, September 30-October 2). Never knowingly oversold: A watchword for tutoring and mentoring schemes? [Paper presentation]. The Second Regional Conference on Tutoring and Mentoring, Perth, Australia.
Greenwood, R., Carta, J., & Hall, V. (1988). The use of peer tutoring strategies in classroom management and education instruction. School Psychology Review, 17, 258-275.
Hoover, J., & Patton, J. (2004). Differentiating standards-based education for students with diverse needs. Remedial and Special Education, 25(2), 74-78.
Jaturapitakkul, N., & Watson Todd, R. (2018). Test of English for Thai engineers and technologists: Technical report.
https://sola.kmutt.ac.th/tetet/doc/TETET_Technical_ report_NJ_RT_Complete.pdf
Kunsch, A., Jitendra, K., & Sood, S. (2007). The effects of peer-mediated mathematics instruction for students with disabilities: A review of the literature. Learning Disabilities Research & Practice, 22, 1-12.
Mastropieri, A., Scruggs, E., Norland, J., Berkeley, S., McDuffie, K., Tornquist, H., & Conners, N. (2006). Differentiated curriculum enhancement in inclusive middle school science: Effects on classroom and high-stakes tests. Journal of Special Education, 40(3), 130-137.
Medcalf, J., Glynna, T., & Moore, D. (2004). Peer tutoring in writing: A school systems approach. Educational Psychology in Practice, 20(2), 157-178.
Mickelson, T., Yetter, G., Lemberger, M., Hovater, S., & Ayers, R. (2003, April 21-25). Reciprocal peer tutoring: An embedded assessment technique to improve students’ learning and achievement [Paper presentation]. The Annual Meeting of the American Education Research Association, Chicago, Illinois.
Najabat, A., Muhammad, A., & Jaffar, A. (2015). Impact of peer tutoring on learning of students. Journal for Studies in Management and Planning, 1(2), 61-66.
Nathan, M., & Kim, S. (2007). Regulation of teacher elicitations and the impact on student participation and cognition. https://www.wcer.wisc.edu/publications/workingPapers/ papers.php
Nunan, D. (1988). The Learner-centred curriculum. Cambridge University Press.
O’Shea, L. J., & O’Shea, D. J. (2010). Peer-tutoring. In P. Peterson, E. Baker & B. McGaw (Eds.), International encyclopedia of education (3rd ed., pp. 802-807). Elsevier Ltd.
Ou, C., Joyner, D. A., & Goel, A. K. (2019). Designing and developing video lessons for online learning: A seven-principle model. Online Learning, 23(2), 82-104.
Outhred, T., & Chester, A. (2010). The experience of class tutors in a peer tutoring programme: A novel theoretical framework. Journal of Peer Learning, 3, 12-23.
Pearson Education (2018). Retake tests or subtests. https://www.ctcexams.nesinc.com/Page View.aspx?f=GEN_RetakePolicy.html
Ponniah, K., Sivanadhan, I., Kumar, M., & Nadarajan, P. (2019). Implementation of the 21st century learning in learning and facilitation of Thirukural in Tamil primary schools. International Journal of Advanced and Applied Sciences, 6(1), 43–50.
Rahmasari, B. (2017). Peer tutoring: An effective technique to teach reading comprehension. Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Language, Society and Culture in Asian Contexts (LSCAC), 245-258. https://doi.org/10.18502/kss.v1i3.745
Richard, J. C., & Renandya, W. A. (2003). Methodology in language teaching: An anthology of current practice. Cambridge University Press.
Riddell, P. G. (1991). Analyzing student needs in designing specific-purposes language syllabuses. Language Learning Journal, 3(1), 73-77.
Romwapee, W. (2012). Junior high school students’ English pronunciation development through reading-aloud dominoes [Unpublished Thesis]. Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Khon Kaen University, Thailand.
Sadovi, C. (2008). Tutors are helping themselves too: High schoolers taking part in reading program are showing improvement as they teach 1st graders. Ohio Reading Teachers, 41(3), 112-117.
Tam, M. (1997). Building fluency: A course for non-native speakers of English. English Teaching Forum, 35(1), 26.
Taylor, A., Anderson, S., Meyer, K., Wagner, M., & West, C. (2005). Lesson study: A professional development model for mathematics reform. Rural Educator, 26(2), 17-22.
Temizkan, M. (2009). The effect of peer assessment on the development of speaking skill. Journal of Mustafa Kemal University Institute of Social Sciences, 6(12), 90-112.
Tong, E. (2004). Tutoring aids tutors, learners. Collaborative Learning, 666, 253-257.
Topping, K. (1996). The effectiveness of peer tutoring in further and higher education: A typology and review of the literature. Higher Education, 32(3), 321-345.
Topping, K. (2001). Peer assisted learning: A practical guide for teachers. Brookline Books.
Udvari-Solner, A., Villa, A., & Thousand, S., (2005). Access to the general education curriculum for all: The universal design process. In R. Villa & J. Thousand (2nd Eds.), Creating an inclusive school (pp. 134-155). Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Wang, K. (2015). Problems and tactics in peer feedback in EFL writing teaching. Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Education, Management, and Information Technology (ICEMIT 2015), 480-483. https://www.atlantis-press.com/proceedings/icemit-15/25839053
Wilde, S., Cuny, K., & Vizzier, A. (2006). Peer-to-peer tutoring: A model for utilizing empathetic listening to build client relationships in the communication center. International Journal of Listening, 20(1), 70-75. https://doi.org/10.1080/10904018.2006.10499092
Xinghua (2007). Psychological problems of middle-school students in English learning. https://joyward.blog.163.com/blog/static/349494252007 61264614847
Yusica, U. (2014). Problem faced by Thai student in speaking English. https://www.academia.edu/9423968/problem_faced_by_thai_student_in_speaking_english
Zhang, Y. (2009). Reading to speak: Integrating oral communication skills. English Teaching Forum, 47(1), 32-34.