Developing Peer Corrective Skills in Business Letter Writing in English as a Foreign Language

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.22364/BJELLC.09.2019.03

Keywords:

peer corrective feedback, feedback quality, writing skills, undergraduates, EFL case study

Abstract

Peer corrective feedback (PCF) implementation is a topical issue in writing skills development at tertiary level. Those researchers who explore the application of PCF in higher education (e.g. Liu and Sadler, 2003; Hyland, K. and Hyland, F., 2006) admit that students face difficulties in providing quali­ta­tive feedback that determines the effectiveness of this teaching tool. Therefore, the goal of this paper was to investigate what actions could be taken in order to develop students’ PCF skills and, consequently, foster the quality of PCF. The primary research method was a case study in which the participants were 24 second-year undergraduates majoring in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) at a university in Latvia. The materials of the case study involve the genre of a business letter, which plays a vital role in people’s professional and everyday life. The results of the research revealed that providing students with an assessment scale and teaching how to apply it increase the quality of PCF.

Author Biographies

  • Monta Farneste, University of Latvia

    Monta Farneste (Dr. paed., Assoc. prof. in Applied Linguistics) is currently working at the University of Latvia. Her research interests include discourse studies, acquisition of written communication and communicative grammar. Email: Monta.Farneste@lu.lv.

  • Olga Pašinska, Riga Stradiņš University

    Olga Pašinska (MA philol., lecturer) is currently working at The Red Cross Medical College of Riga Stradiņš University. Her research interests include language acquisition at tertiary level and ESP. Email: olgapashinskalv@gmail.com

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SOURCES USED FOR TASKS DEVELOPMENT

Ashley, A. (2003) Oxford Correspondence Workbook. New York: Oxford University Press.

Carey, J. A. (ed.), (2002) Business English for Busy People: Time Saving, Ready-to-use Letters for Any Occasion. New York: The Career Press.

Stephens, M. (2005) New Proficiency Writing. Harlow: Pearson Education Limited.

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Published

2019-06-19

How to Cite

Developing Peer Corrective Skills in Business Letter Writing in English as a Foreign Language. (2019). Baltic Journal of English Language, Literature and Culture, 9, 29-45. https://doi.org/10.22364/BJELLC.09.2019.03