Peer-feedback of Students’ Recorded Videos to Improve Oral Skills: An Action Research Study

Abstract

This action research was implemented at a higher education institution. Participants were students at the Medicine school. According to local educational authorities, their level should be B1. However, the proficiency test indicated an A1-A2 level. To reduce that gap in proficiency and to raise their spoken participation, peer assessment of students’ videos was implemented. To this end, the teacher-researcher trained students in the use of a rubric to provide feedback to their peers’ recordings. Content for the videos was taken from students’ coursebooks. Data was collected through a pre and posttest. The first and the last video were considered the pre and posttest. Results indicated improvement in speaking skills in general. The statistical average of the surveys was raised by 1.3 points. In an analysis by components of the rubric, pronunciation was the speaking feature that had the highest score. Other teachers in the EFL context can consider replicating this study with their students to determine if this strategy can be applied in other contexts.