Focus on Education. The real and the ideal. Innovation 2008
April 14-15, 2008 - Breckenridge, Colorado
Let Me Learn with My Peers Online!:
Foreign Language Learning
Through Reciprocal Peer Tutoring
Rayanne Deckhinet
Keith Topping
David Duran
Silvia Blanch
INTRODUCTION
2. IMPLEMENTATION
3. INVESTIGATION
4. RESULTS
5. CONCLUSIONS
1.
 Previous considerations
 Highlights of the project
 Aims

Technological tools are now almost
indispensable for foreign language
teaching (Sotillo 2000)

Technology for language learning must
offer opportunities to practice the
language in authentic contexts and userfriendly environments allowing language
learners to communicate with native
speakers

Interest to assess the pedagogical value of
reciprocal peer-tutoring methodologies via
the Internet

The project is based on the use of
reciprocal peer tutoring for learning a
foreign language through information
and communication technology (ICT)

The project was implemented during the
summer term 2006 in two primary schools
in Catalonia and Scotland.

The programme is based on peer tutoring:
pairs, where neither of the two of them are
a professional teacher of the other, who
learns languages through a structured
activity

The tutor learns, because to teach is one of
the best ways to learn, and the tutee,
because gets the permanent and adjusted
assistance of his pair tutor
As a cooperative learning method promotes:

Significant learning: promoted by well structured
interaction between pupils organized by the teacher

Structured interactions: The pupils offer pedagogical
help prescribed interactions that enable adjustment
and personalizing

Opportunity to cooperate: constitutes a key
competence for the democratic society of the
knowledge (Ritchen & Salvanik, 2003)

Instructional strategy for the inclusive education:
recognizes the differences among pupils and it benefits
from them in a pedagogic sense, understanding the
difference as a positive element (Ainscow, 1991)
•
To establish a managed on-line learning
environment to act as a vehicle for peer feedback
from a peer tutor to develop modern language
capability.
•
To evaluate the pedagogical value of online
reciprocal peer tutoring for language learning.
•
To provide opportunities to engage in real,
meaningful conversation with peers who are native
speakers of the target language.
•
To provide an opportunity for tutor and tutee to
assist each other in learning a foreign language.
Primary 6/7 ; 10-11 years old
•Catalunya: 24 Students
•Scotland:
25 Students
Before
• During (8 sessions over 8 weeks)
• After
• Mesures
•






A computer room equipped with a sufficient
number of posts and IT support.
Network: 56 K (sufficient), broadband (better)
or local area network (best).
Platform: Windows 95, 98, 2000, NT, ME or XP;
Mac OS 9 or Mac OS X.
Hardware: 64 MB of RAM, 1 G of free disk
space.
Browser: Internet Explorer 6 for Windows and
Safari for Mac. JavaScript & cookies must be
enabled. In some cases, Java Virtual Machine
must be downloaded.
Browser Plugins: These may have to be
downloaded and activated on the client
(local).
BEFORE
Researchers
•Arranging
the pairs
•Initial test
DURING
•Observations
Children
•Training
•Training the
children
•Initial test
•Training
•Post test
•Interviews
•Support
•Teacher training
Teachers
(English
and
Spanish)
AFTER
•Data analysis
•Supervision and
assistance
•Using the English and
Spanish lessons to
improve both
languages
•Interviews
•Writing messages in
modern language
•Correcting messages
in
their own language
•Post test
•Interviews
Arranging the pairing (the children were
matched on the basis of attainment in
Spanish and English)
 Previous training on how:

 To prepare their messages and to assist their
peers
 To provide corrections to their peers using a
text-correction template.
 The use of the available resources (peers,
teacher, dictionaries, online tools...)
 To provide positive and encouraging comments
to their peers.
 To use the website
1.
Write a draft of the text (Version 1)
 Read the suggested activity (or propose some alternative theme)
 Think about ideas
 Write a draft using support (dictionary, grammar book, help form
your partner, other peers or teacher)
2.
In front of the computer
 Type the text
 Use the computer tools (Spelling and grammar, synonymous…)
 Proof-read the text and send it (Version 1)
3.
Receive your peer tutor’s comments
 Carefully read the comments
 Think about how you could improve your text
 Ask your teacher/peers if you need further information or help
correcting errors
4.
Write a new version of your text and send it again (Version 2)

Observations during the sessions

Discourse analysis (writing development in
Spanish)
Text analysis (Fluency, accuracy and
complexity).Wolfe-Quintero, Shunji, and Hae-Young (1998)
Patterns of use by pupils ( longitudinal analysis;
cross-sectional comparaison)

End-project interviews (children and
teachers)

The results has highlight the improvement in the
quantity of text (Fluency) produced (also pupils'
and teachers' perceptions). Show the potential
of the project for language learning.

The messages showed a progressively
consolidation of the Spanish composition.

Cross-sectional comparison of the messages of a
single student revealed an increase in the amount
and complexity of foreign language produced

The text showed a nonlinear progression
( IT problems, Themes) but a progressive
acquisition of the underlying rules of Spanish
grammar
An improvement on the writing skills of
foreign language learners.
 Tutoring peers also helped students
improve their knowledge of their own
language
 Both Scottish and Catalonian students
reported more positive attitudes
towards language learning.
 In all schools there was scope for
teachers to improve their group work
practice.

The programme has have a positive influence
in:
• Children learning in both roles, as tutors and
tutees
• The children’s improvement in linguistic
competences, in both languages
• The improvement in the children’s attitudes
towards languages
• The benefit of working and learning thanks to
other peers
• Teachers attitudes towards peer tutoring and
the use of ICT as a learning tool
• Reinforcing the knowledge of cultural aspects
between European citizens.
Grup de Recerca sobre Aprenentatge entre Iguals (GRAI)
http://antalya.uab.es/ice/aprenentatgeentreiguals
_________________________________________________
Silvia Blanch:
David Duran:
Keith Topping:
Silvia.Blanch@uab.cat
david.duran@uab.cat
K.J.Topping@dundee.ac.uk
Rayanne Deckhinet: R.Dekhinet@dundee.ac.uk
[
Copy and paste your partner’s text.
Read the text, whenever you see that there is something wrong with a particular language, place the cursor on it, then go to insert in the bar
menu, click on comment and type the correction. Do this only with mistakes you think are serious.
Hello Kirsty!
I love Christmas!When is Christmas i put christmas balls
the christmas tree and decorate my bedroom and the house
of Christmas.In christmas holidays I go with my mum and
dad to “Andalucía” and I visit “Málaga”, “Córdova”
“Almería”,... a countries of it. I like very much Christmas
holidays! I spend Christmas with my family but we doesn't
go to the church.In Christmas dinner we eat “galets”soup
and turky . To desserd we eat “neules i torrons”.Thats
very good!!!How do you prepare for Christmas?
Bye friend!!!
k1]Muw
It is
[k2]Muw
Decorations on the tree
[k3]Delete of christmas
[k4]What do you mean by this?
[k5]MUT do not
[k6]Sp
turkey
[k7]muw
for dessert
50
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Total
Fluency
Accuracy
Complexity
M1
M2
M3
M4
M5
M6

Can we take advantage of the difference
among pupils, from different countries, for
learning ?

Can a child act as a teacher of his first
language to another peer who is learning
it?

Can children improve their first language by
correcting the text written by another child
who is learning it?

It is possible to do that without using ICT?
Fluency in this system is measured based on three criteria:
number of words per sentence (W/S),
number of words per error-free sentence (W/EFS), and
number of words per compound, complex, and compoundcomplex sentence (W/CS).
Accuracy also has three standards of measurement:
number of error-free sentences in a message (EFS/M),
number of error-free compound, complex, and compoundcomplex sentences per the total number of compound,
complex, and compound-complex sentences (EFCS/TCS),
and
number of errors per sentence (E/S).
Complexity was also measured using three formulas:
number of compound, complex, and compound-complex
sentences per message (CS/M),
number of clauses per sentence (C/S), and
number of sentences per message (S/M).