Peer-Assessment

Peer-assessment is a process in which learners give each other feedback on a task, usually a skill-using task but can also be implemented in other areas of the instructional process. The peer-assessment process offers various benefits to learners. It helps them gain a clear understanding of the task criteria and engage with their own language learning and progress. Analyzing how others perform can help learners reflect on their own performance and gain awareness of other learners’ language learning strategies. Peer-assessment also offers an opportunity to learn about other cultures and practice intercultural competence as they learn about giving constructive feedback appropriately. 



Instructors play an important role in facilitating the peer-assessment process. You work with learners to determine the criteria for peer-assessment feedback and present the criteria in level-appropriate language, based on elements of the task that have been explicitly taught and practiced. You also select and introduce the tool learners use to record their feedback, such as checklists, prompts, rating scales and so on. At EAL literacy and Stage I levels, you can use pictorial representations such as emoticons. Keep in mind that criteria for peer feedback should be non-evaluative. They should guide learners in offering feedback on inclusion of specific elements they have learned, 
for example, “You remembered a greeting”, rather than feedback on how well their peers used the language. 



On Avenue, peer-assessment can be completed in a variety of ways. Informal peer-assessment can be completed using wikis, checklists, polls, questionnaires and so on. For more formal peer-assessment, Workshop allows instructors to assign specific examples of learner’s work to other learners for peer feedback using online rubrics. Peer feedback can also be provided in breakout rooms, when learners work in pairs or small groups (speaking activities, role plays and so on).



The process of peer-assessment may be new for language learners, particularly those  at Stage I. Plan to introduce the concept gradually so they can become familiar with it. Focus on concrete aspects of the task that are easy to identify. The instructor can ask learners to think about 1-2 elements of the task performed really well by their classmates and provide comments on that, For example, “I liked how you greeted the neighbour”, “I liked how you could keep the conversation going for some time”, or “You asked interesting questions”. At lower levels this could be as simple as classmates marking checkmarks on the items that they noticed their classmates doing well.



Peer-assessment can be the only form of feedback on a task or it can complement self-assessment or feedback from the instructor. Peers can give this assessment verbally or in writing, and peer-assessments can be included in the portfolio or e-portfolio alongside the task. Remember that the process of giving feedback can be very sensitive as it moves across cultures, genders and generations, and the choice of appropriate language is critical. Instructors should consider linking intercultural competence to this process.