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Title:	EFL Arab learners' written feedback and review process in an online community of practice
Authors:	Murad Abdu Saeed Mohammed (P62493)
Supervisor:	Norizan Abdul Razak, Prof. Datin
Keywords:	EFL Arab learner Online group review Sense of community Text revision Dissertations, Academic -- Malaysia
Issue Date:	7-Oct-2016
Description:	Peer review plays an important role in English as second language (ESL) writing. However, the majority of English as foreign language (EFL) writing courses are still dominated by the traditional approach that ignores group review and feedbacks. This qualitative study investigated engagement in online group review, text revision and sense of community among nine EFL Arab learners. The learners were categorized into three mixed levels of English and three levels of participation: core, active and newcomer/ peripheral. The study applied content and thematic analyses of learners' commentary exchanges, multiple revised drafts and reflective accounts and statements on their experiences. The findings showed that the learners exchanged 1792 comments, and the majority of them were exploratory, followed by social interactional comments and finally procedural comments. The analysis of the nature and focus areas of comments showed that most of these comments were revision-oriented comments which mirrored learners' cognitive reflection on the task. The non-revision-oriented comments focused on learners' socio-relational space, task management and technical challenges. In the text revision analysis, the learners made revisions in content, unity and organization, genre and purpose, language and mechanics. Further analysis at the macro-level identified three stages of the revision process: problem detection, strategy selection and last version production. It was found that the learners nurtured a sense of community in terms of collective understanding of their shared goals, constant negotiation, mutual accountability, negotiated response and a sense of harmony. The online community of practice also assisted the learners to share the collective essays and use them as reference. The learners could work together and become more responsible and tolerant of others' criticism. The newcomers gradually increased their participation and became active within the three months and felt attached to the core and active learners. The findings support the argument that online participation is not merely engaging in activities, but it involves social relations among learners including increased sense of community.,Ph.D.
Pages:	304
Publisher:	UKM, Bangi
Appears in Collections:	Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities / Fakulti Sains Sosial dan Kemanusiaan

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