The Effect of Self-Assessment and Peer-Assessment on Iranian EFL Learners’ Descriptive Writing Performance

This study attempted to examine the effect of self- and peer-assessments on the descriptive writing performance of intermediate Iranian EFL learners. To do this purpose, 36 intermediate EFL learners were selected and homogenized and were randomly assigned into control and experimental groups. The results of post-test and One-way ANOVA indicated that the use of self- and peer-assessments significantly affected the descriptive writing ability. In other words, it meant that the experimental groups outperformed the control group in the post-test. Moreover, as the results of open-ended questionnaire and structured interview revealed students had positive attitudes towards the use of such assessment techniques. Therefore, using alternative assessment techniques can lower the anxiety of the learners in an EFL classroom. As a result, teachers can make use of them for lowering the stress of the learners during the instruction.

Keywords:

Alternative Assessment , Self-Assessment , Peer-Assessment , Descriptive Writing