The Role of Peer Assessment in Developing Adolescent Learners’ Autonomy

Abstract

The aim of language education is no longer limited to developing learners’ linguistic skills only. In order to promote language learning as a life-long process, a growing impact in the language classroom is placed on non-linguistic aspects, such as motivation or learner autonomy. The latter can be fostered in the classroom by means of alternative assessment methods, such as portfolio, project, observation and peer assessment. This article provides an account of a quasi­-experiment conducted in the first and second year of lower secondary school in Poland in order to investigate whether and to what extent the application of peer assessment affects the level of autonomy in adolescent learners aged 13-14. The study is based on mixed methods research comprising both quantitative and qualitative data elicitation tools such as a questionnaire, classroom observation and interviews. The applied methodology helped to discover that although the overall level of autonomy did not change as the result of the treatment, a number of autonomous behaviours emerged. It can be concluded that peer assessment does not suffice to foster autonomy in adolescent learners; still, it might appear as a useful element of a wide­-ranging teaching scheme aiming at involving learners in the teaching and learning processes.