University Students’Experiences of Peer-Assisted Learning (PAL) and Its Effect on Their Academic Achievement

Abstract

The main purpose of the study was to explore university students’ experiences in two different types of learning contexts (peer-assisted learning vs. teacher-led instruction) in an English-medium course and to see whether there was an effect of peer-assisted learning on their academic achievement. Seventy nine students in two English grammar classes at a university located in Seoul participated in the study. The students in one class had a 45-minute-long peer tutoring session in a group of 4 or 5 every week totalling 12 sessions, while the other class did not receive peer tutoring treatment. At the end of the semester, a survey on the students’ experiences was administered in the two classes and an in-depth semi-structured interview was conducted to explore the students’ experiences. In addition, the academic achievement in the two different learning contexts were compared and tested using analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) to see if there was any effect of peer tutoring treatment. The results of the study indicated that the students usually had more positive experiences in +PAL context than in -PAL context in general and there was a significant effect of peer tutoring on their academic achievement. In relation to the students’ experiences, five themes were identified: community of learning, language proficiency, feedback and knowledge reconstruction, teaching as a learning strategy, and work overload.