Tentative Research Plan

The current study emphasizes first-year undergraduate EFL students' participation in asynchronous peer feedback via online peer feedback tools with gamification features created with the process-oriented approach in writing. The study was developed in response to the difficulties and drawbacks of in-person peer feedback in writing classes and the advantages of online peer feedback with gamification features. The research questions are: (1) what is EFL students' perception concerning the effectiveness of online peer feedback with badges and leaderboards? (2) What is the relationship between EFL students' degree of satisfaction regarding online peer feedback with badges and leaderboards and English writing performance? and (3) What are the effects of online peer feedback with badges and leaderboards on students' English writing performance? This is a quasi-experimental study with pre-test post-test-control group design aiming at looking at the effectiveness of online peer feedback with badges and leaderboards, the relationship between EFL students' degree of satisfaction regarding online peer feedback with badges and leaderboards and English writing performance, and the effects of the online peer feedback with badges and leaderboards on students' English writing performance. The study will be conducted in an EFL writing course for undergraduate students held by Sriwijaya University Language Institute, a language teaching and learning facility at Sriwijaya University in South Sumatra, Indonesia. There will be forty students participating in the study. Twenty students will be assigned to the experimental group, while the rest will be in the control group. The age range of the participants is from 19 – 21. The experimental group will use the online peer feedback with badges and leaderboards, while the control group will not use the online peer feedback with badges and leaderboards. Data collection instruments are writing tasks, Online peer feedback with badges and leaderboard Tools, and a Questionnaire to measure EFL students' perception concerning the effectiveness of online peer feedback with badges and leaderboards. Before the start of the course, the students will do a writing pre-test, and at the end of the course, they will do a writing post-test. During the course, the students will write four paragraphs on specific topics such as a memorable experience, how to make a strawberry pudding, and how to be successful in a thesis. This online tool offers a cloud collaboration function where students can give peer feedback to other students' paragraphs. Students can get various badges when they give their peer feedback. The tools also provide a leaderboard that shows students' ranking based on their badge accumulation. Students submit all their writing assignments and do the peer feedback exchanges through this tool outside the classroom at the convenience of the students. After reviewing their feedback, students will grant their peers badges (Gold, Silver, or bronze). For data analysis, RQ1 will be analyzed using descriptive statistics, RQ2 with correlational analysis, and RQ3 with t-tests and ANOVA.