Stylistic Imitation and Peer-Based Intervention in Thai EFL Writing Classrooms: A Qualitative Study of Learners’ Writing Development

Information from the abstract

Writing remains challenging for EFL learners because it requires the simultaneous management of ideas, organization, language, cohesion, and genre conventions. Although model-text instruction and peer feedback have independently received considerable attention. This qualitative descriptive study investigated the extent to which stylistic imitation implemented through peer-based intervention supported Thai EFL learners’ writing and explored learners’ perceptions of its contribution to drafting, feedback, revision, and writing independence. Participants were five EFL teachers and 23 learners involved in academic writing classes at secondary schools in Thailand. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and non-participant classroom observations and analysed through data condensation, thematic display, and conclusion drawing and verification. The findings indicated that model texts reduced drafting uncertainty and made paragraph structure, cohesion, transitions, and rhetorical development more visible. Peer review helped learners identify unclear ideas, organizational weaknesses, and missing explanations, while repeated feedback cycles encouraged substantive revision and greater confidence. However, improvements were less apparent in grammar and vocabulary, and several learners remained uncertain about peer-feedback accuracy or dependent on model structures and teacher confirmation. The intervention therefore supported writing to a meaningful but differentiated extent, with its strongest contributions occurring at the discourse and writing-process levels. The study concludes that stylistic imitation and peer intervention can function as mutually reinforcing pedagogical practices when supported by clear models, focused rubrics, feedback training, teacher monitoring, and gradual withdrawal of scaffolding.

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Related topics: EFL/ESL Teaching and Learning · Second Language Acquisition and Learning · English Language Learning and Teaching