An Investigation Into The Peer-assisted Learning Of EFL Listening Based On Cognitive Diagnostic Theory

This study is an attempt to utilize the retrofitting approach of cognitive diagnostic assessment(CDA)to extract diagnostic information from existing non-diagnostic listening tests and explore how such fine-grained attribute-level diagnostic feedback might affect learners'performance in follow-up task-based peer-assisted learning(PAL)of listening in tertiary-level EFL classrooms.The present study consisted of a pilot study and a main study,each of which comprised a CDA phase and a PAL phase.The pilot study was carried out to examine the feasibility of attribute-driven task-based in-class peer-assisted learning(ATIPAL).Item response data from 4,604 students were used for CDA analysis,140 of whom became the subjects in the PAL phase.Results indicated that ATIPAL was generally welcomed by the subjects.However,mixed views were voiced concerning their evaluations of the usefulness of ATIPAL.The subjects also pointed out some areas for improvement in terms of time allocation,task arrangement,score reporting structure,classification reliability,and subjects' level of participation.Revisions were made based on the feedback and the main study was conducted through a listening workshop designed specifically for ATIPAL.For the CDA phase,444 freshmen were recruited,120 of whom were invited to be the subjects in the PAL phase,divided into an experimental group and a control group.Data were collected from the listening pre-test and post-test,the ATIPAL questionnaire and focus group interviews.Results showed that the saturated G-DINA model produced the most satisfactory model-data fit and fine-grained diagnostic results for the pre-test.Additionally,the subjects in the experimental group outperformed those in the control group in the listening post-test.They generally had a pleasant experience with ATIPAL,thinking that this novel form could help them identify their strengths and weaknesses in listening and boost their learning motivation.Hence,despite some limitations,the ATIPAL main study worked well and had valuable implications for teaching(e.g.,in organizing peer interaction activities in the classroom through fine-grained tasks),learning(e.g.,in using the individualized diagnostic results to facilitate post-diagnosis remedial learning),and assessment(e.g.,in designing effective remedial programs for diagnostic language assessment developers)of EFL listening.