Analyzing Otoshi

In their study regarding the implications behind letting students commit to their own controlled peer review sessions, Otoshi discovered the justification for peer review and analyzed the justifications for oral presentation as the ideal form of revising.  

            One of the positive aspects of having students develop their own criteria of grading is that they will naturally be better at applying “the method of evaluation to their own learning styles, and thereby to their own benefit as learners.” Reducing any biases that teachers may impose upon them allows the students not only to learn how to revise in a way that benefits the editor and the person being reviewed but also to approach the method of revision with a more open mind that could allow them to spot errors that could go unnoticed for a teacher. Previous studies we’ve read show that some comments provided by teachers can be contradicting or too interchangeable to provide any real assistance. Peer review can help this process out of its rut by bringing in a fresh perspective to analyze a colleague’s writing. Among the other benefits that students will gain from peer review are developing skills useful in academic life and enhancing interpersonal relationships among learners.

            When conducting the study on the effectiveness of oral presentations, three factors were found to be more apparent than others: The clarity of speech and voice quality, correctness of language, and audience interaction. These three traits of oral presentation were found to be present in descriptions that students attributed to a more effective showcasing of oral rhetoric. These things are without a doubt all part of proper speech and should come in handy when we do our presentations next week.   

Otoshi, Junko & Neil Heffernan. (2008). “Factors Predicting Effective Oral Presentations in EFL Classrooms.” Asian EFL Journal 10.1 (2008). [no pagination]. Web.