teacher-assisted vs. peer-assisted performances and l2 development: a mixed methods approach

The present study compared the impact of teacher-provided and peer-provided oral assistance in the acquisition of english wh-question forms. participants were 90 female iranian efl learners who constituted the 3 groups of the study: teacher-assisted, peer-assisted, and a control group. participants in the experimental groups received assistance either from the teacher or a peer during task-based performances to make wh-questions, whereas those in the control group performed the same tasks with no assistance. the study took a mixed-methods design. results from the quantitative pre/posttest analysis showed that both teacher-assisted and peer-assisted groups significantly improved in receptive and productive knowledge of the l2 forms compared to the control group, but no significant difference was observed between the 2 groups' degree of language development. results of the qualitative microgenetic analysis revealed that the peer-assisted group outperformed the teacher-assisted group at the first 2 time points of the experiment. the finding that peer-provided assistance was effective with equal or greater benefits as compared to the teacher-assisted group calls into question the traditional belief that l2 learners are incapable of assisting peers in efl classrooms.