A Constructive Tool for Enhancing Learners’ Self-Esteem: Peer-Scaffolded Assessment

This study seeks to investigate the effect of implementing peer-scaffolded assessment on students’ self-esteem of Iranian Intermediate EFL learners. For conducting this study, 40 homogenized intermediate learners were selected through OPT from an English center in Tehran. These learners were randomly divided into an experimental group (N=20) and a control group (N=20). The Foreign Language Self-Esteem Scale (FLSES) was administered to all the participants before the instructional phase to measure students’ self-esteem level. At instructional phase, the experimental group were exposed to peer-scaffolding practice in which the participants applied scaffolding procedure and techniques on their peers for assigned tasks and problem-solving activities while the control group were exposed to conventional practice. Instructional phase lasted for 8 sessions, half an hour a session in a week for two months. To measure students’ self-esteem level after the instructional phase, the researcher administered FLSES for all the participants. The collected data were analyzed through SPSS software. The analysis of data revealed that exposing students to the peer-scaffolding assessment can significantly enhance students’ self-esteem level. The findings of this study can help language learners, educators, program developers, and curriculum planners to provide better learning condition and program for language learners.