The particular dialect or language that a person chooses to use on any occasion is called a code 1326 Copyright © 2023 The Author IDEAS is licensed under CC-BY-SA 4.0 License Issued by English study program of IAIN Palopo IDEAS Journal of Language Teaching and Learning, Linguistics and Literature ISSN 2338-4778 (Print) ISSN 2548-4192 (Online) Volume 11, Number 2, December 2023 pp. 1326 - 1333 The Efficacy of Using Self and Peer-Correction Technique in Teaching Writing Descriptive Text to Indonesian English as Foreign Language (EFL) Students Soleman Dapa Taka sdapataka@gmail.com Universitas Nusa Cendana, Kupang, NTT, Indonesia Received: 2023-11-15 Accepted: 2023-11-18 DOI: 10.24256/ideas.v11i2.4677 Abstract This research aims at finding out the efficacy of using Self and Peer- Correction Technique in teaching writing especially descriptive text to Indonesian English as Foreign Language (EFL) students. The main question of this research: Is the use of Self and Peer- Correction Technique effective in teaching writing to Indonesian EFL students? The research can be an addition to the persisting teaching writing in English particularly the descriptive text through the use of guided questions. This research was conducted at the tenth-grade students at SMA Kristen Mercusuar Kupang, an Indonesian High School. The total number of samples was 25 students. The research used a pre-experimental method with a pre-test and post-test design. The pre-test was given to find out the basic ability of the students in mastering writing descriptive text and the post-test given to find out the students’ improvement in mastering writing descriptive text after giving the treatment by using Self and Peer- Correction Technique. The findings show that using Self and Peer- Correction Technique is effective in teaching writing descriptive text to Indonesian EFL students. It is supported by the result of the significance test through SPSS 20 program that the P was 0.00. Therefore, it is recommended to use the guided questions in developing students’ writing descriptive of Indonesian EFL students. http://u.lipi.go.id/1457703302 IDEAS, Vol. 11, No. 2, December 2023 ISSN 2338-4778 (Print) ISSN 2548-4192 (Online) 1327 Keywords: Indonesia EFL students; Self and Peer- Correction Technique; teaching writing descriptive text Introduction Writing is one of materials which are difficult for the students. Included the tenth- grade students at SMA Kristen Mercusuar Kupang. In writing descriptive text, students need to have some special skills such grammar, vocabulary etc. When the writer did observation in the tenth-grade students at SMA Kristen Mercusuar Kupang, he found that some of the students do not know how write a correct descriptive text and she found that the students still didn’t understand about the material. Even though the students always learn it before the writer did observation there, they still confused about it. To solve these problems, the English teacher try to apply various teaching techniques, or the teacher has to create class atmosphere of how to encourage student’s writing ability. A teacher plays an important role in teaching and learning process in classroom activities. He or she is responsible to determine the aim of teaching and has to create favorable situation in motivation the students to study. To teach successfully, an English teacher has to use certain strategies to make the students understand the lesson.one of the techniques that can be used by a teacher in teaching writing namely guided question. In agreement with Traver (1998, p.1), “a guiding questions is the fundamental query that directs the search for understanding”. It means that guiding questions technique is believed as a technique that can guide the students’ ideas in writing process and also can help in finding out the ideas in writing. Meyers (2005, p. 2) said that questions can be one way to explore ideas in writing process. Therefore, guiding questions can help the students to generate the ideas in learning writing. Self-correction allows students to reflect on, moreover, evaluate the quality of their writing. By doing so, they can identify their deficiency and strength in writing and revise their work accordingly. According to Ramirez and Gullen (2018), self—correction and pair—correction is a beneficial technique for students’ writing ability. Further, they claimed that this technique can develop students’ self-awareness which is resulted from critical self-assessment and the development of their responsibility for their work. Self- correction allows students to evaluate their work independently and reflect on it to enhance their knowledge for achieving the learning goals. Andrade and Du (2007) explain that correction technique is a technique where students are required to do a certain evaluation and reflection to assist them in achieving the goals based on the self-correction technique guidance sheet. By providing this activity, teachers and students are able to do communication intensively, so that their relationship can be developed during the activity. In addition, self—correction gives long-term effects on students’ abilities and memories as they are actively involved in their own learning activities. Maftoon and Shirazi (2010) state that the self-correction technique is indirect guidance and feedback that the teacher provides with various options so that they can choose the best form of their own. During the writing process, students can make a plan by revising their writing and evaluating them, raising their writing awareness of errors as well as correcting the errors by themselves. Soleman Dapa Taka The Efficacy of Using Self and Peer-Correction Technique in Teaching Writing Descriptive Text to Indonesian English as Foreign Language (EFL) Students 1328 In line with this opinion, McMillan and Hearn (2008) state that self-correction technique allows learners to identify, evaluate, and find the quality of their thought and behavior during the learning activity to enhance their comprehension and abilities. According to Spiller (2012), self—correction provides some advantages to the students which are developing their independence and responsibility, reflection and contribution, improving their decision-making, and being actively involved in the learning writing process. During the learning process, teachers allow students to learn and make decisions about their work and also be responsible for what they have done (Dewi, 2020). By recognizing the advantages of self-correction, therefore, teachers should not only give students selective correction but also a helpful attitude to the students. In addition, teachers should recognize their students’ level of proficiency and errors in the foreign language. Peer—correction is a group-work activity which is allowed students to do certain work with their peers. According to Jacobs (1968), peer—correction technique is a technique that is carried out in a group. The assistance of peers will give advantages to other students to enhance their ability in writing. Peer-correction technique requires students to learn independently without teachers as it is known as student-centered learning. it can help students to overcome problems and difficulties in the writing process by being actively involved to work together, ask and answer questions, and being responsible for their work (Harmer 1991). During the collaboration, students can learn from their own mistakes and their peers correcting their work so that they can give and gain feedback from their peers. This technique can be carried out to improve students’ interaction and cooperation with others. Research on the importance of self and peer—correction in writing have been carried out by some researchers; Wahyuni (2018), Dewi (2020), and Yanti, et al (2022). Wahyuni, in her study, concluded that self and peer—correction could affect students’ writing ability. She also explained that students’ writing ability was affected by students’ language proficiency. Higher language proficiency provided higher and more positive vibes in understanding the error and deficiencies in writing. In addition, Dewi and Yanti, et al, in their comparative study concluded that self and peer—correction techniques provided different results. First, peer—correction has more significant results than self—correction. Second, students’ writing abilities have different results on the students’ writing descriptive text. Additionally, the peer—correction techniques have significant effect on the students’ writing recount text. The explanation and the result of the previous studies showed that self and peer—correction technique is one of cooperative techniques which could improve students’ writing ability and self-awareness through collaboration activities. Students can evaluate their own deficiencies in writing with the assistance of their peers, working together by asking and answering questions as well as being responsible for their own work. In a nutshell, this self and peer—correction technique is needed to invite students to learn actively in order to assist their ability in writing Based on the situation the researcher is interested in conducting a research under the topic “the efficacy of using guided question in teaching writing descriptive text. to Indonesian English as Foreign Language (EFL) students”, as a result in real situation he IDEAS, Vol. 11, No. 2, December 2023 ISSN 2338-4778 (Print) ISSN 2548-4192 (Online) 1329 does not find an adequate and appropriate strategy teaching conditional sentences in SMA Kristen Mercusuar Kupang, an Indonesian High School it may be caused by most English teachers still teach by using conventional method in teaching grammar. Therefore, it is very important to provide an alternative technique to improve student; it is assumed that using pair work technique might for improve the students’ ability in mastering grammar especially conditional sentences. From the background of the study, the researcher formulated the research questions such as below: Does the use guided question improve the ability in writing descriptive text of SMA Kristen Mercusuar Kupang. Then, the researcher formulates the objective of the research as follows: To find out the effectiveness of using guided question in improving the ability in writing descriptive text. of First semester students of SMA Kristen Mercusuar Kupang. This research is expected to be useful information for teacher and the students about teaching writing descriptive text by the students through guided question. Also, it expected to be a reference for the next researcher who wants to do a research about writing descriptive text. The scope of the research is to know what teaching descriptive text of SMA Kristen Mercusuar Kupang. Method In this research, the researcher applied a pre-experimental method. Pre-experimental design used pre-test and post-test where pre-test was held before treatment and post-test after treatment. The design of the research is as follow: O1 X O2 Where: O1 = pre-test X = treatment O2 = post-test (Best 1997:103) The population of this research was the tenth-grade students at First semester students of SMA Kristen Mercusuar Kupang. In determining the sample of this research. The researcher took 24 students as sample of this research. The writer used writing test to measure the students’ ability in mastering descriptive text. Before and after giving treatment writing involves The data was collected by using the procedure below: Giving Pre-test Firstly, the researcher introduced himself to the students and explained purpose of her coming in their class. The researcher gave pre-test to the students to measure the skill of the students before giving treatment. Soleman Dapa Taka The Efficacy of Using Self and Peer-Correction Technique in Teaching Writing Descriptive Text to Indonesian English as Foreign Language (EFL) Students 1330 Giving Treatment The researcher conducted the treatment to the students for sixth meetings by using guided question in teaching writing. the steps as follows: Free writing: Guiding questions technique Sundem (2006, p.41) stated that free writing is the first step of the writing process. In this step, the writer can generate their ideas before starting to write and put their thoughts in correct formation. In addition, writer uses guiding questions technique to generate students’ ideas by preparing questions related to the topic and ask the students to answer the questions given. Drafting Drafting is the next step in writing process. According to Sundem (2006, p.53) in this step the students expand their previous ideas, then they write it down on a paper. Donohue (2009, p.12) also stated that “during drafting stage, the students are able to craft their own writing”. It means that the students can pour their ideas that they had thought before writing. Revising Revising is the final step in writing process. According to Sundem (2006, p. 55) revising is often forgotten in writing process. He also adds that sometimes the students think they write enough without revising again. While Western Australian Minister for Education (2013, p. 223) stated that revising mean make changes to the text and the goal of revising is to make the writing better and clear. Giving Post-test The students were given the same activity in the pre-test after the treatment. The researcher gave writing test and asked the students to answer. It aimed at finding out the students’ability in writing skill after giving treatment In analyzing data, the researcher giving score to the students based on the result of their writing test in pre test and post test. The last step of the data analysis was the hypothesis testing. The hypothesis was tested by using inferential statistics. In this case, the researcher used t-test (testing of significance) for paired sample t-test, that is, a test to know the significance difference between the result of students’ mean score in pretest and post test. Results From the result data analysis, shows that the mean score of the student’s pretest was 40 and the mean score of posttests was 75 It means that using reciprocal teaching technique in teaching reading can enhance the students’ achievement especially for the students’ writing skill. From the statistical analysis, the researcher concludes that there is a significant difference IDEAS, Vol. 11, No. 2, December 2023 ISSN 2338-4778 (Print) ISSN 2548-4192 (Online) 1331 between pretest and posttest in enhancing the students’ writing ability through guided question as a way to deliver learning material. guided teaching technique is effective in enhancing the students’ writing ability. Based on the describing above, the researcher concludes that one of important point that teacher should accommodate he/she should give full the attention especially in writing skill. Therefore, in teaching writing one of technique that the teacher may use this technique in teaching, especially in writing or constructing ideas is greatly expected to make the students easier in generating and expressing their idea in different mode and sense. After calculating the result of the students’ pretest, the mean score and standard deviation of both groups are presented in following table: Pretest Posttest Mean 30 68 Standard dev. 8.30 10.49 Max 43 64 Min 21 37 The data shows the mean score of the student’s pretest was 40 and the mean score of posttests was 75. Standard deviation of pretest was 8.22 and the standard deviation of posttest was 11.27. It means that using guided question teaching technique in teaching writing can enhance the students’ achievement in writing descriptive text. The hypothesis was tested by using inferential statistics. In this case, the researcher used t-test (testing of significance) for paired sample t-test, that is, a test to know the significance difference between the result of students’ mean score in pretest and posttest. Assuming that the level of significance (α) = 0.05, the only thing which is needed; the degree of freedom (df) = N – 1, where N = 25, then the t-test is 10.81 P is 0.00. From the analysis, the researcher concluded that there was a significant difference between pretest and posttest in enhancing the students’ writing ability through guided question technique as a way to deliver learning process. The result of statistical analysis for level of significance (p=0.05) with degree of freedom (df)= N-1, where (N) = 25, df = 24. The probability value was smaller than α (0.00<0.05). it indicated that the alternative hypothesis (H1) was accepted and the null hypothesis (H0) was rejected. It means that guided question is effective in enhancing the students’ writing ability especially descriptive text. Discussion Based on the result of data analysis, the researcher found out that the use of guided question technique is effective in developing students’ competence in writing skill at SMA Kristen Mercusuar Kupang. Actually, there are some techniques that we can use to teach writing but the researcher using guided question technique, moreover the application of guided question gave good effect in enhancing the students’ skill in writing. With the importance of writing skill, an appropriate teaching technique should be Soleman Dapa Taka The Efficacy of Using Self and Peer-Correction Technique in Teaching Writing Descriptive Text to Indonesian English as Foreign Language (EFL) Students 1332 promoted by the teacher. The technique promoted should be non-monotonous and can be used to enhance both students’ and teachers’ abilities. Based on the result of the research, self and peer-correction technique was confirmed to be a suitable technique in teaching writing. It is clear that students can actively interact with their peers in the teaching and learning process. Self and peer-correction technique allows students to reflect on, moreover, evaluating the quality of their work. This activity leads students to be more aware of their deficiencies and strength. Further, the result of this study showed that self and peer-correction technique was significantly effective in teaching writing. This can be seen from the result of the mean score between the pre-test and post-test. In the pre-test, the mean score was 8.07 with the standard deviation 1.809. In the post-test, whereas, the mean score was 9.77 and the standard deviation was 2.221. The result proved that the pre- test was lower than the post-test. The finding of the data analysis was in line with Ramirez and Gullen (2018) that self and peer-correction technique is a beneficial technique to improving students’ writing ability. In addition, this technique allows students to actively interact with their friends, so that they can assist each other and do certain evaluations of their work. With the assistance of their peer, the students can take some advantages and apply them to enhance their ability in writing. In a nutshell, the self and peer—correction technique is an advisable technique to apply by the English teacher in their writing class Conclusion The researcher concludes that the use of guided question is effective in developing students’ competence in mastering writing skill at SMA Kristen Mercusuar Kupang. It was proven by there was a significant difference between the students’ mean score of pretest and posttest. The result of statistical analysis for level of significance (p=0.05). The probability value was smaller than α (0.00<0.05). it indicated that there is significant differences between the result of pre-test and post-test after giving treatment in improving students’ competence in mastering writing skills through applying CLT to the First semester students of the English Study Program of Nusa Cendana University, Kupang. References Andrade, H., and Du, Y, (2007). "Student Responses to Criteria Referenced Self-Assessment. Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education". 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