Transcription of Interview: Wyatt, Walter, Watson, Wiley, Wesley, William
Interviewer(s): Thy
Interviewee(s): Wyatt, Walter, Watson, Wiley, Wesley, William

Thy: So that’s quite a bit of work this year, so can you compare this year and last year? How has Scribo helped you this year compared to last year? As usual, because there’s one lady here, so ladies first. Wyatt you want to help me understand, comparing Scribo this year with last year, what are the positive negative?

Wyatt: More used to the- like after using one year, more used to the things inside.

Like the system, more used to it. Then know where everything is.

Thy: Ah okay. So which do you use more often now that you’re more used to this system?

Wyatt: The report and the grammar and vocab check.

Thy: The report, so report is not just the score right? It’s everything. Okay which one do you find most helpful, now that you’re used to it?

Wyatt: The report and the grammar.

Thy: Okay, so why is it helpful? Why is this report and grammar helpful?

Wyatt: Because I’m not that good at grammar, the report shows more of the things that I’m not-I need to improve on.

Thy: Okay, so it highlights- so last year because you’re not so used to the system, you don’t understand the- okay great. Thank you. What about William? Comparing last year and this year, what was better this year, or not so good this year?

William: I’m not sure.

Thy: Not sure, okay. Maybe William, out of all the lessons, which lesson did you like best, from this year’s Ms O’s class?

William: Doing the essay.

Thy: Oh okay, which essay was it that you liked?

William: The expository essay.

Thy: Ah okay, what did you like about it?

William: It is...like you can think while you write? Something like that.

Thy: Think- okay, maybe I’ll hear-

William: Improve my compo skills.

Thy: Oh improve your compo skills. Okay in fact William did your teacher in school comment that your composition, your essay is better now?

William: Yeah. It’s better.

Thy: She said it? Did she write it in report, or did she write it in your-

William: Oh like the practice I did, the mark did increase

Thy: Oh congratulations! Which one was this? Compo, compre, editing?

William: Compo.

Thy: Okay that’s good! I’ll come back to you William, you keep thinking what is it comparing this year with last year. Walter, we’ll hear from you before we hear from Watson. Watson, we were just talking about comparing this year with last year because all of you have been on this Scribo for one whole year already.

So we want to know what was better this year, or what was better last year. Come let’s start with Walter then we’ll talk to Watson. Yes Walter? We’re holding our breath.

Walter: My spelling got improve.

Thy: Oh your spelling got better.

Walter: And grammar.

Thy: Oh your spelling got better, your grammar- like William’s case did your teachers notice that it was better? Your teachers back in school?

Walter: Yes.

Thy: Can you give me- where did she write that, or did she tell you directly, or something?

Walter: She tell me directly.

Thy: She told you directly. Is she the same teacher from last year?

Walter: I don’t know.

Thy: Okay can. Are you like-Wyatt, are you more used to the system now? The Scribo system now?

Wyatt: Yeah.

Thy: Okay thank you Wyatt, thank you Walter as well. So let’s hear from Watson, comparing the two, last year and this year, how is your experience with Scribo?

Watson: The experience was actually not the same. [inaudible] one of the lesson that helps me improve more on my sentence structure when doing compo and stuff.

Thy: Okay I’ll ask you the same questions like the rest as well, did your teacher in school notice any changes and did she comment-

Watson: My teacher did comment on some of my papers. Like he says that my sentence structure and how I phrase- example like I use connectors more often, or the way I phrase stuff is more accurate and the teacher understand better instead like last time where it’s less understandable and the teacher has to ask me on paper whether this is what I’m talking about.

Thy: Okay that’s great, congratulations! That is for your compo, for editing or anything like that was there a difference?

Watson: I guess I could get more answers correct than last time.

Thy: Oh okay, what’s your score nowadays? Roughly? Compared to last-

Watson: Out of like 10, it’s about 9 or 8.

Thy: Oh wow, that’s great. Previously in Sec 2?

Watson: It’s about 5 or 4.

Thy: Oh okay then that’s a lot of difference, congratulations on that! So that’s with your use of Scribo, comparing how y’all feel about yourself doing English and writing essays from last year to this year. Do y’all feel more confident, and if you feel more confident why you feel more confident?

What was it that makes you feel more confident? So maybe we’ll start with Wyatt?

Wyatt: Maybe when writing my essay, I feel more confident for the sentence structure. Correcting of sticky sentence make me know how to change my sentence, maybe shorter or maybe easier to understand.

Thy: Ah okay correcting sticky sentences so you feel more confident about that. Generally right now across the term, do you notice any changes in your marks or what the teachers write in feedback in your essay?

Wyatt: I can pass my essay writings now.

Thy: Oh you mean previously it was not so easy to pass?

Wyatt: Yeah.

Thy: Okay, you know what, at Sec 3 that’s actually very good because do you find Sec 3 more difficult than Sec 2? Wyatt how is Sec 3 work to you?

Wyatt: A bit more complicated.

Thy: So that’s good, you know with more complicated and yet you can pass now. I will hear from the rest and I will come back to you again, so again William this year do you feel more confident, less confident, or the same?

William: More confident.

Thy: Okay, why? What makes you more confident now?

William: Because my marks improved.

Thy: Okay, your marks improved. If you have to tell me one reason why your marks improved, what do you think it is?

William: Like editing. Last time I fail my editing, now I can pass.

Thy: Oh okay that’s good! Yeah editing is quite difficult at Sec 3 right? Thank you. Welcome Wesley, we are just comparing last year with this year, and then whether you feel more confident or not. So Wesley I’ll get to you soon. By the way y’all can always jump in or type into the chat box if you have something to say while waiting for your turn.

So Walter, more confident, less confident, the same?

Walter: Same.

Thy: Same? Okay, how are your other subjects? How is generally Sec 3 work to you? More difficult, less difficult?

Walter: Easier.

Thy: Oh it’s easier? So it’s easier in Maths and Science as well? Is English easier?

Walter: Same.

Thy: Same, so English is the same for you. Your teacher changed from Sec 2 to Sec 3 right? How is this English teacher compared to lat year’s English teacher?

It’s okay if you don’t answer. The same with the rest of y’all, if you find that it’s something that’s uncomfortable, do not be forced. I’m here to try and find out about the system, not to judge you. So I need to dig a little bit more so that I can understand a little bit. So it’s okay Walter, when you’re comfortable telling me what it is that’s making studies easier or more difficult just let mw know. Thank you.

So Watson what about you? How has it been this year for you?

Watson: Quite decent. Just to look yourself back. (?)

Thy: Okay, quite decent. If you compare what Ms O does in the Scribo program and your teacher in school, are they doing the same things or different things?

Watson: About the same.

Thy: About the same, okay. But what is one thing that maybe the Scribo program or the CDAC program helped even though it’s about the same? Anything that was more helpful to you?

Watson: Most helpful is- it helps focus more on writing skills because in school you’re learning more on your vocabs but they don’t teach you a lot on your writing skills. That’s why I find the Scribo is better in teaching you how to write better essays and stuff.

Thy: Okay, is it the program that teaches you how to write better or Ms O, the videos she shows or the worksheets that she shows? What was it that helped?

Watson: The worksheets are helpful.

Thy: Oh okay it was the worksheets that helped y’all. Thank you so much. Wesley let’s hear from you. Wesley and Wiley I just want to understand how- because last year y’all were also on the program as well, so how is your experience of Scribo this year compared to last year?

Is it better, same or worse? Maybe we start with Wesley?

Comparing this year and last year on the Scribo program, what are your feelings? Is it better?

Wesley: Okay lah.

Thy: Do you feel that you are more confident in your writing of essay? It’s okay to tell me if you’re not, not forcing you to say yes.

Wesley: Yeah.

Thy: Okay so you’re more confident, so what gives you the more confidence in writing?

Wesley: Practicing more essays, writing essays.

Thy: Okay, in fact I’m curious and this is a question for everyone, do y’all use Scribo outside of CDAC? In other words do you use Scribo for your schoolwork? For those of you that do, can you use the thumbs up there to let me know? Do y’all use Scribo outside of CDAC?

In other words you’re using it to practice on your own like Wesley was saying? Anyone? I’m curious why- because actually you can, I’m sure C will tell y’all you can. So then Wesley just to double check, when you say “practice more”, it is the practice that Ms O ask y’all to do? Is it Wesley?

Wesley: Yeah.

Thy: Okay, thank you. Wiley what about you? How do you feel comparing last year’s program and this year on Scribo? So maybe unmute yourself and let me hear?

Can you compare last year the use of Scribo and this year? Do you feel this year was easier, or this year was harder?

Wiley: I think this year is easier.

Thy: Okay, why? Help me understand.

Wiley: I mean it’s really hard to compare because last year kind of already helped me with English a lot, so this year it’s almost the same exact class, but instead I have a slight boost in English you know. I’m slightly better at it, I find it easier.

Thy: Okay, you say you’re slightly better, did your teachers in school notice the improvement?

Wiley: Yeah, quite a lot actually. My English teacher found it out.

Thy: Oh so she wrote it in your compo or something or she told you directly? How do you know that- did she tell you that you improved a lot, or did she write it down?

Wiley: She told to me directly. During recess.

Thy: Okay, congratulations on it. Right now what I want to understand is what happens when you’re using Scribo? So I’m going to look at that a little more specifically. When Ms O gives y’all a piece of work, can you describe to me what happens when she gives you a task?

So she probably gave you all a lot of help, helping words and all that, structure. Then tell me what y’all do after that. So maybe we start with Wyatt, ladies first? So when Ms O gives y’all a piece of work to do, how do you make use of Scribo in doing that piece of work?

Wyatt: Using Scribo check more often.

Thy: Oh so you use it more often, when do you use it during your Scribo check? After you finish, or during the work itself, or after?

Wyatt: Maybe when I finish one paragraph.

Thy: Oh okay, so you check paragraph by paragraph. Okay good, in school do you do that?

Wyatt: No, there’s no Scribo check on paper.

Thy: But you all can right? Oh but in school all your compositions are on paper?

Wyatt: Yeah.

Thy: Okay, so you use Scribo check. I’ll ask you one more question and then I’ll hear from them. After it check and then you submit and then Ms O gives you feedback, then what happens after that? Do you all have to do corrections?

Wyatt: No, we do- if I remember correctly, we do peer review.

Thy: Okay, yeah peer review is something I want to talk about a little bit later, but let’s not keep the gentlemen from waiting. I wanna hear from the rest as well. So as usual we hear from William first, or anybody can jump in. William how do you make use of Scribo when Ms O gives you a piece of work?

William: Same, just use the Scribo checks.

Thy: Okay, when do you use the Scribo checks?

William: After I finish everything.

Finish then like one shot check everything.

Thy: Okay, then you check everything, then you change everything and all. Do you look at the score and try to you know-

William: Yeah I did I did.

Thy: Okay, so you use the score as a gauge of whether you have improved or not?

William: Yes.

Thy: Okay. Can I hear from the rest, did anybody do it differently? So we hear from Wyatt and William, after Ms O gives you all a piece of work, you type it in, then you do the checks. Did anybody do anything that is slightly different?

No? Did anybody make use of Scribo for schoolwork? No? Is it because schoolwork is a lot of paper and pen? Maybe let’s talk about our WA then, so maybe let’s hear from Walter. Walter what was the recent WA that you had for school?

Walter: Comprehension.

Thy: Comprehension, so did you make use of what you learnt in Ms O’s class for the comprehension? Oh you did, good! Can you tell me what was it that you used? That you applied from-

Walter: Irony.

Thy: Oh irony! Eh that’s very interesting because the other class also said that they remember this thing about irony. Beucase irony is actually quite a difficult thing to understand, so what was it that Ms O did that helped you understand irony?

Walter: Make it easier to understand.

Thy: Okay so how did she make it easier to understand?

Walter: Explaining.

Thy: Explaining it? Okay thank you Walter, congratulations for your WA. Can I understand from the other gentlemen as well? Wesley and Wiley and Watson, maybe we start with Watson, what did you have for your WA this time round?

Watson: Comprehension.

Thy: Oh you also had comprehension, how was it?

Watson: Not that bad.

Thy: Not that bad, y’all all very modest, not that bad means can lah, is it? Did you manage to apply something that you learnt from Ms O’s class?

Watson: Yes.

Thy: Can you help me by being- tell me specifically what it is that you’ve applied?

Watson: The method of understanding the text.

Thy: Okay, so can you tell me the method? Can you tell me the secret, how to understand the text? Something that Ms O taught you all?

Watson: [inaudible] like underline the main key point of the question.

Thy: Ah okay. Yeah yeah that’s important, underlining, annotating. Okay thank you. Okay so Wiley and Wesley, what was your WA? Maybe we start with Wiley. Can you unmute yourself? What did you have for your WA in school?

Wiley: I got a B.

Thy: Okay, that’s great. Was it compre, compo?

Wiley: Compre.

Thy: Oh that seems to be the same, everybody else had comprehension. Did you apply something from Ms O’s class in the comprehension test?

Wiley: Not really.

Thy: Okay that’s fair. I’ll hear from...I think the only person I haven’t heard from is Wesley is it? Wesley what was your WA?

Wesley: Comprehension.

Thy: Comprehension. Come tell me what’s the hardest thing to you for comprehension?

Wesley: Just...finding the answers.

Thy: Okay, so what were you taught about finding answers in Ms O’s class? What were the tips for finding answers?

Wesley: Just write the important points.

Thy: Okay, the important points. I want to go back to this thing about peer feedback that Wyatt talked about, and how you feel about peer feedback, especially using Scribo as a system to give peer feedback. So maybe let’s start with Wyatt, Wyatt do y’all use peer feedback or peer comments in school?

Wyatt: No.

Thy: Oh not at all, okay. So in Ms O’s class and y’all using peer feedback, what did you like about it?

Wyatt: Another point of view other than the teacher’s view, because the age difference.

Thy: Ah okay, that’s a good point, another point of view. Does using Scribo make it more difficult to give peer feedback? I mean I imagine 2 pieces of paper easier, but doing it online, is it more troublesome?

Wyatt: Sometimes my network will lag and then...yeah.

Thy: Oky, so having a piece of paper might be easier. Is there anything that is an advantage of using online?

Wyatt: I write faster. I type faster than I write.

Thy: Yeah you type faster than you write, okay thank you. I think sometimes also because when you write you have to think carefully then you put on paper, if not you have to use correction tape right. Typing you can kind of like delete and cut and paste, am I describing it correctly?

Wyatt: Yeah.

Thy: Okay, thank you so much for that. So can I understand from all the gentlemen here how do y’all feel about giving each other peer comments? ... I’ll go by the order I see on my screen here, so I’ll start with William, then Wesley, then Wiley, Walter and then Watson. William how do you feel about peer feedback?

William: It also can help us.

Thy: Okay, in what way? Can I understand?

William: Like help us correct our errors. Grammar errors.

Thy: Okay so friend can help correct. But Scribo can do that already, why do you need your friend to correct some more?

William: Sometimes Scribo also give weird answer. Yeah, AI.

Thy: Okay, so the AI also sometimes-can you give me an example, was there a time when the AI gave you a really strange feedback?

William: Not a lot of feedback like the change the grammar errors.

Thy: So there was a time when the AI gave you strange changes-

William: Answer.

Thy: Okay can you remember which one? Can you give me the example?

William: I don’t think I can remember.

Thy: No worries. Okay thank you so much William. Wesley how do you feel about peer feedback?

Wesley: Really effective. And that’s where [inaudible] I know where are their mistakes.

Thy: Okay, does your teacher in school use peer feedback? Do you have peer assessment in school?

Wesley: No.

Thy: Okay alright thank you. Wiley what about you? Can you hear us? Okay Wiley we were talking about peer feedback, do you think it has helped you?

Wiley: The problem is like I didn’t really participate in the peer feedback thing so I don’t really have a understanding.

Thy: Okay, because on that day you weren’t there? You weren’t there on the day they had peer feedback?

Wiley: Because I wasn’t paying much attention to class so yeah. It’s my fault.

Thy: Okay that’s very gracious of you to admit that. But in school does your teacher use peer assessment in school?

Wiley: My new teacher does not anymore, but my old teacher does though.

Thy: Oh okay, so would you prefer to use Scribo to give feedback, or you prefer face-to-face feedback?

Wiley: I think face-to-face feedback in way better because it’s not like a typing down words- like you’re actually face-to-face confronting someone about your work and stuff and like-

Thy: Okay, well some people who are shy, that might be better because at least they can type. So thank you very much for that. Walter what about you, do you prefer- how do you feel about peer feedback?

So giving peers feedback do you like doing that? Okay, why? Can you help me understand why?

Okay alright thank you. How about Watson? What has your experience been giving peer feedback, or getting peer feedback?

Watson: It helps a lot. Like you are able to give people feedback on what they’re weak on, and you also get to receive feedback on what you are weak on. Basically you are able to improve on what you’re lacking and you’re able to also find out what you’re lacking, because we can’t really judge on our own.

Thy: Ah okay just out of curiosity does your teacher in school use peer assessment?

Watson: Not all the time, but we do sometimes.

Thy: So if you were to compare, like Wiley prefers face-to-face, but for you do you prefer peer feedback that is face-to-face or using the platform like Scribo?

Watson: I would prefer face-to-face considering that the person can directly tell you what you’re weak on.

Thy: Okay, if you were to give advice to either your teacher or Ms O to use peer feedback more next term, because y’all obviously find it helpful, what would be one thing she can do to make peer assessment like this better for you? A better experience for you?

I’m asking Watson. So what can Ms O do next term to make peer assessment more effective, more enjoyable for you?

Watson: That’s a very hard question.

Thy: So sorry to ask such a difficult question. Is there anything that she should do more of or less of?

Watson: Actually nothing I can think of right now.

Thy: Okay fair enough, that’s very fair thank you very much for being frank about this. ...so I’m gonna try and end soon. I just need one sentence from each of you, everybody must say something, or at least type something.

So this is the one thing I want you all to tell me, has the way you learn English or study English changed in these 11 months? It’s okay to say nothing has changed, if something has changed tell me what has changed. ...has the way you study or learn English changed since you started on CDAC tuition with Scribo? ...

So who wants to go first? And once you’ve told me you can leave the room, but go back to the main room where Ms O is waiting for you patiently. Anybody wants to start first?

Okay...[reading chatbox] don’t just tell me what has improved, tell me your own way of learning. Because I hear from all of you your spelling has improved, your grammar has improved, which is a good thing. But how do you go about improving yourself in English? Has it changed?

Maybe think of habits, do you have a habit of checking your essay more? Or do you have a- now your habit of looking over the words that Ms O gives you? Think about all these possibilities.

Maybe hearing somebody helps. So Wyatt any changes in the way you go about studying or learning English?

Wyatt: Be more mindful of my grammar mistakes.

Thy: Okay, so when you’re writing you’re more mindful, thank you. ...anybody else?

Maybe I speak to Wiley first just in case he can’t hear me. Wiley you can see what I have typed in right? So has the way you studied or learn English changed in any way since you started tuition with Scribo? It’s okay to say no, y’all don’t have to force yourselves to say something that’s not true.

Wiley: I guess it slightly improved me in studying and stuff. Not too drastically or not too-

Thy: Sure, so what’s that little bit that has changed? What was the one thing that has changed?

Wiley: You know how you have to prepare your own story when you write your compo right, I can feel a slight improvement in that.

Thy: So you’re more, as Wyatt says, you’re more mindful, not so much of the grammar but how to prepare.

Wiley: Yeah.

Thy: Alright thank you Wiley...any of the rest of the 4 gentlemen want to tell me and then you can go back to the room? ...Watson what about you, anything?

Watson: No.

Thy: So nothing has changed for you?

Watson: I mean my [inaudible], my comprehension was much better than before, my sentence structure is better. And my editing was also a lot better. I was able to-

Thy: Tell me what was it that you did for your own that helped your editing become better.

Watson: Try to remember the past tense and present tense and all that.

Thy: Okay so you remembered your tenses. Thank you. Wesley has typed something for me, so Watson and Wesley you can go back to the main room, thank you so much. Walter and William you can type something for me, or you can tell me directly. Again I repeat the question, have things changed for you, the way you study English or do your English homework?

William: Like editing watch for grammar errors, like adverb, nouns and tenses all these. Can improve my editing, like what is it previously.

Thy: Okay so for editing you are more careful-

William: Confident now.

Thy: Oh okay, more confident. Thank you. Okay Walter do you have anything else to add? No? Okay then let’s all leave the room and I’ll see you in the main room.