https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8322-4808
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Abstract
While multi-peer feedback has been increasingly implemented in the academic writing classroom in English as a foreign language (EFL) contexts, scant attention has been paid to the development of culturally-situated student feedback literacy arising from the provider-provider interaction in teacher-centered EFL classroom contexts. This study investigated how student reviewers developed their culturally-situated feedback literacy in online community-based multi-peer feedback. Drawing on multiple sources of data (pre-task surveys, feedback comments, post-task stimulated recalls, in-depth group interviews, and follow-up individual WeChat interviews) from 31 Chinese EFL learners, our analysis revealed that the openly shared, asynchronous multi-peer feedback (1) helped students construct knowledge and community norms; (2) facilitated the students in multiple rounds of comparison and self-reflection; (3) encouraged open criticism as acts of in-group cohesion and established students’ own standards for affective appropriateness; and (4) motivated students to take actions to close the gaps in their feedback-giving practices within the community.
ABSTRACT IN CHINESE
在以英语为外语 (EFL) 的学术写作课堂中, 多人同伴反馈的使用日益增多。然而, 鲜有研究关注在教师主导的 EFL 课堂环境中, 学生反馈者之间的互动如何促进其发展适应特定文化的反馈素养。本研究旨在探究学生在基于在线社群的多人同伴反馈中如何发展其适应特定文化的反馈素养。本研究分析了 31 名中国 EFL 学习者提供的多种数据, 包括任务前调查、反馈评论、任务后刺激回忆、小组访谈以及后续的个人微信访谈。研究结果表明, 公开共享的异步多人同伴反馈: (1) 帮助学生构建知识和形成社群规范； (2) 促进学生进行多轮比较和深入的自我反思； (3) 鼓励公开的批评行为, 使其成为群体凝聚力的一种表现, 并帮助学生建立关于情感恰当性的个人标准； (4) 激励学生采取行动, 改善他们在社群中的反馈实践。
PLAIN LANGUAGE SUMMARY
This study focuses on how students learning English as a Foreign Language (EFL) develop their ability to give culturally relevant feedback to each other in an online setting. In many EFL classrooms, students often give feedback to their peers, but there has not been much focus on how this process helps them understand and adapt to different cultural perspectives. The research involved 31 Chinese EFL students and used surveys, feedback comments, group and individual WeChat interviews to analyze their interactions. The findings highlight several key points. First, by giving and receiving feedback from many peers, students were able to build their understanding and adapt to the group’s standards. Second, this process involved a lot of comparison and self-reflection, helping students to think more critically about their work. Third, it encouraged open criticism, which, rather than causing problems, actually helped strengthen the group’s unity and helped students set their own standards for what is appropriate in their feedback. Lastly, this whole process motivated the students to improve how they give feedback, making the online community a more effective learning environment.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Correction Statement
This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.
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Notes on contributors
Jianwu Gao
Jianwu Gao is Associate Professor at Department of English Language and Literature, Capital Normal University, China. Her research interests include second language writing and second language acquisition. Her publications have appeared in international journals such as Studies in Second Language Acquisition, Language Teaching Research, Language Learning & Technology, and Journal of English for Academic Purposes.
Wenting Chen
Wenting Chen is Professor in Applied Linguistics at College English Department, Capital Normal University, China. Her research interests include second language writing, multicultural education, and second language teacher education. Her publications have appeared in international journals such as TESOL Quarterly, Language Teaching Research, System, ELT Journal and Language Awareness.