Peer feedback is found to positively influence student learning and achievement. Despite concerns from learners and teachers, it is increasingly being used successfully in ESL and EFL writing classrooms. To help teach...Peer feedback is found to positively influence student learning and achievement. Despite concerns from learners and teachers, it is increasingly being used successfully in ESL and EFL writing classrooms. To help teachers and researchers understand the application of peer feedback, this paper presents a new theory based on the learning sciences for why all students, even beginning EFL students, can meaningfully participate in peer feedback. It highlights the importance of feedback that is carefully structured for maximal impact. Further, it introduces the idea of the Persuasive Zone of Competence: Students are generally sufficiently competent to address performance problems among their peers, and multi-peer feedback tends to be especially persuasive. We conclude with suggestions for how to maximize the learning potentials in peer feedback in EFL/ESL writing classrooms.展开更多
文摘Peer feedback is found to positively influence student learning and achievement. Despite concerns from learners and teachers, it is increasingly being used successfully in ESL and EFL writing classrooms. To help teachers and researchers understand the application of peer feedback, this paper presents a new theory based on the learning sciences for why all students, even beginning EFL students, can meaningfully participate in peer feedback. It highlights the importance of feedback that is carefully structured for maximal impact. Further, it introduces the idea of the Persuasive Zone of Competence: Students are generally sufficiently competent to address performance problems among their peers, and multi-peer feedback tends to be especially persuasive. We conclude with suggestions for how to maximize the learning potentials in peer feedback in EFL/ESL writing classrooms.
