ESL students’ experiences of online peer feedback

With the popularity of computer technology, online peer feedback has become common in university writing classes. This paper reports an exploratory study of 22 English as a Second Language (ESL) students’ experiences of online peer feedback in a sheltered credit course at a western-Canadian university. Based on analyses of the electronic feedback (e-feedback) participants received, comparisons of their initial and revised drafts, and follow-up interviews, the study shows that e-feedback, while eliminating the logistical problems of carrying papers around, retains some of the best features of traditional written feedback, including a text-only environment that pushes students to write balanced comments with an awareness of the audience's needs and with an anonymity that allows peers to make critical comments on each others’ writings. However, the participating ESL students expressed little confidence in peer commenting in general. Some shied away from the demand to express and clarify meaning, which turned online peer feedback into a one-way communication process, leaving a high percentage of peer comments not addressed. An intervention of face-to-face class discussion with teacher's guidance to clarify comments in question is suggested to maximize the effect of online peer feedback.