| The facilitation of peer feedback on academic writing is often lauded for its myriad cognitive, affective, social, and linguistic benefits. However, educators face conflicting research results when seeking empirical guidance on efficient methods to support peer feedback, particularly for their English language learners. This study contributes to the body of research on second language peer review by examining the effects of being an anonymous peer online writing advisor on the advisor's own (1) writing proficiency, (2) quality of feedback he or she produces, and (3) self- regulation. Unlike previous studies that have focused on the reciprocal relationships between classmates as the "peers" exchanging a common assignment, this mixed-methods study investigates group co-construction of feedback for third party writers. Different from previous work is the focus on the giver of feedback, separate and distinct, from the original writer who asked for help.;The givers of feedback, peer advisors, in this 12-week study were 10 EFL writers working in a peer online writing center in Japan. They were compared with 11 similar students who had applied to be peer advisors, but who had missed the required pre-semester training. Peer advisors were given an online intervention that provided layers of feedback-on-feedback, not just from other peer advisors, but also from teachers facilitating the quality of advice.;Though the treatment of being a peer advisor did not improve writing quality on timed persuasive writing tests, peer advisors wrote longer essays that included a greater range of metadiscourse features. In 12 weeks, peer advisors increased the length of the feedback they provided and the number of techniques they used in advice giving, particularly improving how they addressed the writer's question, showed sensitivity to positive affect, and modeled appropriate language-use for writers. In addition, the practice of co-constructing online peer feedback was found to trigger and sustain advisors' own self-regulation. Peer advisors reported using more writing strategies than the comparison group. Last, within-group analysis of peer advisors according to previous work experience suggested that giving peer feedback improved self-regulation and quality of advice-giving over time. |
