Empirical Study Of Incorporating Peer Feedback Into Writing Classes For Chinese Non-English Majors

Feedback to students' writing has always been a subject of extensive research in writing instruction. One of the most contested issues in the field of second language (L2) education is the effectiveness of peer feedback. A review of the related literature shows that some researchers highlight the disadvantages or constraints of using peer feedback with L2 students, while others advocate implementing peer feedback in L2 classes or training L2 students to participate in peer feedback for substantial theoretical and empirical evidence in support of its advantages. Whatever the results are, most of the studies on peer feedback have been conducted in English as a Second Language (ESL) settings and there has been little documented research in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) settings including China. Therefore, the project in this thesis focuses on EFL context, exploring the efficacy and feasibility of incorporating peer feedback in writing instruction for Chinese EFL non-English majors. It is hoped that the current research may shed some light on Chinese EFL writing instruction and offer some implications for further research.This thesis presents the findings of two empirical studies - a case study and a questionnaire survey. Both studies contained a writing task and peer feedback activities. Students were required to produce revised drafts in the writing task based on peer and teacher comments made on their initial drafts. In the case study, peer and teacher comments made on the initial drafts as well as the revisions made in the revised drafts were examined. Besides, follow-up interviews were undertaken with each of the 15 participants to gain insights into the students' responses to peer and teacher feedback. In the questionnaire survey, 134 sophomore non-English majors responded to questions on their general attitudes toward peer feedback after their involvement in a peer feedback activity. In addition, investigations were made on the potential benefits or drawbacks of peer feedback as well as the effects of peer and teacher comments on their revisions.Through quantitative and qualitative analyses of the results, it is argued that Chinese non-English majors are capable of providing valid feedback for their peers' writing, and they do use peer feedback to facilitate revisions in their writing, including some revisionsat macro-structure level of the text. Furthermore, it is revealed that peer feedback plays a complementary role to teacher feedback in that it helps the students foster learner autonomy and facilitate their language acquisition by developing writing skills, enhancing communicative competence and lowering affective filter;Therefore, a great majority of the students have positive perceptions of peer feedback and agree to have peer feedback as a part of their EFL writing instruction. Finally, possible solutions to the potential problems are suggested and it is concluded that incorporating peer feedback into EFL writing classes for Chinese non-English majors is not only feasible but also beneficial.