Abstract
The present case study aims to revisit the role of Chinese traditional cultural issues in group peer feedback by examining how Chinese EFL students respond to several typical Chinese cultural issues that have emerged from the literature—“collectivism and group harmony,” “face-saving,” and “power distance” and what factors have shaped their beliefs and practices regarding these cultural issues. Multiple sources of data were collected, including video recordings of peer feedback sessions, interviews, and stimulated recalls. The findings show that while there were individual differences in the four students’ beliefs and practices with regard to the cultural issues, on the whole the cultural issues did not constrain their group peer feedback activity. The study also found that the students’ beliefs and practices were embedded in a number of interrelating individual and contextual factors like the Chinese cultures of learning, the group context, and the students’ previous feedback experience. This study cast doubt on previous research that suggests the traditional Chinese cultural issues constrained the implementation of peer feedback activity and marred the effectiveness of peer feedback in L2 writing.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Allaei, S. K., & Connor, U. M. (1990). Exploring the dynamics of cross-cultural collaboration in writing classrooms. The Writing Instructor, 10, 19–28.
Atkinson, D. (1999). TESOL and culture. TESOL Quarterly, 33(4), 625–654.
Cardon, P. W., & Scott, J. C. (2003). Chinese business face: Communication behaviors and teaching approaches. Business Communication Quarterly, 66(4), 9–22.
Carson, J., & Nelson, G. (1994). Writing groups: Cross-cultural issues. Journal of Second Language Writing, 3, 17–30.
Carson, J. G., & Nelson, G. L. (1996). Chinese students’ perceptions of ESL peer response group interaction. Journal of Second Language Writing, 5, 1–19.
Connor, U., & Asenavage, K. (1994). Peer response groups in ESL writing classes: How much impact on revision? Journal of Second Language Writing, 3, 257–276.
Gass, S. M., & Mackey, A. (2000). Stimulated recall methodology in second language research. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Goldstein, L. M. (2006). Feedback and revision in second language writing: Contextual, teacher, and student variables. In K. Hyland & F. Hyland (Eds.), Feedback in second language writing: Contexts and issues (pp. 185–205). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Hu, G. (2005). Using peer review with Chinese ESL student writers. Language Teaching Research, 9, 321–342.
Hu, G., & Lam, S. T. E. (2010). Issues of cultural appropriateness and pedagogical efficacy: Exploring peer review in a second language writing class. Instructional Science, 38, 371–394.
Hyland, F. (2000a). ESL writers and Feedback: Giving more autonomy to students. Language Teaching Research, 4(1), 33–54.
Hyland, K., & Hyland, F. (2006). Feedback on second language students’ writing. Language Teaching, 39, 83–101.
Jin, L., & Cortazzi, M. (2006). Changing practices in Chinese cultures of learning. Language, Culture and Curriculum, 19(1), 5–20.
Lantolf, J. P., & Thorne, S. L. (2006). Sociocultural theory and the genesis of second language development. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Liu, J. (2001). Asian students’ classroom communication patterns in U.S. universities: An emic perspective. Westport, CT: Ablex Publishing.
Liu, J., & Hansen, J. (2002). Peer response in second language writing classrooms. Ann Arbor, MI:University of Michigan Press.
Lee, I. (2008). Understanding teachers’ written feedback practices in Hong Kong secondary classrooms. Journal of Second Language Writing, 17(2), 69-85.
Mercer, S. (2011). The beliefs of two expert EFL learners. The Language Learning Journal, 39(1), 57–74.
Miles, M. B., & Huberman, A. M. (1994). Qualitative data analysis (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Nelson, G. L., & Carson, J. G. (1998). ESL students’ perceptions of effectiveness in peer response groups. Journal of Second Language Writing, 7, 113–131.
Nelson, G., & Carson, J. (2006). Cultural issues in peer response: Revisiting ‘culture’. In K. Hyland & F. Hyland (Eds.), Feedback in second language writing: Contexts and issues (pp. 42–59). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Nelson, G., & Murphy, J. (1992). An English writing group: Task and social dimension. Journal of Second Language Writing, 1, 171–192.
Paulus, T. M. (1999). The effect of peer and teacher feedback on student writing. Journal of Second Language Writing, 8(3), 265–289.
Shi, L. (2006). The Successors to Confucianism or a New Generation? A questionnaire study on Chinese students’ culture of learning english. Language, Culture and Curriculum, 19(1), 122–147.
Strauss, A., & Corbin, J. (1990). Basics of qualitative research: Grounded theory procedures and techniques. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.
Triandis, H. C. (1995). Individualism and collectivism. Boulder, CO: West view Press.
Tsui, A. B. M., & Ng, M. M. Y. (2010). Cultural contexts and situated possibilities in the teaching of second language writing. Journal of Teacher Education, 61(4), 364–375.
Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Wang, W., & Gao, X. (2008). English language education in China: A review of selected research. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 29(5), 380–399.
Yang, M., Badger, R., & Yu, Z. (2006). A comparative study of peer and teacher feedback in a Chinese EFL writing class. Journal of Second Language Writing, 15(3), 179–200.
Yu, S., & Lee, I. (2014). An analysis of EFL students’ use of first language in peer feedback of L2 writing. System, 47, 28–38.
Yu, S., & Lee, I. (2015). Understanding EFL students’ participation in group peer feedback of L2 writing: A case study from an activity theory perspective.Language Teaching Research, 19 (5), 572–593.
Zhu, W., & Mitchell, D. (2012). Participation in peer response as activity: An examination of peer response stances from an activity theory perspective. TESOL Quarterly, 46(2), 362–386.
Acknowledgments
We wish to acknowledge support from Start-up Research Grant (SRG2014-00016-FED), University of Macau, for this research project. We are also grateful to the student participants for their time and co-operation.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Yu, S., Lee, I. & Mak, P. Revisiting Chinese Cultural Issues in Peer Feedback in EFL Writing: Insights from a Multiple Case Study. Asia-Pacific Edu Res 25, 295–304 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40299-015-0262-1
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40299-015-0262-1