THE PEER REVIEW PROCESS AND JAPANESE ESL STUDENTS: A CASE STUDY

Abstract

Although the peer review process has been widely used in L1 writing classes, it has not been clearly established that it can be used as successfully in the L2 context. In this pilot case study, our broad research question was: How does the peer review process work for Japanese students in a culturally-diverse American adult ESL writing class? To answer this question, and several sub-questions, we focused on four intermediate-level Japanese ESL students in an intensive English language program. We found that the peer review process can be effective in ESL writing classes, but that there are important factors that ESL teachers should be aware of. In this paper, we present our research findings, and implications for teaching based on these findings. We also make some suggestions for further studies on the use of the peer review process in ESL classrooms.