Exploring Peer Feedback on Writing Assignments in an Online Learning Environment

Feedback redirects or refocuses the learner's actions to achieve a goal, by aligning effort and activity with an outcome. Feedback can come from a variety of sources. Studies have shown positive effects of feedback from teachers and peers. This study explores students' perceptions towards peer feedback on writing assignments in fundamental English courses which are conducted online during the COVID-19. Qualitative data was collected from email interviews with 30 students who had completed the course. All the interviews transcripts were critically examined to draw out the aspects of peer-to-peer feedback emerging from the participants' viewpoints in relation to their experiences and perceptions as a result of engaging with peers within online discourse, and providing and/or receiving feedback. The results show that the positive perceptions outweigh the negative ones. Specifically, students can benefit from a wide range of feedback, learn from others, boost their confidence and activeness, and create cooperative and collaborative learning. However, there are a few drawbacks regarding linguistic limitation and unwillingness to provide sincere feedback, which needs to be taken into consideration if peer feedback is still applied in the next semesters.