EFL College Writers’ Perspectives on Peer Revisions of De-emphasizing Grammar Correction in Taiwan

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to attempt to realize EFL college students’ perspectives on conducting peer revision in the writing class. Students acted as both readers and writers. They were asked to complete feedback questionnaires once they finished editing their peer’s work. In their feedback, they pointed out their preferred parts of the essay and describe the reasons for their preference. At the same time, they reflected upon their peer’s editing of their own essays. Throughout this process, they were asked to keep in mind the idea writing interesting and engaging essays through the use of narrative, i.e. “telling stories.” The findings indicated that some students could not understand their peer’s writing because of weak sentence structures. Therefore, they had difficulty elaborating upon and articulating their preferred parts of their peers’ writings. However, others highlighted their preference points by relating how they’d encountered similar experiences to those that appeared in their peers’ writings. In this, they sensed that they shared the same or similar experiences and stories. By encountering peer revision, almost all of the students involved agreed that the process was very helpful for them to improve their own essays.