Book Chapter Published

Abstract

This paper reports on a Sino-US transnational writing activity, in which the Chinese EFL students went through two rounds of peer feedback, first from their Chinese peers and then from their American peers. They documented their responses to peer feedback in their reflective reports. The reports were analyzed in terms of feedback focuses, student engagement, levels of engagement, and reported reasons for non-uptake. The major findings include (a) the students were more likely to challenge rhetorical feedback than language feedback, regardless of the feedback sources; (b) they generally had high levels of cognitive and behavioral engagement with feedback, although instances of cognitive engagement were found much more frequently; (c) they tended to hold an assertive stance of their writing choices which they believed to be accurate or appropriate, thus leading to non-uptake. These findings contribute to a nuanced understanding of feedback non-uptake that recognizes students’ agentive engagement and mindful choices. Pedagogical implications are also offered to train students to become readerly writers who maximize opportunities afforded by peer feedback to engage diverse reader responses.