Pragmatics SIG Zoom: A closer look at peer feedback: Japanese L2 writers

This research questions if Japanese L2 learners are influenced by their familiarity with each other or by anonymity when they are engaged in peer feedback on writing. The focus of the investigation was upon the praise and criticisms exchanged during the peer sessions and the students’ reported degree of discomfort, if any. The study examined three conditions: a) mutual closeness, b) mutual distance, and c) mutual anonymity. The results were that there were lower degrees of discomfort among learners who shared a close relationship, and that anonymity did not reduce the discomfort. The learners exchanged similar feedback regardless of their closeness or anonymity.