Peer Feedback in Synchronous Writing Environments: A Case Study in French

This paper reports on a case study which investigates the interaction patterns among participants in a synchronous writing environment on a Local Area Network (LAN). The focus is on peer feedback, either in the form of social or cognitive acknowledgement. The data were collected from 12 students of a French foreign language class who, for one semester, spent 1 hour of class instruction using Aspects, a synchronous writing environment for the Macintosh. The results suggest that students do provide cognitive and social acknowledgement to their peers in networked writing environments. Students who provide the most social and cognitive acknowledgement are also the highest contributors, although their second language skills are not necessarily superior within their group. Keywords Synchronous writing environments, Peer feedback, French as a second language, Computer-mediated communication

• Type: Journal
• Year: 2000
• Where: ETS
• Authors: Trude Heift, Catherine Caws
• Keywords: Cognitive Acknowledgement, ETS 2000, Hardware, Peer Feedback, Synchronous Writing Environment