Training chinese ESL student writers for effective peer review

Research on peer review has suggested that the pedagogical activity offers a wide range of potential benefits. The literature, however, has also documented various problems which can prevent its potential benefits from materializing in L2 writing classrooms. This paper presents instructional practices developed to prepare Chinese ESL learners for effective participation in peer review. It reviews the relevant literature, describes the instructional context for the use of peer review, introduces the general procedures for the pedagogical activity, presents the training activities and follow-ups employed to facilitate student participation in peer review, and concludes with a brief analysis of student performance.