Abstract
ESP classes in subjects such as business are popular in Asia, especially at the tertiary level. Collaborative groupwork and pairwork in these classes is used, not only to practice presented language, but also to facilitate peer feedback (which may include peer assessment) and critical thinking skills. However, many teachers believe that active participation and accurate, appropriate and meaningful feedback in Asian cultures is constrained by fear of mistakes, politeness norms, and the belief that peer feedback lacks credibility. This paper describes the attitudes of 217 Chinese students to extended pairwork (same pair over a term) and peer assessment in eleven task-based ESP business classes in a Hong Kong university. The patterns and perceived usefulness of peer interaction, feedback and peer evaluation are discussed in terms of the cultural values of Chinese learners. The findings suggest that peer feedback was generally perceived as useful and occurred often although about five percent of students did not enjoy the collaborative learning arrangement, and in these cases there was less interaction. The overall response to peer assessment as a learning experience was favourable, but students were unsure about its fairness and felt less comfortable about it as an assessment exercise than as a learning exercise. Possible guidelines for the successful use of collaborative learning arrangements in Asian cultures are suggested.
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