Nelson, G. & J. Carson. (2006). Cultural issues in peer response: Revisiting ‘culture.’ In K. Hyland & F. Hyland (eds.), 42-59.
This article is quite easy to read. I was able to read it without constantly thinking of getting more coffee, so that's good. And it's short, too. I'm very grateful I picked this one :)
In the article, Nelson and Carson argue that culture could be a contextual factor in the effectiveness of peer response. In their study on peer group interactions, they found the three Chinese participants all expressed their reluctance to disagree with other peers' comments and their desire to maintain the harmony of the group. Their shared cultural expectations seem to explain why they didn't give negative feedback to their peers and why they held back their criticism. The students found it difficult to participate successfully in peer response interactions because giving negative feedback works against their cultural values. Therefore, the effectiveness of peer feedback is discounted. Nelson and Carson then hypothesize that cultural backgrounds may influence the dynamics of group interactions and further play a role in the effectiveness of peer feedback.
They also pointed out that the construct of “culture” is controversial. Using it as a contextual factor has been critiqued by postmodern, post-structuralist, and post-colonial theorists as reductionist, assuming culture to be static and coherent. The authors illustrate the debate on culture-stereotype connection at some length and, in the end, they take a stance by saying that there is “a systematic, culturally determined way in which all members in a certain culture think, behave, and act” (Nelson & Carson, 1994, p. 14). There are multiple causes of successful and unsuccessful peer feedback. By examining possible cultural effects in peer feedback, the study aims to highlight the complex variables in providing quality feedback.
Overall, I enjoy reading it. I'll recommend it to anyone who is interested in cross-cultural issues and contextual elements of peer feedback interactions. The article doesn't require any background knowledge. Even if you are not familiar with peer response, you will not have much trouble reading it.
However, my problem with the article is I still don't know how to tease apart the contextual factors the authors investigated. I mean, how much can we say that the effectiveness is culture-related? How much can we say we are not making stereotype connection when we talk about cultural homogeneity? These questions seem to linger in my mind.
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3 comments:
I think the article you selected is really interesting to read since I believe that we cannot exclude cultural aspects from interaction, either face-to-face conversations or written contexts.
And it can be read as an extension of Hyland & Hyland (2006)'s article that we dealt with as our first reading, especially the part of 3.3 Collaboration and interaction in peer response sessions from pp.91-92.
Even though people nebulously believe that all Asian students have their own belief systems that are different from Western students', I am curious whether it can be generalized to all students from Asia. I also like to know if there are any studies on the effects of Korean culture on Korean EFL students' oral interaction in terms of negative feedback and uptake.
Thank you for your evaluation.
Ping, in the end, do you recommend this reading for the reading packet or not?
Yes, sorry for being ambiguous.
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