Students' Perceived Challenges regarding Peer Feedback in EFL Writing : A qualitative study of upper secondary students' perspective in Sweden

Abstract: Although the benefits of peer feedback have been widely studied in the EFL classroom, fewer studies have focused on the perceived challenges of giving and receiving peer feedback from the perspective of upper secondary students in Sweden. Therefore, the aim of this qualitative study is to increase teachers’ knowledge of the challenges surrounding peer feedback for EFL writing as voiced by students. This study also discusses students’ suggestions to minimise such challenges. Using data collected from eleven semi-structured interviews with students, thematic analysis and the theoretical framework of Sociocultural theory, this study found that giving feedback was perceived as being more challenging than receiving feedback. Moreover, findings show that the majority of students perceive heterogeneous language proficiencies and negative emotions arising from negative feedback to be major challenges, hence students’ suggestions for homogenous language proficiency groupings and for anonymous feedback. It can be concluded that students’ beliefs about peer feedback in heterogeneous language proficiency pairings and various negative emotions related to peer feedback can influence language development negatively.