Presenter: Guangwei Hu
Cultural Influences on EFL/ESL Learning:
The Case of Peer Feedback
Guangwei Hu
Nanyang Technological University
A salient line of research has attempted to interpret EFL/ESL learners’ perceptions and practices in terms of national and/or ethnic cultural traits. This received view of culture, however, does not comport well with the often-reported conflicting findings about learners with the same national or ethnolinguistic backgrounds, and has been criticized for its essentializing and stereotyping nature. Thus, if culture is to remain a useful construct in EFL/ESL research and praxis, it needs to be reconceptualized. To this end, this presentation borrows the conceptual tool of “scale” from social theory and sociolinguistics to view culture as existing on different scales. The presentation then applies this scalar conception of culture to demonstrate how cultures on different scales can account for both the similarities and differences in perceptions and practices of peer feedback observed in three empirical studies of Chinese EFL/ESL learners. By way of conclusion, the presentation outlines a way of exploiting the affordances of scalar culture for understanding EFL/ESL learning in a globalized world.