Learning Writing Collectively via WeChat: An Investigation of Peer Learning in the Chinese EFL Context

Abstract

This study explored Chinese EFL students’ peer collective learning of English writing via WeChat at the tertiary level in mainland China. Based on Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory, it focuses on four main ideas: peer feedback, how learners interact, peer support, and the Zone of Proximal Development. The research examined how mobile-assisted language learning (MALL) through WeChat supported collaborative writing, shaped interactional patterns, and facilitated peer feedback.

Data were collected through questionnaires, WeChat chat histories, student texts (assignments, feedback, and journals), and semi-structured interviews. The study identified five major findings:

Two main interaction patterns, including collaborative and peer tutoring, were identified in WeChat-based learning.

Interaction patterns shifted based on contextual factors (e.g., scaffolding) and individual learner roles.

Peer scaffolding was most prominent during pre-writing discussions, helping students reach their ZPDs.

Peer feedback focused heavily on local issues, especially grammar, and was often indirect and compliment-based; however, it also varied in scope (comprehensive vs. selective), form (direct vs. indirect), and focus (local vs. global).

WeChat enhanced EFL learning, peer interaction, and feedback practices overall.

The current research brought new insights by offering an extended conceptual framework for investigating peer learning in a WeChat-assisted language learning context. It also contributed to the literature on ESL/EFL learners’ peer learning with the aid of technology. In addition, the study clarified and enhanced the analysis of interactional measurement, which could be applied methodologically in both traditional classroom settings and online environments. Lastly, it provided pedagogical implications for mobile-assisted peer language learning, particularly in relation to WeChat-based training sessions and task design.