Online peer feedback training based on self-regulated learning in english as a foreign language writing: Perceived usefulness and students’ engagement Thi Thanh Thao TRAN a,1 , Qing MA b,2,* a Faculty of English, University of Foreign Languages and International Studies, Hue University, 57 Nguyen Khoa Chiem, An Cuu Ward, Hue, Vietnam b Department of Linguistics and Modern Language Studies, The Education University of Hong Kong, 10 Lo Ping Road, Ting Kok, Hong Kong A R T I C L E INFO Keywords: Online peer feedback Self-regulated writing strategies English as a foreign language (EFL) students Second language academic writing ABSTRACT Peer feedback is crucial in second language academic writing. As technology progresses, online peer feedback is replacing traditional feedback methods in tertiary education. In this study, wherein we utilized Zimmerman’s self-regulated learning model, the authors aimed to train English as a foreign language (EFL) students in providing self-regulated learning-based online peer feedback over one semester. We explored English as a foreign language students’ engagement in providing and receiving feedback, their interpretations, their follow-up ac- tions in response to peer feedback during the training, and their overall perceived improvements in self-regulated writing strategies by analyzing the feedback that peers received and how they responded to that feedback. Data were collected from analyses of peer feedback on essays written by 20 Vietnamese university students. The re- sults revealed that feedback typically includes critical and constructive remarks about language details, as well as praise for content; students prioritize feedback on local language aspects such as grammar and vocabulary over aspects such as global content and structure. The results also showed that providing and receiving online peer feedback signifcantly enhance English as a foreign language students’ self-regulated writing strategy use by fostering learning motivation, positive attitudes toward online peer feedback, a positive learning environment, and the increased use of writing and peer help-seeking strategies, as well as self-improvement strategies and knowledge transfers from peer assistance across the three phases of self-regulated learning. These fndings suggest that self-regulated learning-based online peer feedback can enhance English as a foreign language stu- dents’ writing skills and strategic learning application, providing insights for instructional practice. 1. Introduction Peer feedback is important in L2 writing (Li, 2020). Such feedback can take various forms, including peer reviews, refections, editing, comments, and revisions. Peer feedback for writing involves activities in which students work in pairs or groups to formulate comments about or responses to their own written papers (Liu & Edwards, 2018). Accord- ingly, peer feedback may contribute to assisting L2 students in improving their strategic competence, enhancing the monitoring pro- cess of their own writing, and improving the quality of their fnal written submissions (Gan et al., 2023; Lee et al., 2021). In addition, previous studies have acknowledged the benefts that peer feedback can have for L2 students, including enhanced collaborative writing (Nunan, 1993), the sense of multiple readers, and increased awareness of responsibility and autonomy among student writers (Chen, 2016; Min, 2005). With advancements in technology for language education, online peer feedback (OPF) has gradually increased in popularity for L2 writing, particularly in tertiary learning environments. OPF reached its peak in popularity and became the predominant tool for L2 writing courses during the COVID-19 pandemic (Rimmer, 2020) when online courses were presented in many countries worldwide. Reviews of pre- vious studies have shown that OPF encourages more revision-oriented comments and global revisions than face-to-face peer feedback in group settings (Pham, 2022; Song & Usaha, 2009). OPF also signif- cantly enhances four aspects of academic writing performance, namely task achievement, coherence and cohesion, lexicon use, and grammat- ical range and accuracy (Ebadi & Rahimi, 2017). Although peer feedback activities are widely employed when * Corresponding author. E-mail addresses: tttthao_dhnn@hueuni.edu.vn (T.T.T. TRAN), maqing@eduhk.hk (Q. MA). 1 https://orcid.org/ 0009–0009-0681–4631 2 https://orcid.org/0000–0003-3125–3513 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Studies in Educational Evaluation journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/stueduc https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stueduc.2024.101418 Received 19 January 2024; Received in revised form 21 October 2024; Accepted 28 October 2024 Studies in Educational Evaluation 83 (2024) 101418 Available online 7 November 2024 0191-491X/© 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights are reserved, including those for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies.