A Vygotskian analysis of emotion and cognition in peer feedback on L2 writing through the dynamics of Perezhivanie

This paper draws on the Vygotskian notion of perezhivanie — which posits a dialectical relationship between emotion and cognition — to investigate how an English learner refracts her experience with peer feedback on L2 writing, thus focusing on how her perezhivanie leads her to change the way she engages in feedback and comes to understand its role in learning. This is examined within the context of an L2 academic writing course in a public university in Brazil. Data were collected through individual interviews, stimulated recall sessions, and visual representations. The discussion uncovers how the learner’s transformative view of peer feedback was influenced by her previous perezhivaniya of teacher feedback throughout her trajectory as a student. By engaging in computer-mediated peer feedback and deliberately reflecting on it, she goes from not seeing it as a tool for learning to seeing it as a process that offers possibilities for writing, thus illustrating the power of socially constructed activities in mediating student growth. Besides identifying opportunities for integrating mediated self-reflective activities related to peer feedback, which may lead to the development of feedback literacy for higher education learners, the study also demonstrates Vygotsky’s assertion about the connection between cognition and emotion and highlights how this relationship influences the educational journey of individuals.