From Talk to Text: What Peer Learning Really Builds

This is a guest post contributed by Bridge’s M.A. TESOL university pathway partner, University of St. Andrews.

“Make sure you let the learners discuss their ideas before asking them to explain them to the whole class.”

Like a madeleine in Proust’s tea, this line has the power to transport many educators straight back to their ELT training days. Many teachers have heard this golden rule of engagement. It is solid advice, grounded in the principles of communicative language teaching.

This guidance continues to appear in conversations about best practices with TESOL trainees and university lecturers. The challenge lies in translating that familiar line into meaningful classroom practice.

When learners are not merely responding to a prompt but co-constructing meaning in English for a real audience, peer discussion becomes far more layered. As educators support learners in collaborative learning, the question becomes how to move beyond routine pair work toward something more intentional, empowering, and creative.

If you’re new to teaching, you’ll want to get initial training and qualification with a TEFL certificate. You can explore our online TEFL courses and get started!

Why does peer learning matter in MA TESOL?

To answer these questions, it is necessary to reframe peer interaction not as a classroom technique, but as a social and cognitive practice. Two theories help conceptualize this: Social Constructivism (Vygotsky, 1978; 1986) and Communities of Practice (Lave and Wenger, 1991).

Social Constructivism positions learning as something that happens in and through interaction.
Communities of Practice emphasize how identity, belonging, and participation shape the development of expertise.

Within these frameworks, collaboration is not just a way to check comprehension. It is how meaning is co-constructed, voice is negotiated, and learners position themselves as creators. This matters deeply in the language classroom, where learners often feel vulnerable or unsure. The act of creating meaning through peer collaboration is influenced by:

Linguistic competence
Social confidence
Understanding of the community’s context
Understanding of discourse practices.

Rooted in Vygotsky’s social constructivist theory, peer interaction becomes a liminal space where thinking is formed, not just performed. In this space, classrooms are transformed into their own communities of practice, where language and social practices are replicated, co-created, and, at times, contested.

Collaborative writing in academic pathways

One example of peer collaboration in action comes from a foundation-level writing course. A course like this includes learners from a wide range of backgrounds and mixed levels. This class at the University of St. Andrews focuses on learners aged 17 to 22 and aims to develop the skills necessary for transitioning into university studies.

In one of these classes, students co-created biographies of inspiring scientists. The task was deceptively simple: create your famous or infamous scientist, develop their timeline and key contributions to knowledge, and write a short biography. But rather than doing it solo, learners worked in pairs or trios, finding good models of published biographies, discussing timelines, swapping vocabulary, and peer-editing drafts together.

What unfolded was not just improved sentence structure or more coherent paragraphs; it was laughter, negotiating meaning, and a shared sense of authorship. Groups proudly displayed their biographies on the classroom Padlet, allowing for teacher and peer review in a relaxed, transparent manner.

For many, this was the first time writing in English felt like play, not pressure. Collaboration allowed them to lean on each other, experiment, and grow. It was not just learning with peers, it was unpacking conventions, norms, and expectations in collaboration.

Teaching writing is one of the main struggles of EFL teachers. Learn how to tackle this task with these tips and activities.

Peer support for emerging researchers

Collaborative writing practices can be extremely beneficial as the academic journey progresses, with peer collaboration taking on new dimensions, especially in the context of research writing. In the course Publish your Journal article!, developed to support doctoral candidates in the writing for publication process, the instructors break down the process into manageable, confidence-building stages.

One of the most powerful elements of this course is the collaborative writing sessions: dedicated time for participants to write together, share works in progress, and offer peer feedback in a supportive environment. These mini writing retreats often begin with a short check-in and a collective intention-setting exercise, followed by focused writing blocks and optional breakout spaces for peer discussion.

Rather than seeing feedback as critique, learners use these sessions to test clarity, tone, and structure. They draw on their peers’ perspectives to refine their arguments and writing style. Some share opening paragraphs or key claims, and others ask for a reader’s take on logical flow or use of hedging.

The atmosphere is low-stakes but energising, with learners consistently reporting that they feel productive and focused during and after these sessions. Many comment on the motivational boost that comes from knowing others are also tackling complex drafts and navigating similar struggles.

The retreats have become more than just writing time. They are reflective, communal checkpoints in the broader journey toward publication, blending accountability, mutual support, and shared ambition.

What peer learning builds in future TESOL educators

It is interesting how often teachers ask students to collaborate, while rarely modelling that same collaborative spirit in their own practice. This disconnect was evident when two colleagues decided to merge their classes, taking the same module for one hour a week, leaving the other two hours with one teacher and smaller numbers.

Their rationale was to align their practices while allowing learners to develop a sense of community by mixing groups and tutors. In their collaborative sessions, rather than merely promoting peer work, they decided to embody it. The result was a co-authored article by Hughes and Villegas (2024) that emerged not only from their shared expertise but also from a commitment to making their professional collaboration visible to students.

Co-teaching reshaped their practices. They began to design classroom experiences where they could visibly collaborate, reflecting, drafting, and building ideas in real time. The impact was clear as students gained a richer understanding of academic writing as a process of dialogue and negotiation, and their own Continuing Professional Development (CPD) flourished in ways that felt deeply meaningful.

This shift from “do what we say” to “watch what we do” created a more authentic and inclusive learning culture. It reminded learners that peer learning is not just for them; it is a practice that teachers, too, are constantly refining together.

Peer learning transforms classroom culture

Peer learning may evoke our training days and be clearly ingrained in teacher DNA. Its prominent place in the teaching toolkit lies in its powerful ability to create space for learners to be brave, curious, and to belong. In the collaborative writing moments described here, learners have moved from hesitant participants to engaged authors.

And many teachers have reimagined what classrooms could be: not sites of solitary struggle, but communities of shared effort. So next time the phrase “let them discuss” is used, it is worth also asking: what are they being invited to build together?

Earn graduate-level university credits towards an M.A. in TESOL and strengthen your understanding of collaborative, research-informed teaching with Bridge’s graduate-level 150-hour IDELTOnline™.

References:

Hughes, J., & Villegas, P.(2024).Re-imagining spaces and materials in the English for Academic Purposes Foundation Classroom.Journal of the Foundation Year Network, 6 (2023), 39-50.https://jfyn.co.uk/index.php/ukfyn/article/view/92/79

Lave, J., & Wenger, E. (1991). Situated learning: Legitimate peripheral participation. Cambridge University Press.

Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes (M. Cole, V. John-Steiner, S. Scribner, & E. Souberman, Eds. & Trans.). Harvard University Press.

Vygotsky, L. S. (1986). Thought and language (A. Kozulin, Trans.). MIT Press.