Student engagement with peer feedback in AI-assisted second language writing

Research on student engagement with peer feedback in second language (L2) writing has drawn increasing scholarly attention in recent years as researchers and practitioners have acknowledged that engagement plays a crucial role in unlocking the benefits of peer feedback in L2 writing. The emergence of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and its growing presence in academic writing, however, has added complexity to student engagement with peer feedback in L2 writing, requiring students to possess digital and AI literacy to navigate emerging opportunities and challenges. By examining two students’ interactions with peer feedback in their AI-assisted L2 revisions, this study shows that the two students showed notable differences, largely influenced by their levels of digital and AI literacy. The low‑literacy student privileged AI feedback and accepted it uncritically, whereas the high‑literacy student evaluated and balanced insights from both the peer and the AI tool. The findings suggest that digital and AI literacy—awareness of technological affordances and constraints, ability to critically evaluate information, and competence in human–machine interaction—is an essential component in effective student engagement with peer feedback in L2 writing in the age of generative AI.