Electronic peer feedback (e-PF) has offered a number of benefits to English as a foreign language (EFL) students’ academic writing competence and reflective thinking. However, little research has been conducted to examine whether e-PF can be incorporated in Confucian heritage culture (CHC) contexts. With a sample of 40 Vietnamese university students, the purpose of this study was threefold: (a) to explore whether e-PF improved students’ global and local features of EFL academic writing; (b) to investigate whether e-PF provoked students’ reflective thinking; and (c) to determine whether the two core principles of Confucian values, namely, the concept of face and power distance influenced the implementation of e-PF. Data were collected through pre- and post-questionnaires, e-PF content, and reflective logs. The qualitative and quantitative results showed that e-PF improved the quality of global and local writing aspects. Using e-PF also espoused both e-PF providers and receivers to develop reflective thinking by heightening their cognitive processes. Students were found to overcome the Confucian cultural barriers to get engaged in giving and receiving critique from their peers. The study, therefore, adds to the existing knowledge about the significance of e-PF in improving students’ writing skills and nurturing reflective thinking in CHC cultures.

Despite the wide implementation of English graduation benchmark policy in Vietnam, students' voices on this one-size-fits-all policy have still been under-researched and under-represented. The purpose of this research, therefore, is twofold. The first is to examine whether any differences actually exist among Northern, Central and Southern Vietnamese students' voices on the policy because these three regions represent heterogeneous characteristics ranging from cultures to English learning conditions to socioeconomic backgrounds. The second is to investigate how these students at elementary, intermediate and upper intermediate levels perceive the policy. Drawing a sample of 902 students in these three regions, the study adopted a quantitative approach in the form of a questionnaire survey. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Hochberg's GT2 post hoc tests yielded significant differences in students' voices on the 'Benefits' and 'Anxiety' factors. Following the English proficiency levels in each region, a multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and the Bonferroni method also showed variations in students' voices on the 'Benefits', 'Anxiety' and 'Test-oriented learning' factors. The findings hope to give dissenting voices to stakeholders including the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET), policy makers, higher education institutions (HEIs) and teachers to adjust the policy and come up with innovative pedagogical strategies.