A study conducted in a freshman English class in a Taipei (Taiwan) university investigated how peer response groups functioned in their native language (Mandarin Chinese) and English, a second language. Analysis focused on (1) whether there were qualitative differences in the comments students made about peers' writing in the two languages, and (2) whether qualitative differences in interaction occurred during the peer response sessions. Participants were 35 students randomly assigned to English-language (L2) and Chinese-language (L1) groups, which were further subdivided into three- and four-student peer review groups. Results indicate that during the review session, the L1 group gave more specific comments than the L2 group, and the two groups emphasized different aspects of the compositions. L1 groups focused mainly on language usage, while the L2 groups dealt more evenly with language use, reasoning, and rhetoric. The former communicated more effectively, but the latter appeared more supportive of each other. Implications for teaching and research are discussed. (Contains 29 references.) (Author/MSE)