| With the current discussion of effective language instruction shifted form transmission-oriented to participatory or constructivist knowledge, more attention is paid to the practice, process and condition leading to social construction of knowledge in different L2 learning situations. Based on the most widely accepted social-construction theory, the meta-cognition theory and the second language acquisition theory, this paper proposed the probability of the application of peer interaction in ESL reading classroom. An experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of peer interaction on the reading comprehension of university-bound learners of English-as-a Second Language (ESL) and explore its pedagogical significance. The study involves one experimental group that was exposed to peer interaction reading instruction according to a modified "Jigsaw Technique", and one control group that received traditional teacher-frontal instruction. The present experiment was a 2×2 within-subject design (teaching method—traditional and peer interactive methods x subjects' English proficiency—high and low levels). Through the analysis of questionnaire, interview and data of the tests collected by surveys of 90 non-English major students of Fujian University of Technology, the study indicated that after 15-weeks treatment the two groups have achieved significant differences in their English reading proficiency, especially for the low-achievers in the each group. Meanwhile, learners in the experimental group tend to be more active in reading English. Through interactive reading activities, they have learned successful strategies for extracting meaning and interpretingcontent from their peers to enhance their meta-cognition awareness. Based on the findings of the study, the author concluded some implication and put forward some suggestions for further studies.
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