Keywords
Asynchronous, Written composition, Writers, Second language learning, Nonnative languages, Graduate students, Basic writing, Punctuation, Written communication
Abstract
Writing center tutors have traditionally been trained to use indirect, dialogic methods of tutoring and to attend to global concerns such as argumentation and organization–practices based more on experience tutoring native rather than non-native speakers of English. Lately, however, tutors have also been encouraged to respond to non-native English speakers’ expressed concerns about language by more directly explaining nuances of word choice and grammar. But what happens then to the focus of tutoring sessions when the format shifts from face-to-face to online? How does the online environment affect tutoring dynamics, specifically how feedback is requested by and given to both native English speaking (NES) and non-native English speaking (NNES) writers? In sum, to further explore the growing delivery system of online tutoring, to fill gaps in the writing center literature, and to answer the need for a reality-based rather than perception-based study of NES and NNES feedback concerns, the authors did a quantitative study of their own online tutoring data bank to compare and contrast the feedback requests of their writing center’s NNES and NES undergraduate writers.
Citation Information
Type of Source: Journal Article
Authors: Carol Severino, Jeffrey Swenson, Jia Zhu
Year of Publication: 2009
Publication: Writing Center Journal, Volume 29, Issue 1
Page Range: 106-129