A Study of the One-to-One Writing Tutoring Effects: A Perspective of Intercultural Contrastive Rhetoric

A Study of the One-to-One Writing Tutoring Effects: A Perspective of Intercultural Contrastive Rhetoric

Hai-yan Zhang, Yunhui Hao, Mingsheng Li, Donna M. Velliaris
Copyright: © 2020 |Pages: 28
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-2878-5.ch002
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Abstract

This chapter is motivated by the fact that few studies have been made about the effects of one-on-one writing tutoring in English writing centers in Chinese universities. It intends to examine the effects through the evaluation of tutors' performance by students. A sample of 57 students responded to the questionnaires designed based on Kaplan's 7 EFL writing objectives proposed in his theory of contrastive rhetoric with minor revision, and 12 participated the structured in-depth interviews. Results demonstrate that tutors have achieved higher level of satisfaction in objectives of vocabulary and expressions (86%), sentence and grammar(85%), etc., but lower satisfaction level in those of awareness of audience(37%), discourse structure (34%), and rhetoric and writing knowledge (40%). The findings indicate no significant correlation between tutoring duration and students' improvement extent, yet a strong negative association between students' language proficiency and their improvement. Finally, some measures about enhancing tutoring effects are suggested.
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Literature Review

Research pertaining to English Writing Centers in Chinese HEIs was underscored in the First China Colleges English Writing Centers International Conference held in June 2018. Subsequently, studies focused on how to improve students’ writing aptitude through effective tutoring was promoted by conference scholars. In her empirical study, He (2018) argued that although one-to-one tutoring has realized positive effects upon tutored students’ writing proficiency, and was helpful in enhancing and advancing students’ English writing awareness and strategic problem-solving abilities, its impact required heightened in-depth empirically-based examination.

One-to-one writing conferences have proved to exert great influence on students’ revision knowledge and activity (Fitzgerald & Stamm, 1992), particularly for EFL learners. Strauss and Xiang (2006) demonstrated how and to what degree a one-to-one writing conference can serve as a locus of ‘emergent agency’ between instructor and student. A great number of researchers have explored how face-to-face and personal interactivity and communication between teachers (tutors) and students in the process of tutoring can enhance and advance their writing skills.

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