A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal
Learner-centered EAP practices : Managing agenda in tutorial interaction
Authors: Jakonen Teppo, Duran Derya
Publisher: Pergamon Press
Publication year: 2024
Journal: Journal of English for Academic Purposes
Journal name in source: Journal of English for Academic Purposes
Volume: 68
ISSN: 1475-1585
eISSN: 1878-1497
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2024.101345
Web address : https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2024.101345
Self-archived copy’s web address: https://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/393290798
Abstract
Many higher education institutions support the linguistic needs of ESL students by providing various kinds of tutorial services. Although tutorial interaction has received much research attention, few studies have investigated how tutors and students make decisions about what language skills and activities to focus on during tutorials. In this article, we use conversation analysis (CA) to explore how participants jointly set the tutorial agenda in video recordings from ESL tutorials in dyadic tutor-tutee interactions between an L1 English tutor and L2 tutees at a community college in the United States. We examine participants' interactional practices of initiating agenda management, identifying the tutee's language learning needs, proposing learning activities, and managing disagreement about proposed activities. Our analysis shows how the participants orient to the tutee as the person who is expected to take the lead in agenda setting. From the perspective of a learner-centered EAP pedagogy, agenda management constitutes an important practice because it enables the individualization of the tutorial, which is essential in an instructional environment characterized by a diversity of students' language skills and learning needs. Recognizing the situated, collaborative, and negotiated nature of tutorial interaction can help educational institutions and EAP practitioners further promote learner-centeredness in their practice.
Many higher education institutions support the linguistic needs of ESL students by providing various kinds of tutorial services. Although tutorial interaction has received much research attention, few studies have investigated how tutors and students make decisions about what language skills and activities to focus on during tutorials. In this article, we use conversation analysis (CA) to explore how participants jointly set the tutorial agenda in video recordings from ESL tutorials in dyadic tutor-tutee interactions between an L1 English tutor and L2 tutees at a community college in the United States. We examine participants' interactional practices of initiating agenda management, identifying the tutee's language learning needs, proposing learning activities, and managing disagreement about proposed activities. Our analysis shows how the participants orient to the tutee as the person who is expected to take the lead in agenda setting. From the perspective of a learner-centered EAP pedagogy, agenda management constitutes an important practice because it enables the individualization of the tutorial, which is essential in an instructional environment characterized by a diversity of students' language skills and learning needs. Recognizing the situated, collaborative, and negotiated nature of tutorial interaction can help educational institutions and EAP practitioners further promote learner-centeredness in their practice.
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