What do Chinese Learners of English Want from a University Writing Centre? A Chinese Tertiary Student’s Views on Writing Centre Peer Tutoring

Abstract

Tutees are important people in university writing centres, yet their voices, especially what Chinese tutees think about peer writing tutoring, have tended to be largely overlooked in the writing centre scholarship. Adding to this under-researched area, this article reports on an interview with a Chinese tertiary learner of English who shared her views on writing centre peer tutoring. Through thematic content analysis, three core themes were identified: writing centre peer tutoring as an activity for the give-and-take of formative feedback on writing, the tutee’s desire for professional directive guidance, and her perceived role of agenda-setting in ensuring tutoring quality. The implication for writing centre peer tutoring is that tutees may have their idiosyncratic preferences for tutoring strategies which may or may not align with the recommendations in writing centre handbooks and the general literature on teaching and learning. It is hoped that this article will stimulate future scholarly work on tutees’ expectations and perspectives on peer writing tutoring, which can inform writing centre training and tutoring. Keywords: EFL writers, peer-tutoring, student perceptions, tutorial success, writing centre