Identification Of Effective Language Advising Strategies At The Caes And Beyond

Abstract

This study, funded by a Teaching Development Grant from The University of Hong Kong (HKU) in 2018, sought to examine the role of language advisers at the Centre for Applied English Studies (CAES) in (1) facilitating dialogue with students to enhance dialogic teaching and learning and (2) supporting learners through use of affect in English language advising. The idea of dialogue as central to advising was advanced by Mynard’s (2012) ‘tool model’ (p. 35) in which dialogue refers to a psychological tool grounded in sociocultural theory that allows the learner to uncover their self through three stages – mediation, negotiation and transformation - by making use of the three-part tool consisting of: a cognitive part for the learner e.g., guides.; a theoretical part for the adviser e.g., knowledge; and a practical component for the advising sessions e.g., space. These tools are also seen as being dependent on personal, physical and contextual dimensions. The term ‘Affect’ in the study simply refers to emotions, feelings, attitudes, beliefs and moods, which when used as a resource during language advising, can facilitate learning, especially because emotions have long been linked to cognition. In order to conduct the study, 20 advising dialogues were recorded, transcribed and coded to analyse the dialogic and affective components of language adviser and advisee interactions during formal advising sessions. This data was then triangulated with 10 learner and 8 adviser interviews, 8 adviser reflections, and 4 written peer reviews of advisers. Results suggest that while dialogicity was often limited due to time constraints in advising sessions, advisers and their students both make significant use of emotional expressions in language advising discourse. Findings also reveal that advisees respond well to advisers who use a wide range of dialogic resources in conjunction with a repertoire of affective language resources. Additionally, it seems that advisers who greet students, listen, empathise, encourage, clarify, tolerate ambiguity, and smile more are generally viewed as being more effective. This suggests that English language advisers can benefit from training programs. Consequently, this project has identified a set of language advising strategies that can be used by advisers at different stages of a language advising session. We hope that advisers can hone their skills through role play scenarios and videos produced as part of the deliverables of this project. We envisage that this handbook along with the set of videos produced on language advising can serve as a resource for not just language advisers, Communication Assistants, peer tutors, and teachers involved in group or one-one-one interactions with students, but also for academic advisers and dissertation supervisors in HKU as well as outside the University.