Tutoring strategies and roles adopted in the writing centers of Turkey

Abstract

Writing centers are institutions that offer one-to-one writing tutorials to help writers improve their writing skills. In order to achieve this aim, tutors implement various strategies and adopt different roles within the tutorials. Writing center tutorial strategies and roles can be categorized under two prominent approaches: the collaborative and direct approach. However, most of these strategies and role are applied with English as a native language and English as a second language context. Hence, the strategies and roles claimed to be effective in these contexts may not be appropriate for English as a foreign language context. This study’s aim was to investigate the strategies that tutors in Turkey reported to implement while dealing with Turkish writers, and tutors’ perceptions of which tutor roles they believed should be adopted. Tutors’ rationales for their choice of strategies and tutor roles were also examined. Out of 47 tutors, 32 tutors participated in this study from the Middle East Technical University, Bilkent University, Sabanci University, Koç University, Bilgi İstanbul University, and Has University. The findings revealed that tutors are implementing neither solely collaborative nor direct approach practices. Rather, data results indicated that tutors have devised their own ‘eclectic’ writing center approach; a mixture of both collaborative and direct approach practices. Moreover, Turkish tutors were found to incorporate strategies not identified in either the collaborative or the direct approach. This practice seemed mainly attributable to the fact that writing clients were writing in a foreign language, English, in a Turkish-speaking community. Tutors’ rationales for an eclectic writing center approach revolved around three main reasons: writing clients’ lack of command of English, time constraints, and writing clients’ lack of understanding of the aim of writing centers