Examining EFL Writing Through Tutor–Tutee Interactions and Revisions: A Case Study of an L2 Learner in Video-Mediated Online Tutorials

Mei-Hsing Tsai; Wei-Ting  Chang; Ya-ting  Chiang

doi:10.66947/pasaa.v74i1.1550

Authors

Mei-Hsing Tsai -
Wei-Ting Chang Taiwan Sugar Corporation
Ya-ting Chiang National Taiwan University of Science and Technology

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.66947/pasaa.v74i1.1550

Keywords:

EFL writing, video-mediated SCMC writing tutorials, writing tutoring strategies, text revisions

Abstract

The present study examines tutor–tutee interactions between an L2 English-speaking tutor and an L2 English-speaking tutee over a series of six video-mediated online tutorials. We employed a case study approach and utilized Mackiewicz and Thompson’s (2018) coding scheme to analyze the tutor–tutee interactions during video-mediated online tutorials and the revisions made by the tutee to his writing drafts throughout the semester. The writing tasks included two primary writing assignments, i.e., a comparison essay and a cause-and-effect essay, supplemented by four short writing exercises. Guided by Yu’s (2020) analytical approach, the findings indicate that the tutor relied on instruction and cognitive scaffolding strategies rather than motivational scaffolding strategies during the video-mediated online tutoring sessions. Moreover, the tutor initially emphasized text-level issues, but his focus shifted to sentence-level concerns as the tutorials progressed. Similarly, the tutee incorporated more sentence-level revision suggestions than text-level suggestions into his subsequent drafts. The tutee’s decisions about text revisions were influenced by the complexity of the suggestions, as well as institutional and intrapersonal factors. Over time, the tutee demonstrated changes in the quality of his English writing. These findings offer insights into the dynamics of tutor–tutee interactions during video-mediated SCMC tutorials and the tutee’s text revisions across drafts in an EFL context.

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