Handbook of Language Advising

<p><span>This study seeks to examine the role of language advisers at an English language centre of a university in Hong Kong in: (1) facilitating dialogue with students to enhance dialogic teaching and learning and (2) supporting learners through use of affect in English language advising.</span></p> <p><span>In order to conduct the study, 15 advising dialogues were recorded, transcribed and coded to analyze the dialogic and affective components of language advisor and advisee&nbsp;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.</span></p> <p><span>Results show substantial evidence of a dialogic exchange between advisers and learners but suggest that advisers’ ability to reflect on different advising skills that they make use of can be limited. Data further demonstrate that advisers and their students both make significant use of emotional expressions in language advising discourse and advisers are generally attuned to learners’ feelings, which they respond to by empathizing, encouraging, and mirroring or reflecting feelings. Additionally, advisers with a friendly and approachable disposition who listen carefully, offer encouragement, and smile more are generally viewed as being more effective.</span></p> <p><span>&nbsp;</span><span>The fact that advisers are not always able to provide a comprehensive reflective account of the repertoire of dialogic and affective skills they use suggests that the use of these tacit skills needs to be made explicit through advising workshops and training programs. We hope that advisers can hone their skills through role play scenarios and videos produced as part of the deliverables of this project.</span></p> <p><span>We hope that this guide on language advising can serve as a resource for not just language advisers, communication assistants, peer tutors, and teachers involved in group or one-on-one interactions with students, but also for academic advisers and dissertation supervisors in the tertiary education sector.</span></p> <p><span>&nbsp;</span></p>