Abstract
With the inception of the territory-wide education reform in 2012-13, all local incoming freshmen have one year less of advanced English training prior to entering the university compared to the old curriculum. This also applies to the Mainland students at CUHK, who make up about eight percent of the total student population. Thus, most if not all students are not well prepared linguistically for tertiary education, which requires a much wider repertoire of language skills, especially in academic writing and presentations.
In addition to formal English language courses, peer tutoring, as an instructional strategy, has been found effective in offering alternative provisions to students in need (Topping, 1996). In the 2016-19 triennium, a total of 1,558 tutoring sessions were offered by 50 trained peer tutors to 462 tutees of eight faculties. Both the number of peer tutors and tutees is on the rise in these three years, reflecting the worth and effectiveness of this initiative to both parties.
In brief, this project continues to (1) provide personalized language support to CUHK undergraduates and postgraduates from trained peer tutors in the use of English in general and within the disciplines especially in writing and speaking; (2) provide training for peer tutors in order to maximize the effectiveness of the peer tutoring scheme (PTS) that will benefit both parties concerned; and (3) offer a positive and supportive platform for the peer tutors to grow personally and professionally by sharing knowledge and experience in English language learning and language use with fellow students.
Brief write-up
Project objectives
The project aims to
(1) provide personalized language support to CUHK undergraduates and postgraduates from trained peer tutors in the use of English in general and within the disciplines especially in writing and speaking;
(2) provide training for peer tutors in order to maximize the effectiveness of the peer tutoring scheme that will benefit both parties concerned; and
(3) offer a positive and supportive platform for the peer tutors to grow personally and professionally by sharing knowledge and experience in English language learning and language use with fellow students.
Activities, process and outcomes
During the 2019–2022 triennium, a total of 2,426 tutoring sessions in three delivery modes, face-to-face, Zoom, and online feedback sessions, were offered by more than 50 trained Peer Tutors with diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds each academic year. The scheme has been extremely well-received as indicated in its high turn-up rate of more than 98%. It has also obtained positive feedback both from the Peer Tutees and the Peer Tutors.
Key factors of success
1. C
reation of a learner-centered, stress-free collaborative earning community: Tutoring sessions are initiated by Peer Tutees who specify their needs and requests when making appointments to facilitate the Peer Tutors’ preparation. This learner-centered approach allows students to seek personalized language support from the trained Peer Tutors, speaking to their mind and heart.
2.
Recruitment and Training of Peer Tutors: Since the first inception of PTS in 2016, ~180 Peer Tutors from about 20 different countries/regions have been recruited and trained on important topics such as peer-tutoring pedagogy, written feedback strategies, and intercultural communication skills.
3.
Alignment of University goals: PTS has provided an informal and welcoming platform for meaningful interactions between local and non-local students, contributing to the University goals of
internationalization at home and inclusiveness.
