Tutors’ feedback and self-politeness: A study of native and non-native English-speaking tutors' feedback on L2 tutees' writings in face-to-face tutorials

Abstract

Suggestions and advice are face-threatening acts (Brown and Levinson, 1987). The acts threaten not only a hearer's negative face but also a speaker's positive face. To save one's own face while performing a self-face threatening act (Chen, 2001), a speaker can choose to do the act directly or do it with redress. Writing tutors usually perform the two SFTAs when they give feedback on tutees' essays in face-to-face writing tutorials. Recent research studies identified (un)mitigated suggestions and imperatives used by L1 tutors to L1 and L2 tutees. However, very few studies compare L1 and L2 tutors' feedback, and explore their feedback with the notions of self-politeness and self-protection. The papers draws on nine 60-minute recorded conversations between two dyads: (i) a female native English tutor (NET) and her L2 tutee; and (ii) a female Cantonese tutor of English (CTE) with her two L2 tutees. The two tutors' feedback on language, content and organization was analyzed with reference to the self-politeness and mitigated strategies for suggestions and advice proposed by Steward (2004), Chen (2001) and Thonus (1999). In addition, the tutees' evaluations of their tutors' feedback were collected. Analysis showed that both tutors tended to enhance the positive face of their tutees before providing specific feedback. They also protected and saved their own face in different ways including hedging, referring to personal choice, locating responsibility in tutees, and justifying the direct linguistic suggestions and content advice with various modal verbs, just to name a few. The CTE was more included to hedge and refer to personal choice than the NET. In contrast, the NET located responsibility in tutees more frequently than the CTE. The three tutees rated their tutors' feedback highly. Both tutors' self-politeness strategies successfully constructed a harmonious tutor-tutee relationship.