As an Editor with Approval Power

The instructor often received email from students asking for suggestions or corrections on summaries or other items. Often, the teacher edited directly in the email and gave a quick reply to students. However, it is interesting to find that the teacher’s role as an editor might be oversimplified if we neglect the after-effect of this type of correction. The collected data show that students often expressed a sense of relief after they received a reply from the teacher’s confirmation indicating that the students’ work seemed fine since this also indicated a tacit approval from the instructor. To further discuss this finding, two perspectives will be examined.

Viewing the teacher’s role as an editor, the first perspective is to discuss how her approval in emails and one-on-one conferencing comforts learners’ uneasiness in preparatory work. The second perspective is to discuss her quick reply as evidence of reassurance to resolve students’ uncertainties.

First of all, how does the instructor play her role as an editor? At first glance, the primary facilitation that the instructor provides is to act as a counselor for presenters to resolve confusion in language use. When students were negotiating their presentation content with the instructor, they received feedback and advice from

her. Based on the negotiation and discussion, presenters oriented themselves to the oral task. As such, the discussion with the instructor allowed students to understand the teacher’s expectations and have more confidence in accomplishing the task. A typical reply in emails is as follows.

(Mon, Nov/02/2009) Hello Tony,

You did a very nice job in designing your handout—the layout and expression are clear. Also, your questions are inspiring for discussion as well as the 'pop quiz' (I like it very much :-) I just edited some grammatical mistakes in the paper and hope it's clear to you. Let me know if you need any further clarification. Good luck in your presentation!

p.s. I left your handout in my mailbox and you can pick it up anytime.

Tony mentioned the following in his interview, “I tried hard to meet the instructor’s requirements, and I believe the teacher could provide me with the most direct answer in terms of how I can work on my presentation.” To him, consulting with and pre-checking by the instructor is one part of a solid preparation process before his formal presentation.

The instructor, conversely, regards giving feedback as her responsibility as a teacher. Therefore, despite facing such an intensive duty, Ann thinks she just played her proper role as a language teacher, as revealed in a chat with me.

「我覺得面對這群學生壓力好大! 我試著盡力幫助他們，但是我不確定能給多少…我 想頂多就是幫忙修改文法之類的，沒甚麼其他了吧!」)

“I feel so stressful to face my students in PBL classes. I try my best to help them, but I’m not so sure how far I can go…I think that what I can provide my students is to fix their language use, but not much beyond this, I think.” (Fieldnotes, Nov/15/2009)

Ann feels that she can only provide students with what she knows regarding such issues as grammatical accuracy. However, such a statement shows a conflictual interpretation of the teacher’s role between Ann and her students because students in fact considerably appreciate how their instructor facilitates their preparation for the oral task, as Jay’s example demonstrates.

Email from Jay (Mon, Oct/05/2009):

老師,

我是醫學二 Jay (anonymous). 附檔是禮拜三 oral presentation 的 PPT 及 summary. 麻煩老 師看是否有哪裡需要修改的 (尤其是討論問題的部分)，謝謝老師!

Reply from the teacher (Mon, Oct/05/2009):

Hi there,

I've revised both files somewhere else. As for the discussion question 3, I think you need to paraphrase it because it is not so clear. I’m not quite sure what you mean by ‘How is the brain of Humphrey Ocean different from those of the rest of us?’ Who are ‘the rest of us’? For other minor problems, I just corrected them directly. Please check them out.

Let me know if you need any further help. Good luck to your presentation!

Such an editor’s role, which seems trivial to the teacher, in fact serves as “an official approval” of a good presentation to the student. It seems that the students wanted to get an “identity” from the instructor to recognize if such work is good enough, which is also a power indication to provide student presenters with a sense of security to confirm an oral presentation’s appropriateness. To students, the consolidation in conferencing is important, as Jay indicates in his interview, talking about how the email conferencing makes sense to him.

「老師在回我的 email 裡，其實也沒做多大的改變。就是改了 summary 裡面的一個 句子的時態跟一個討論問題。但是這對我來說很重要，因為老師看過就好像蓋過章

一樣，我就可以放心跟著這份講義走,就不會差到哪裡去了。」

“In fact, my teacher did not do too much editing (in my handout and PPT files). She just edited verb tenses in a sentence in a summary and one discussion question. However, the editing is very important to me because it’s like a certificate which makes me feel safe and relieved to do my oral presentation. With it, I know everything will not be too bad.”

(Interview)

Jay’s excerpt shows that the teacher’s editing on his mandatory handout eases his mind and boosts his confidence to complete the oral task. In their interaction, it shows Jay concerns about his summary writing and discussion questions most. To address his concerns, as he indicated in the email, the instructor also gave him comments on the submission. Such interaction via email, in Jay’s eyes, “prevented losing face in front of classmates due to ungrammatical use or inappropriate question

design” (不會因為文法錯誤或是討論題目設計得不好而在同學面前丟臉。) (Interview).

It allows the students to have confidence that they won’t make unnecessary

grammatical errors, and hence save face (which can be a thorny issue if they feel the teacher corrects another student more than they). In particular, since these students are all high-achievers and have succeeded in a highly competitive environment (as evidenced by entry into pre-med) and are still within a competitive environment where their peers are also their competitors, their need for grammatical correctness will most likely also be very high so that they can maintain/enhance their position amongst their peers and in the eyes of their instructors. In other words, editing in conferencing cannot be simply regarded as a language teaching and learning issue;

more accurately, it shows a deeper psychological level which is very possibly neglected in teachers’ and researchers’ eyes. To students, with the teacher’s preview and editing, they gained the teacher’s approval of their preparatory work.

In addition to being an editor providing approval of the student presenters’

preparation work, the teacher’s quick replies to all questions is another reassurance conveyed by the teacher, which gives the students the feeling that there is always someone to rely on. In the observed classroom, excluding face-to-face consultation, the instructor received fifty-six emails in total from students throughout the term, with questions varying from person to person. Further, replying to students’ emails appears to be very pressing for the instructor, as indicated by the instructor’s speed at which she responded to students’ questions. It seems to be an indication of the uncertainly she feels regarding how to best provide instruction for presentations, and so makes it a priority in responding to their inquiries to alleviate their anxiety as best she can. As she indicated,

「我會很快回信，因為我知道學生在等。我回信只是一個click的動作，但是對要做

presentation 的學生來說，他們會焦慮，會緊張。」

“I reply to emails as soon as I can because I know my students are waiting. For me, it’s just takes a click to reply; and I know it’s the source of anxiety and nervousness for student presenters.” (Interview)

To Ann, it is a simple action to reply to students’ email because she does not want to augment her students’ anxiety keeping them waiting. In reviewing all email dates, it was found that students often emailed the instructor on Sundays or Mondays (two days before the class on Wednesdays) with Ann usually replying by Monday.

Ann’s prompt replies were tremendously appreciated by the students, as Mark said, “I really appreciated my teacher’s quick reply. She makes me feel she is always there even though she is not physically present.” (Interview) 「我真的很感激老師都能很快就

回我 email, 那感覺很像說…即使我沒看到她，但是老師也能幫助我很快完成準備的工作。」

From another perspective, “always being there” seems to imply that besides regular office hours to conference with students, the unseen spared time and not-physically-presented talks in email were important for both students and the instructor. Students did not want their problems or concerns to remain unsolved or unnoticed; therefore, the teacher’s in-time facilitation was critical for their preparation and performance in the presentation tasks. Being a language facilitator who at the same time also provides assurance for presenters is a different dimension to re-examine the teacher’s role. In other words, through editing, the teacher makes a valuable contribution to make oral presentations become less anxiety provoking.

4.2.2 As a Counselor for Emotional Stability: “She is also very sensitive to our needs and is always ready in that respect.”

For decades, many researchers and educators have been aware that anxiety is one of the major sources for learning frustration. Accordingly, many studies have explored, described, and even measured anxiety in learning in order to help learners deal with this problem so that they can improve their performance in speaking (Hewitt

& Stephenson, 2011; Lucas, 1984; Phillips, 1992; Woodraw, 2006;), writing (Cheng et

al, 1999), reading (Saito et al, 1999), and listening (Kim, 2000) (see a review of

foreign language anxiety and achievement in Horwitz, 2001). Yet, most studies take

the same position as Horwitz (2001), believing there is no such thing as a facilitating method to reduce anxiety since language learning is a varied and psychologically intricate phenomenon. In other words, effective methods to reduce anxiety are quite limited in terms of language learning. However, in terms of oral academic discourse acquisition, findings gained from this study that show how a teacher can help students resolve their uncertainties and doubts (i.e., in this study: editing their drafts via email or face-to-face conferencing) have provided an avenue to reduce learners’ unease, and therefore contradict Horwitz’ (2001) position.

From the data, it is found that students’ face-to-face conferencing with the instructor seems to play a major role in their preparation work in which friendly discussions and a feeling of companionship that is conducive to establishing intimate bonds between the instructor and students is evident. This intimate connection is shown mainly via three perspectives: the teachers’ awareness of the students’

on-going development, as an attentive listener, and the teacher’s background as a learner and as a teacher.

4.2.2.1 The Teacher’s Awareness of Students’ On-going Development

The instructor’s comments were not randomly made, but the results of her close observations and intensive negotiations with students. From the participants’

reflection in the interviews which will be discussed below, it can be learnt that the instructor carefully monitored her students’ progress and development.

In Tony’s case, the teacher’s awareness of his on-going development allowed him to take the right path to move on so as to be a more seasoned presenter. Born and raised in Kaohsiung, he graduated from the best senior high school in Southern Taiwan. In terms of his English study, he regards himself as an inferior learner compared to his classmates coming from Northern Taiwan. Though living in the

largest metropolitan city in Southern Taiwan, in his view, he thinks English learners in Kaohsiung are less capable of speaking English because of fewer opportunities for exposure to English learning than students in Taipei. In the profile data, he showed his severe concerns about his English competence, especially regarding his oral ability.

In the observed class, he likes to talk to Ann. In Ann’s impression, Tony is

“not a fluent speaker, [and] I know he suffered a lot in preparing for oral presentations.

But I know he made a lot of effort to improve his performance throughout the whole

term” (他的口語能力沒有很好，他整學期遇到蠻多挫折，但是很認真。整個學期口語報告的能

力進步很多!) (Interview). From Tony’s view, he considers that his teacher provided him much facilitation to be a more competent presenter.

「不管是在課堂或是我們在面談的時候，她就是很有耐心聽我的破英文。我還記得第 一次面談的時候，我鼓足勇氣問老師可不可以聽我排練十分鐘然後給我一些意見，

我知道這樣問很尷尬，因為老師很忙啊，她竟然答應了耶!老師人真的很好。」

“My teacher has a lot of patience to listen to my non-fluent English no matter inside or outside the classroom. I still remember in my first conferencing, I asked if she could

spare ten minutes to see my rehearsal and give comments. Actually, I felt a little embarrassed to say so, but unbelievably, she said ‘yes’. She is a really nice person.”

Triangulating the collected data in Tony’s files, it was found that the instructor paid detailed attention to his oral performance. Helping him cope with the tremendous challenge of speaking in public, Ann provided several concrete comments and suggestions to guide Tony to be a more competent presenter.

Your performance is much better than my expectation. Maybe you can prepare early and thoroughly so that you can draw confidence. I believe it can definitely reduce your stage fright. Let me know if you need my help! (The instructor’s feedback for Tony’s SRF I)

By the way, the content in your PPT slides seems not so organized and I can’t see its coherence (it looks like a tangle of random thoughts). Please be sure that they are well organized, otherwise, your delivery will not be smooth and effective. (Adopted from one of the instructor’s emails to Tony, Dec/21/2009)

I can tell how much effort you’ve put into preparing your oral presentations! Your revised version of the PPT slides indeed made your discussion go fluently. Also, I noticed you didn’t read the script on hand this time. I know it’s hard, but you did it so well. Keep up the good work! 加油 (The instructor’s feedback on Tony’s SRF II)

From the above data arranged in a chronological order, it can be seen that Ann keeps track of Tony’s development. Throughout the course, her feedback was not just simple or general comments; instead, she used specific and precise words and instances to facilitate Tony to be a better presenter. As Tony reflected in his interview,

「她不是只是給一些很 general 的建議，類似甚麼 “very good!”, “great!” 的評 語。老師給的建議跟評語讓我知道她是真正關心學生進步的老師。同學做完報告，

她給建議是列點式的，所以每個人都會知道下次可以改進的地方在哪裡，非常清楚 的知道。」

“She does not only provide general comments, like “very good!” or “great!”. Instead, her precise suggestions and comments let me know she is the teacher who is indeed

aware of her learners’ development. It is also true when she gives comments after my classmates’ presentations. Usually, she gives comments point by point so that everyone understands exactly what she expects us to improve the next time.” (Interview)

It is also because of the instructor’s thoughtfulness of her students’ progress that students feel close to her. In the class, the teacher paid special attention to her students which often surprised them. Andrew’s and Nick’s words can also be examples to illustrate their close relationship.

「老師的記性很恐怖(笑)…才第二堂課就都記得每個人的名字。更可怕的是，誰上次做 報告或說了甚麼，她在上課舉例的時候都說得出來…她記得每件事，她就是這樣讓我 們覺得她把每個學生都放心上，你不認真都不行(笑)。」

“The teacher’s retention is awfully great (laugh). She could remember everyone’s name in our second meeting. More than that, when she did her lecture and needed examples,

she could recall who did or said something to make her lecture come alive…She remembers everything and that’s the way she makes us feel that she cares about everyone.

Her care of us makes me feel that I have no excuse for not working harder (laugh).”

(Interview, Andrew)

「老師都知道我的弱點在哪裡，所以她給建議的時候就是用很直接清楚的方式，而且我 們的討論氣氛也很輕鬆愉快，老師感覺很親和。也是因為這些討論的過程，讓我覺得 要完成 presentation 好像也沒這麼難。」

“Because she knows me well, she gives me direct advice and creates a friendly and relaxed atmosphere in conferencing. She is a very friendly teacher. It is all these above occurrences in our interactions that makes me feel that to face the challenge in completing presentations is not that difficult.” (Interview, Peter)

These two excerpts evidently show how students appreciate their teacher’s efforts and they try extremely hard. Because of her close attention to students’

progress, she can provide precise comments and encouragement to her students.