Raising language awareness for English learners through speaking consultations

Abstract

Speaking consultations are an innovative service offered by universities for English learners. One-on-one sessions with a trained consultant can help a learner raise awareness about aspects of spoken language such as pronunciation, presentation delivery style, or cultural nuance specific to that individual’s needs. This newfound awareness can have implications for the learner’s academic progress and career goals, so how consultants work with their students to increase awareness is of consequential importance. However, speaking consultations are underrepresented in the literature with most research studies focusing on writing consultations. To address this gap, the aim of this study is to investigate speaking consultations and identify the development of language awareness for English learners. This study used transcribed consultation recordings as observational data which were segmented by turns and coded according to areas of feedback. The researcher then utilized content analysis and semi-structured interviews to gain an understanding of how language awareness is co-constructed between consultant and student. The findings of this study revealed that student learning occurred from opportunities for students to speak, student and consultant collaboration, and the consultants serving as models. The sessions addressed a variety of language features ranging from pronunciation to pragmatics. The findings of this study have implications for consultant training and program development.