From passive listener to active writer at a Japanese University Writing Center fostering independent learners through peer tutoring

While writing centers may be a common academic support service at many universities throughout the world, they have only begun to appear in Japanese universities over the past fifteen years (Nakatake, 2013). The Japanese University Writing Center's (JUWC) short history can possibly be attributed to the traditional model of Japanese education. It is a long-standing belief influenced by cultural factors that teachers hold the answers and students must remain attentive yet passive to receive these answers (Yoneyama, 1999). This "attentive yet passive" behavior pattern is in direct conflict with the western model of the writing center. In most writing centers outside of Japan, students are expected to come prepared, versed in their topic, and engage in a collaborative learning activity with a trained tutor/peer. Tutors work with writers not only in a learning process but also in a creating process (Leahy, 1990).

Specifically, in many JUWCs, the aforementioned preconceived notion that teachers hold knowledge is present and writers often mentally assign the tutor to the role of a teacher instead of a peer or "near-peer" (Whitman & Fife, 1988). With this combination, writers may begin to show an innate desire to rely on tutors. This presentation looks at methods and examples of tutoring advice (Sadoshima, 2010) used by tutors at JUWCs to develop each writer's academic writing skills and to make them a more independent writer for when they leave the center.