Peer-tutoring and Tertiary ESL Learners

This paper intends to describe the nature of activities conducted, tutor factors, English language use, and benefits of the peer-tutoring program. Tutor's participant-observation and tutees' responses to interviews were gathered and interpreted. The findings revealed that the peer-tutoring program was a conducive platform for students to practice the language. The study offers valuable insights into the improvement of tertiary English Second Language (ESL) classroom practice, syllabus design and materials development. The findings suggest that students learnt best when learning centers around them. The authors argue that the environment surrounding the teaching and learning process plays a big role in the acquisition process and increases meaningful language use. This paper concludes that peer-tutoring can be a powerful support program in promoting language use among university students. (C) 2012 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. Selection and/or peer-review under responsibility of the LSP 2012 Committee, Language Academy, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia.