Studenters arbete med respons: förstår de vad jag menar?

Abstract

The article presents the results from a study posing the following questions: To what extent do students understand and engage in response of different kinds? How do they experience non-selective response concerning the local level of texts? Are there any differences between L1 and L2 learners?

The study is based on structured interviews with 6 students taking a class in first-year academic writing at a Swedish university. The interviews were transcribed an analyzed qualitatively. The answers were coded using Nvivo software and sorted into the categories cognitive engagement, emotional engagement and actions.

The analyze showed that the cognitive engagement was focused on evaluation of different kinds of response. Helpful response was described as directly actionable and correctly timed, for instance. The emotional engagement was expressed as a process of maturation, where feelings of unease and disappointment were replaced by happiness/gratefulness. In most cases, the cognitive and emotional engagement prompted integration of the response. The non-selective response worked for most students, especially for L2-learners, but must be combined with confirming, positive response. To sum up: students did understand what I meant, but the real challenge was coping with the feelings generated by the response.