Abstract
The literature about writing centres is dominated by research into the American experience, but although this literature provides a rich bank of insights, it is of questionable relevance to current developments in Russia. Much of it concerns tutoring undergraduates who are not aiming at publication, and the majority of whom are native English speakers. By contrast, a principal aim of the Project 5-100 modernisation programme in Russia is to secure increased publication rates in English by non-native speakers who are faculty members. The aim of this paper is to consider which lessons of the existing literature are most applicable to the Russian case, and which questions will have to be re-examined. As a stimulus to opening up this debate, the author surveyed and held discussions with candidates wishing to become professional writing tutors at South Ural State University, Chelyabinsk. The paper identifies practical challenges and directions for future research.
Highlights
The expansion of international activities and the nature of scientific and technical cooperation with foreign partners require a high level of specialist knowledge of the English language
The final results show that clear majorities of tutors believe that their colleagues are aware of their role and think that tutors will be of practical benefit, but the tutors themselves do not know what tutors do in other universities
What are the implications of these results for a comparison of the American experience with SUSU’s situation? Starting with the tutors themselves, the results suggest that the professional status and training involved in the role are important parts of the attraction, we must remember this was a self-selecting sample
Summary
The expansion of international activities and the nature of scientific and technical cooperation with foreign partners require a high level of specialist knowledge of the English language. For university researchers and professors oral and written foreign speech is one of the main factors of their professional development. A great deal of academic researchers’ working time is spent on writing academic texts. These include grant applications, abstracts, some types of correspondence with colleagues, and research papers. Competence in academic writing, defined as the willingness and ability to present research results in writing to the international scientific community, has become one of the priority competences of professional research activity. Published in 2010, a Thomson Reuters report cited data on the dynamics of the number of publications by Russian researchers in the most recent thirty years
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