EFL Classroom Repair Strategies By An English Non-Native Teacher To Tertiary Students In The UAE

Abstract

In the context of UAE education, recent research in language teaching has shifted from input-focused methods to output-based strategies, especially in tertiary education. This study explores how a non-native English teacher employs various repair strategies in online academic writing lectures for EFL students at the university level. Rooted in Swan’s (1985) comprehensible output hypothesis, the study investigates interactive patterns between teacher and students to enhance ESL learning outcomes.

The research aims to answer two key questions:

1. What types of repair strategies are used in EFL classrooms?
2. How effectively does the teacher encourage learner output?

Through classroom observation and a semi-structured interview, data was analyzed using the Varonis and Gass (1985) model, which categorizes repair strategies into four types: SI>SR, OI>SR, SI>OR, and OI>OR. Each category was examined across lexical (phonological, morphological), syntactical (phrase, sentence), and semantic (synonyms, substitutions, descriptions) dimensions.

Findings show that Other-Initiation > Other-Repair was the most frequently used strategy, while Self-Initiation > Self-Repair was the least applied. The study also highlights a gap in the teacher’s awareness of the pedagogical impact of each repair strategy, raising important implications for professional development in ESL and EFL tertiary education settings in the UAE.