genre

山东大学

英语教学理论与实践论文

题目EvaluationofGenre-badApproachinTeachingL2Writing

学院外国语学院

专业名称英语语言文学

研究生姓名雷扬学号200910956

2011年2月

2

Contents

Abstract3

uction3

OverviewofGenre-badApproach4

versiesoverGenreApproach5

3.1TheValidityofGenreModel5

3.2TheNecessityofTeachingGenre6

3.3ThePropertyofBeingPrescriptive6

gicPotentialofGenreApproach7

4.1LinkingFormandFunction8

4.2EncouragingReflectiveThinking8

4.3ReleasingAnxietyinWriting9

4.4WorkingwithESP/EAP9

sion10

References11

3

Abstract

ThispaperevaluatestheeffectivenessofgenreapproachinteachingL2writing.

Abriefoverviewofgenreapproachisfirstlygiven,includingthecontextofits

emergence,thethreefocalareasandanexampleofitsapplicationinteachingwriting.

Thecontroversiesoverthismethodareraidandexamined,suchasvalidityofgenre

model,

beneficialrolesinL2writinginstructionarealsodiscusdintermsofcombining

formandfunctionoflanguage,encouragingreflectivethinking,releasinganxietyin

writingandworkingwithESP/ywecometotheconclusionthatgenre

approachisadvidtobeadoptedinteachingL2writing,andthatcollaborationhasto

bemadebetweenitandotherteachingmethods.

Keywords:genreapproach;L2writing;controversies;pedagogicpotentials.

uction

Theapproachofusinggenreasaframeworkforlanguageteachingisrelatively

recent,nggenreapproach

his

approach,rhetoricalorganizationandlinguisticfeaturesudinatexttoperforma

ethedynamicnatureand

rapiddevelopmentofthisfield,thereareheatedcontroversiesdoubtingthe

kle(2006:126)mentionsthatmanyrearchers

believethatgenreandtheirlinguisticfeaturesmaybe“subjective,vaguelydefined,

unstable,orevenirrelevanttodivertypesofESL/EFLlearners”.

Inthispaper,abriefoverviewofgenreapproachwillbeintroduced,including

thecontextofitmergence,thethreefocalareasandanexampleofitsapplicationin

tentialdangersandpedagogicpotentialoftheapproachwill

bediscusdtoshowthereasonswhygenreapproachisgenerallyfavorablein

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nd,veralsuggestionswillbeprovidedastohowto

avoidorovercomethedangersandmeetthedemandofL2learners.

OverviewofGenre-badApproach

Rearchonteachingwritinginacondlanguagewasinitiatedinthelate1960s,

andinthefirstfewdecadesproductandprocessapproacheshaddominatedL2

(1982:22)providexplicitdepictionofproductapproach:

learningtowritehasfourstages—familiarization,controlledwriting,guidedwriting

lyconcernswiththestructureoflanguageandesthe

sprocessapproachhelpswriters

toworkthroughveralstagesofcomposingatext,andatypicalmodelofsuch

approachidentifiesfourstages:prewriting,drafting,revisingandediting(Tibble,

1996).Althoughallwritingtechniquesemtohaveachancetobedevelopedunder

thisapproach,itactuallymayignorethecontextwherethewritinghappens,making

,whenmoreattentionwaspaidtothenatureof

writinginvarioussituations,sthewriteraware

ofthestructureandpurpoofthetextswithdifferentgenresandempowersthem

withthestrategiesnecessarytoreplicatethefeaturesintheirownproduction(Kay

&Dudley-Evans,1998).Therefore,genreapproachmightberegardedasasolutionto

thedefeatsoftheformerteachingapproaches.

Differinginscholarlytraditionsandgeographiclocations,threedistinctfocal

areasofgenreapproachcanbeidentified:Englishforspecificpurpos,Australian

ge

certainextent,allareasfocusonthesituationcontextandcommunicativefunctionof

writing.

Thenhowgenreapproachisappliedtothefieldofteachingwriting?

Dudley-Evans(1997:154),a

,exercisonmanipulating

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relevantlanguageformsaregiven,andatextisconstructedbylearnersandthe

y,mple,

supposingstudentsaregoingtowriteaninformationaboutaprofessionalcour,ina

genrewritingclassthefollowingactivitiesmightbeinvolved:studentxamineother

authenticdescriptionsofprofessionalcours;theycarryoutananalysisoftho

examplesbylookingdeeperintothestructuring,grammarandlexicalitems;withthe

helpoftheteacherorclassmates,studentsthenproduceagmentofthewriting;

finally,theycontinuetoproduceacompletetextontheirownreflectingthesocial

holeprocess,

attentionshouldbedrawntothepurpoofthewriting,thatis,toattractparticipants

tothecour.

Fromthixample,wecannoticethatingenreapproach,thewritingtaskis

fulfilledfromboththeviewpointofthewriterandthatofthereaderatthesametime.

Inthenextction,wearegoingtolookatdifferentopinionsdoubtingthe

effectivenessofthegenreapproach.

versiesoverGenreApproach

3.1TheValidityofGenreModel

Widdowson(2003:69-71)describesthegenreapproachasa“convenientfiction”.

Accordingtohim,“genresinrealityaresocioculturalprocess,continuallyinflux.

Besides,anyaccountofgenresasstabletsofconventionswhichcallforconformity

isboundtobeonlypartialandpotentiallymisleading”.Relatingtotheexamplewe

havediscusdabove,itwouldbepreferabletothinknotoftheEnglishofcour

description,asifitwasfixedinadvance,buttheEnglishfordescribingacour

uethat

genreapproachwillberigidandpartialifwesticktoabstractimpressiononthe

prominentfeaturesofacertaingenrewhileleavingothersasideasnon-typical

r,genreswhichrveasmodelsforteachingarenotstable,

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instead,thereisgreatflexibilityintermsofvocabulary,structureandformality,and

thereasonwhywehave

emailwritinggenrewhichdidnotexistbeforeandweallowbothformalandinformal

,thevalidityof

genremodelcouldbeensuredbyeducatorswhoareabletoadaptteachingmaterials

totheneedofthechangingsocietyandbeflexibleaboutvariationsresultingfrom

culturalandideologicalfactors.

3.2TheNecessityofTeachingGenre

Feedman(1993)proposthatexplicitgenreteachinghasonlyrestrictedvaluein

uesthatmuchof

genreknowledgecanbeacquiredtacitlyasstudentsareexpodtogenreintheir

courreadingsandgivencontextsthatleadthemtowriteinappropriatetexttype.I

agreewithsuchstatementthatgenreknowledgeanditsuinsocialcontextcanbe

acquiredthroughenculturation,butcanwereallyaffordthetimespentinsuchnatural

processandensuresufficientinputtomeetstudents’futureneeds?Thelearning

process,especiallythelanguagelearningprocessisatofstagesfromquantitative

changetoqualitativechange,andanabundanceofstimulusisneededtoactivatenext

untofreadinginlearners’dailystudyisfarfrombeingenoughto

er,thetypeofwritingstudentncounterin

thegenrestheyarefamiliarwith

areacademicwritingstyleoftextbooks,journalarticlesandhandoutsfromlecturers,

approachrvesasacatalyzerinthelearningprocess,andithelpstocompensatethe

limitedvarietyandinadequacyofinputthroughlearners’readings.

3.3ThePropertyofBeingPrescriptive

Amuchdebateddangerofthegenreapproachisbeingprescriptiveratherthan

chersconcernthatstudentsmightbeledtolackofcreativityand

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motivationbythisapproach,&

Dudley-Evans(1998:311)summarizetheconcernsfromtheteachers:“therigidityof

formula-typeteachingdimpowersratherthanempowersstudents;agenre-bad

approachmaygiveanimpodratherthanaresponsivenationoftext”.Thegenre

approachwillindeedbeboringandstereotypedifteachersoverdooremployit

s,thispotentialdangercouldbeovercomebyappropriatedesign

oftheclassroomactivities,forinstance,authenticdatashouldbecollectedfrom

varioussourcestoprovidestudentswithopportunitiestoassimilatethodataintoa

rs

arealsoadvidtofacilitateenoughinteractionamongstudents,theirpeers,thetext

dthepossibilityofabu,

Swales(1990:16-17)stresstheimportanceofunderstandingtherationaleofagenre.

Hecitesvarioussuggestionstotackleprescriptivismintheprocessaspectofgenre

instantiation,forinstance,“constructingflexibleflow-chartdepictionsoftheirgeneral

structureratherthananytypeofrigidlinearquencing;constructingaccountsthat

includerecursionandthecondition-specificrecyclingofelementsintheanalysisof

writtentext;viewingthecommunicativeworldinsituation-specificterm”.All

teachersadoptingthegenreapproachinteachingwritingshouldbeverywaryofthe

potentialofbeingprescriptive,becauitisthekeyfactorindeterminingthe

transferabilityofknowledgeofgenreandovercomingthepossiblefossilizationof

writtenformats.

gicPotentialofGenreApproach

GenreapproachprovidesanewwayoflookingatteachingL2writing,inthat

teachershavetoconsiderwhatwritingstylestudentsneedtounderstandandproduce

andwhythetextisthewayitis,takingitssocialcontextandpurpoofwritinginto

gudproperly,genreapproachwouldpotentiallybeapowerful

teachingmethod.

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4.1LinkingFormandFunction

Bhatia(1993)suggeststhatitisimportantforwritingteacherstoconnectformal

andfunctionalpropertiesoftextsinordertohelpstudentsunderstandhowandwhy

,thetaskof

teachingandlearningwritingisnolongersimplyaneducationalprocess,becauall

textsarebadonsocialrelationships,

writerhastotaketheaudience,thesituation,thepurpointoconsiderationwhenthey

organrs

willbeabletocategorizetheirlinguisticknowledgeintovariousdiscour

communitieswhichwoulddefinitelywinthemlvesmorecareeropportunitiesand

lifechoices.

4.2EncouragingReflectiveThinking

Asapartofgenreapproach,studentsareexpodtogenresofarichvarietyof

voices,studentsareabletoapplysuitablegenre

totheirownwriting,theyhavetodiscoverhowotherwritersorganizetextstoengage

ore,insteadofbeingpassivelytaught,

Kim(2006)

believesthatgenreapproachencouragesstudentstoparticipateintheworldaround

them,tocomprehendwritingasatoolthattheycanutilize,andtorealizehowwriters

,inthelongrun,students

wouldbemoreflexibleinthinkingandeventuallyrealizehowwritingscanbebest

ldbenotedherethattoavoidprescriptiveinstructionandencourage

creativethinking,teachershavetoensureonekeystageinthegenreapproach,thatis,

breakingtheconstrainsofexistinggenremodelsandconstructingalargerframework

ofwritinggenreswhichallowssituationalvariations.

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4.3ReleasingAnxietyinWriting

Someproponentspointoutthatgenreapproachisparticularlysuitableeffective

inteachingcondlanguagewriting,becautheavailabilityofwritingmodelsfrees

tingmodelsactivatestudents’priorreadingsor

writings,er,itisalsoameans

forstudentstoanalyzetheeffectivenessoftheirownwritingbycomparingtothe

spectofteaching,genreapproachisalsoaufulframeworkfor

instructionandevaluationofthewritings.

4.4WorkingwithESP/EAP

Badonthopotentials,genreapproachisparticularlysuitableforteaching

EnglishforSpecificPurpos(ESP)andEnglishforAcademicPurpos(EAP).

TherehasbeenagrowingtendencyforEnglishlanguageteacherstotakethe

responsibilityofteachingwritinginotherdisciplines,especiallyinscienceand

lly,theaimofthelanguageteachersistohelpL2writersfulfill

thr,

becauofeducationbackground,fewlanguageteacherscanlearnanotherdiscipline

ane

this,someinvestigatorsbelievethatifteacherslearnhowadisciplinecreatesand

transmitsknowledge,itispossibleforthemtoconductacouronimprovinglearners’

rscanleadstudentstoreadandstudy

textsfromanotherdiscipline,analyzegenres,learnwritingstylesandsummarize

conventionsofsuchwritingstylesinordertoestablishaperspectiveonagiven

(1988)suggestsEAPwritingteachersto“createprogramsin

whichstudentscanlearngeneralinquirystrategies,rhetoricalprinciplesandtasksthat

cantransfertoothercourwork.”Adoptinggenreapproachinteachingwriting

wouldenablelearnerstocapturetheexpectationandnormsofagivencommunity

bothintheiracademicandprofessionalwork.

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sion

Althoughgenreapproachisanewcomertothecondlanguageteaching,there

discusdhowgenreapproachis

appliedtoteachingwritingandhowtoavoidorovercomepotentialdangersofthis

eofitssignificantlybeneficialroleinhelpingcond

languagewriters,genreapproachisadvidtobeadoptedinthewritingclassroomto

amplifystudents’s,genreapproachshouldneverbethe

onlydominantapproachinthelanguageteaching,tomakethemostofitsadvantages,

collaborationhastobemadebetweengenreapproachandotherteachingmethods.

BadgerandWhite(2000:160)describeamodelofprocessgenreapproach,whichisa

hisapproach,writingisviewedas“ariesof

stagesleadingfromaparticularsituationtoatext,withtheteachersfacilitating

learner’sprogressbyenablingappropriateinputofknowledgeandskills.”Itis

expectedthatstudentswillenhancetheirwritingskillsbyexperiencingthewhole

writingprocessaswellasrealizingsocialfunctionsbymeansoftheprocessgenre

-Evans(1998:118)proposateachingapproachthatcombinesthe

strengthoftheproductapproach,

approachfollowsthefollowingstages:“developrhetoricalawarenessbylookingat

modeltexts;practicespecificgenrefeatures,especiallymovesandwriterstance;carry

outwritingtasksshowingawarenessoftheneedsofindividualreadersandthe

discourcommunityandthepurpoofthewriting;evaluatethewritingthrough

peerreviewofreformulation.”Althoughtherearelotsofdiscussionsaboutthe

pedagogicalimplicationsofgenreapproach,rearchonwhatL2writersneedtolearn,

whattheyshouldbeabletodoandhowL2writingcanbeeffectivelytaughtisstill

lly,moreempiricalstudieswouldbecarriedouttovalidatethe

theoreticalfindingsandprovidepracticaladviceoncondlanguagewriting.

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