TEACHING WRITING THROUGH GENRE ANALYSIS

An Application of Genre-Based Approach in Pre-writing

PGDELT 2001 HUANG XIN

1. INTRODUCTION
Many language teachers in China are aware that teaching writing is more difficult than teaching other language skills. This is cultural interference due to the difference in the style of literacy and rhetorical patterns of expression in their native language and the target language. Consequently, when students write in English, they do not create the text themselves; they only translate their thoughts word by word from their native language into English, often with grammatically incorrect results. However, producing a successful piece of written work obviously involves competence in a number of connected spheres. There is the knowledge of the topic, knowledge of the audience, particularly the extent to which the writer relies on the reader sharing knowledge, and finally there is knowledge of language conventions. My students are four-year English majors who are expected to start their writing course in the second year. At this stage, they have acquired a relative range of command over Basic English grammar and have a satisfactory performance on the sentence-level. But they still cannot do a good job on the discourse-level. I usually have two periods (50 min. each) of contact with the students each week. And a usual school-term lasts 17-18 weeks. Although being exposed to a writing task frustrates most of them, my students are in urgent need of a good mastery over writing for different purposes. They actually wish to attain a wonderful performance on writing. In my teaching context, inadequate understanding of how to organize their written assignments often handicaps students. They are simply unable to master the structural conventions of the various text types they have to produce. But, part of the

rhetorical context and part of the content of student writing is determined by who the audience of the writing is and what the purpose of the writing is. Assignments that direct students to write for the general public or for anyone who might be interested tend to be much more difficult to write than assignments in which students have an idea why they are writing and who will be reading their writing. Are they writing to entertain someone? Are they writing to inform? To persuade someone? Or simply to explore their own thoughts? Depending on the answer, the content and structure of the writing will be quite different. In response to these questions, Ill try to introduce a genre- based approach into teaching practice. Although it is new to Chinese teachers and learners, the approach has been proved an effective method in improving learners writing abilities. This approach has been influential in ESP teaching of writing and begun to attract attention in L2 field.

2. A GENRE- BASED APPROACH TO WRITING

Genre-based approach is relative newcomer to ELT. It shares some similarity with product approach. It emphasizes that writing varies with the social context in which it is produced. The central aspect is purpose and audience in addition to the subject matter, the relationships between the writer and the audience, and the pattern of organization. In the field of genre research, Australian theories have developed from systemic functional linguistics, which is concerned with the relationship between language and it s function in social settings. The forms of language are said to be shaped by key features of the surrounding social context, defined as field (the activity going on), tenor (the relationship between participants) and mode (the channel of communication).

The Australian systemic functional literature has promoted several instructional frameworks for implementing genre pedagogy. The most widely recognized model is derived from the LERN project. This model maps out a teaching- learning cyclein the figure of a wheel (Cope & Kalantzis, 1993). The teaching-learning cycle outlines the process of genre instruction in three phases: modelling, joint negotiation of text, and independent construction of text. In the ELT field, Dudley-Evans (1997) also identifies three stages in genre approach to writing. First, a model of a particular genre is introduced and analysed. Learners then carry out exercises, which manipulate relevant language forms and, finally produce a short text. It is widely recognized that if students are expected to write in a particular genre, they first need to become familiar with its purpose and features through immersion in the genre and the explanation of sample texts. The familiarization and immersion will lay a solid basis for the students to develop into next stage in the cycle. At the stage of deconstruction in the cycle, the students will be instructed to do genre analysis so that they will be familiar with language features and procedural stages of a typical genre. 2.1. What is Genre Analysis Genre analysis is the study of how language is used within a particular context. Genres differ in that each has a different goal and they are structured differently to achieve these goals. The organizational stages of these genres can be individually characterized. A genre has a particular schematic structure: a distinctive beginning, middle and end. It is this which constitutes the genre of a text. The aim of genre analysis is to identify how linguistic features are chosen by expert users of the genre to realize their communicative purpose and explain these choices in terms of the social and psychological context. The aim of genre-based language teaching is to raise learners awareness of both the rhetorical organization and the linguistic features closely associated with the genre.

Genre analysis attempts to reveal the similarities between texts written for the same reason. By analysing how writers conventionally sequence material to achieve particular purposes, we can begin to describe characteristically schematic types and show how they are realized linguistically. This information can then be used by students as models to develop writing skills. 2.2. Benefits of Genre Analysis in Pre-writing Studies of the role of examples in learning other cognitive skills have shown that the major benefits of examples accrue to students who invest more time in analysing them. In genre teaching, active analysis of a model before taking on a specific writing task may help students construct new textual patterns or enrich the patterns they know. Student writers are able to infer linguistic and procedural features from models. And those who actively look for and contemplate such features in the models they read are more likely to construct reliable new structures. Second, consulting models actively before the writing process may provide the students with a database for testing whether a candidate idea should be included. The students may infer that the practice of the writer who produced the model is typical and may include or exclude information on the basis of whether or not it shows up in the model. Genre analysis can also help students consciously structure their texts and develop effective control over different writing tasks for different purposes. As Swales (1987) claimed: genre analysis promoted more effective negotiations and consultations as well as providing each child with their own individual scaffolding that can be developed to produce successful texts. Genre analysis can therefore provide the vocabulary and concepts to explicitly teach the text structures the students are expected to produce. It places language at the centre of writing development by allowing shared understanding and explicit guidance. Actually, control over the conventions of a genre is a prerequisite for

creativity, and students simply require more information on the features that constitute good texts in order to improve their own writing skills. It can thus provide a methodological environment that develops writing skills and encourages creativity. It can provide opportunities for students to reflect on and discuss how language works in a given context and how it can most effectively be employed to meet particular goals.

3. APPLICATION IN CLASSROOM TEACHING: A LESSON PLAN

So far we have discussed on the genre based approach to teach writing, specifically focusing on genre analysis in pre-writing stage. According to the teaching cycle proposed by Australian School of genre theory, I will apply the theoretical concept of genre analysis in designing a practical lesson plan. Owing to the time limit, I will only focus on the deconstruction stage in the Teaching-Learning Cycle, which I would like to define as pre-writing stage in the process of writing development. The lesson plan is designed in the light of genre-based approach, which focuses attention on the purpose and the audience of a writing text. Genre analysis will be the main task, which is expected to be accomplished by students following different steps instructed by the teacher. The reason for this arrangement is that Im sure the students will be enlightened and exposed to a new way of development in writing skills. The way is quite different from a conventional one and is supported by an established theory. The general plan of a 90-min. class will be described as in the following: (Appendix 1) 3.1. Stage1: Introduction This is a preparatory stage before the students are introduced into more specific analysis of genre. The aim of this stage is to create general impression on the students

for what they are expected to do in the class. The focus is on the general explanation of the organization of a genre. The following steps will be included in this stage Step 1: Teacher general introduction of the topic. This may still be a traditional opening of a class in China. However, I think it necessary

because an explicit introduction about what the students are going to do in the class will help to release their pressure and protect them from the shock of encountering with an unfamiliar topic. Step 2: Ask students to discuss questions which are intended to make sure how much they already know about the genre theyre going to study. Step 3: Observation on model genre text. Students are expected to do a brief observation of the model text by themselves. (Appendix 2) Step 4: Presentation of the students on the results of their investigation. Step 5: Teachers comment and brief summary. 3.2. Stage 2: Familiarization At this stage, students will be instructed to do a specific reading and detailed analysis on the features of the target genre. Although linguistic features are also expected to be observed by the students, the main task will be on the organizational features of the genre. This will enable the students to be more familiar with the genre they encountered in the first stage. Step 1: Individual reading of a model text. Students are asked to read while preparing for questions proposed by the teacher on organizational features of the genre. (Appendix 3) Step 2: Group discussion and evaluation. The students will collaboratively work together with group members in order to add sufficient information about the genre into mind. Step 3: Representative presentation. The student representative of each group is invited to report their ideas on the observation of the genre.

Step 4: Evaluation on the proposed ideas of representative student. This will enable the students to pool into mind as much information about the model genre as they can. Step 5: Teachers comment and summary. The teacher shows the students transparency of a model analysis so that they may deepen their understanding in the discussion. (Appendix 3, Transparency) 3.3. Stage 3: Reinforcing The concept of the genre established in the first two stages may be loosely laid. And it is a fact that the students would easily forget new information unless they can restructure or reinforce in the mind so as to select and store in the Long Term Memory (LTM). Thus, this stage will require the students to rethink and reinforce through all kinds of activities. Step 1: Reordering activity. The students are expected to do a reordering exercise delivered by the teacher for the purpose that they can use what they have learned in the previous stages to do a genre analysis by themselves. Each group should be given a differently ordered version of a same text. (Appendix 4) Step 2: Presentation. A selected member of each group is allowed to present their reasoning on the order of the text. Step 3: Checking. The teacher will show the original text and ask the students to check their own results. (Appendix 5) Step 4: Teachers analysis and explanation on the model text.

4. CONCLUSION
As is claimed at the beginning of this paper, genre-based approach is new to Chinese teachers and learners of English writing. Whether it is applicable or practical in Chinese teaching context is still unknown. However, it is the authors belief that the approach will greatly enlighten pedagogical issues and open a new door to the

teaching of writing in China. It is worthwhile risking to pioneer in this field by teaching practice. And more theoretical arguments and empirical studies should be encouraged in the future.

REFERENCES 1. Badger, R. & G. White. (2000). A P