The effects of the genre based approach on the learning of formal letter writing at

The results revealed that the experimental group made a much more impressive performance and its learners had a very positive attitude towards this approach, which means that the genre-b

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY - HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES FACULTY OF ENGLISH LINGUISTICS AND LITERATURE

THE EFFECTS OF THE GENRE-BASED APPROACH

ON THE LEARNING OF FORMAL-LETTER WRITING

AT BRANCH 11 OF HCMC UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment for the requirement of the Master’s degree in TESOL

By

XUAN THI TRUONG DAO – TESOL 2009

Supervised by

Assoc Prof Dr TUNG THANH NGUYEN

HO CHI MINH CITY, FEBRUARY 2014

CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY

I certify my authorship of the thesis submitted today entitled:

THE EFFECTS OF THE GENRE-BASED APPROACH

ON THE LEARNING OF FORMAL-LETTER WRITING

AT BRANCH 11 OF HCMC UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION

in terms of the statement of Requirements for Theses in Master’s Programs issued by the Higher Degree Committee This thesis has not been submitted for the award of any degree or diploma in any other institution

XUAN THI TRUONG DAO

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RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS

I hereby state that I, XUAN DAO THI TRUONG, being the candidate for the degree of Master of TESOL, accept the requirements of the University relating

to the retention and use of Master’s Theses deposited in the Library

In terms of these conditions, I agree that the original of my thesis deposited

in the Library should be accessible for the purposes of study and research, in accordance with the normal conditions established by the Librarian for the care, loan or reproduction of theses

XUAN THI TRUONG DAO

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the following people who have made a great contribution to the completion of my master’s thesis

First and foremost, I would like to thank my supervisor, Assoc Prof Dr

infinite patience throughout my research It was very lucky for me that I was able

to work with him Without his persistent support, this thesis would not have been possible

Next, I take this opportunity to express a deep sense of gratitude to my

become an English teacher and gave me extra help after school

I would also like to send my special thanks to all my teachers for the memorable school years and unforgettable moments Their lessons have carried

me a long way in the journey of life on which I am embarking

Lastly, I owe a great debt of gratitude to my brothers for their selfless devotion to my school years

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The data were collected from two intermediate classes, one of which was the control group and the other the experimental group Twenty one learners of the control group learned writing with the usual approach and 20 learners of the experimental group were taught the genre-based approach during a two-month

course (from 17 September to 9 November 2012 for the control group and from

15 October to 7 December 2012 for the experimental group) To find out the answers to the research questions about learners’ writing ability and their attitudes towards the application of the genre-based approach, the researcher employed two research tools for data collection: pre- and post-tests before and after the treatment and a questionnaire The data were analyzed using a t-test for the former and frequency and percentage for the latter

The results revealed that the experimental group made a much more impressive performance and its learners had a very positive attitude towards this approach, which means that the genre-based approach has a positive effect on the learning of formal-letter writing and that its application to teaching writing is highly recommended

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TABLE OF CONTENTS Page

Statement of authorship i

Retention and use of the thesis ii

Acknowledgements iii

Abstract iv

Table of contents v

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Background to the study 1

1.2 Aims of the study 5

1.3 Research questions 5

1.4 Significance of the study 6

1.5 Organization of the study 6

CHAPTER 2: REVIEW OF LITERATURE 7

2.1 Approaches to teaching writing 7

2.1.1 Product approach 7

2.1.2 Process approach 8

2.1.3 Genre-based approach 8

2.2 Concept of genre 9

2.2.1 Definitions of genre 9

2.2.2 Genre nature 10

2.2.2.1 Dynamic of genre 10

2.2.2.2 Flexibility of genre 11

2.2.3 Genre theories 12

2.2.4 Key concepts in genre studies 14

2.2.4.1 Networks of genres: Genre set and genre system 14

2.2.4.1.1 Genre set 14

2.2.4.1.2 Genre system 15

2.2.4.2 Uptake 16

2.2.4.3 Situated Learning Theory 16

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2.3 Why to use the genre-based approach 17

2.3.1 Helping learners have confident in writing 17

2.3.2 Providing learners with cultural and linguistic resources for writing 18 2.3.3 Helping learners perform a critical analysis of writing situation 19

2.3.4 Providing learners with background knowledge 20

2.3.5 Leading learners to a better understanding of discourse community 20 2.3.6 Expanding process-based notions of invention in writing 21

2.4 Limitations of the genre-based approach 22

2.5 When to use the genre-based approach 22

2.6 Which genre to be taught 23

2.7 Previous research on the application genre to teaching writing 23

2.8 How to use the genre-based approach to writing teaching practices 24

2.9 Summary 27

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 29

3.1 Research site 29

3.2 Participants 29

3.3 Methodology 31

3.3.1 Teaching process 32

3.3.1.1 Control group 32

3.3.1.2 Experimental group 33

3.3.2 Tests 35

3.3.2.1 Pre-test 35

3.3.2.2 Post-test 36

3.3.3 Questionnaire 36

3.4 Analytical framework 38

3.4.1 Quantitative analysis of pre-test and post-test 38

3.4.2 Quantitative analysis of questionnaire 40

3.5 Summary 41

CHAPTER 4: DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION 42

4.1 Results from the pre-test and the post-test 42

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4.1.1 Pre-test results 42

4.1.2 Post-test results 46

4.2 Results of the questionnaire 49

4.2.1 Consistency and reliability of the questionnaire 49

4.2.2 Analysis of the questionnaire 51

4.2.2.1 Learners’ attitudes towards the reception of genre-knowledge 51

4.2.2.2 Learners’ attitudes towards the drawbacks of the genre-based approach 54

4.2.2.3 The approach learners had previously been taught 56

4.2.2.4 The approach learners prefer and the reasons for their preference 56

4.2.2.5 Learners’ opinion about their improvement 58

4.3 Discussion of the findings 60

4.3.1 Learners’ performance before and after the treatment 60

4.3.2 Learners’ attitude towards the application of the genre-based approach in teaching formal letters 61

4.3.2.1 Positive implication 61

4.3.2.2 Negative implication 63

4.4 Summary 63

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 64

5.1 Conclusions 64

5.2 Evaluation of the research methodology 65

5.2.1 Strengths 65

5.2.2 Weaknesses 66

5.3 Recommendations 67

5.3.1 For teachers 67

5.3.2 For learners 69

5.3.3 Suggestions for further research 69

5.3 Summary 70

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REFERENCES 71

APPENDICES 77

Appendix A: Guidelines for analyzing genres 77

Appendix B: Personal Information 80

Appendix C: Lesson plan 1 for control group 81

Appendix D: Lesson plan 2 for control group 85

Appendix E: Lesson plan 3 for control group 89

Appendix F: Lesson plan 4 for control group 93

Appendix G: Lesson plan 1 for experimental group 97

Appendix H: Lesson plan 2 for experimental group 113

Appendix I: Lesson plan 3 for experimental group 123

Appendix J: Assignment 4 for experimental group 133

Appendix K: Assignment 1 143

Appendix L: Assignment 2 144

Appendix M: Assignment 3 145

Appendix N: Assignment 4 146

Appendix O: Pre-test 148

Appendix P: Post-test 149

Appendix Q: Formal-letter rubric 150

Appendix R: Questionnaire (English version) 151

Appendix S: Questionnaire (Vietnamese version) 154

Appendix T: Pre-test result of control group 157

Appendix U: Pre-test result of experimental group 158

Appendix V: Post-test result of control group 159

Appendix W: Post-test result of control group 160

Appendix X: Questionnaire data 161

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LIST OF TABLES

Table 3 Personal information 30

Table 4.1 Grouping of pre-test scores 43

Table 4.2 Group statistics for pre-test results 45

Table 4.3 Independent samples test for pre-test results 45

Table 4.4 Grouping of post-test scores 47

Table 4.5 Group statistics for post-test results 47

Table 4.6 Independent samples test for post-test results 48

Table 4.7 Reliability statistics 49

Table 4.8 Item-total statistics 50

Table 4.9 Means and modes of learners’ attitudes towards the reception of genre knowledge 51

Table 4.10 Frequency and percentage of learners’ attitudes towards the reception of genre knowledge 53

Table 4.11 Means and modes of learners’ attitudes towards the drawbacks of the genre-based approach 54

Table 4.12 Frequency and percentage of learners’ attitudes towards the drawbacks of the genre-based approach 55

Table 4.13 The approach learners preferred 57

Table 4.14 Reasons for preference 57

Table 4.15 Mean and mode of learners’ opinion about improvement 58

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LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1.1 A model of genre knowledge 25

Figure 4.1 Plots of pretest results 44

Figure 4.2 The approach learners had previously been taught 56

Figure 4.3 Learners’ opinion about improvement of performance 59

Figure 4.4 Learners’ opinion about improvement of confidence 59

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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

Literature

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CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

This introductory chapter presents the background to the study, aims, research questions, significance, and organization of the study

1.1 Background to the study

Since the government launched the open-door policy in 1986, Vietnam has witnessed a new change – a transition from a centrally-planned economy to a free-market-oriented economy This economic reform policy has attracted a considerable number of English-speaking tourists and businesspeople to our country In addition, Vietnam’s participation in WTO on January 11, 2007 has encouraged trade openness, brought rapid import-export growth and attracted substantial foreign investment For these reasons, English has become an indispensible tool for international communication and a crucial requirement for employment, especially in big cities and tourist places Its importance is manifested in Vietnamese government’ s policy on education in which English is a compulsory subject for high school students, and all university students are required to attain a certain level of English before graduation The government also encourages the tertiary institutions to carry out “advanced programs” in which English is the medium of instruction (Van, 2010, p 13)

In terms of employment, job candidates and employees who want to hold higher positions have to demonstrate their high level of proficiency in English Companies with the ambition to expand and engage themselves with the global market need staff who have a good command of English To satisfy these demands

of the society, a large number of foreign language centers have been established in

Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC)

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Founded in 1992, Branch 11, directly under the foreign language center of HCMC University of Education, has offered the training service and held the national certification examinations Since 2006, it has undergone a vigorous

change in teaching materials The International Express series, which is also

taught in Banking University of HCMC (BUH), HCMC University of Industry (HUI), Vietnam - USA Society English Training Service Centers (VUS), Ton Duc

Thang University (TDTU) etc., has been brought into use instead of Streamlines series The replacement of Streamlines by International Express is due to the

development of society in which language constantly changes over the time and the needs of the majority of learners at this branch Its balance of general and business English is suitable for those who need to interact in a variety of situations

both in and out of the workplace Even though International Express is more favored than Streamlines because its course is designed to integrally develop four

skills, writing is still an inherently difficult skill for learners to study and master, especially the writing of formal letters

There is a wide variety of factors causing this difficulty For example, learners have the limited knowledge of vocabulary, a poor command of grammar and the insufficiency of ideas (Vu, 2009, p 62) The interference of the mother tongue and the infrequency of practice are also seen as the obstacles to writing (Luom, 2005, p 61) Besides, Hang (2008, p 81) identified such factors as the lack of motivation and real contexts for writing as well as the ineffectiveness of the pre-writing stage as the barriers to successful writing

Within the limit of this study, however, the researcher would like to deal with the main problems at Branch 11 with the teaching and learning of writing in general and formal letters in particular, which directly provoke her into seriously thinking about this study and carrying it out

First of all, the most common problem is that several teachers and learners

at this branch are still strongly influenced by the view “writing-for-learning”, a term used by Harmer (2004, p 32) Accordingly, teachers often design writing-for-

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learning activities, such as transforming the given sentences and making the sentences with the provided clues, which simply assist learners in practicing and working with the grammatical and lexical items they have been studying Such teaching of writing can help them “produce error-free texts” but does not give them a lot of support in realizing and mastering “other important features of a text such as purposes, audiences, context and linguistic conventions” (Tuan, 2011, p 1471)

For instance, according to the finding of the study conducted by Trang in

2011 at the English-Russian Department of HCMC University of Social Sciences and Humanities (USSH), when 58 students were asked about the reasons why writing was important, up to 64.4% of them believed that it helped reinforce grammar and enlarge vocabulary (p 81) Another study previously undertaken by

Vu in 2009 at Baria-Vungtau Teacher Training College also showed that most of the teachers and learners who participated in his research agreed that grammatical reinforcement and lexical enlargement were the main reasons for writing (p 62)

This belief may lead to a disregard for the important role of writing as a socially communicative activity and cause misunderstanding that learners can produce a good piece of writing when they have an excellent command of vocabulary and grammar only However, learners need to know not only how to write grammatically and lexically correct texts but also how to produce the texts that are appropriate for particular purposes and contexts, and they should be aware

of how the contexts of language use can influence their writing (Hyland, 2002b) That is to say, in addition to lexical, syntactic and semantic knowledge, the features needed to produce a good piece of writing cannot be completely independent of the situation in which it arises

Another problem which encourages this research is the ineffectiveness of the teaching of pre-writing stage which was mentioned in Hang’s (2008, p 81) study Some teachers are aware of the importance of writing in reality and design

“writing-for-writing activities” (Harmer, 2004), which enable learners to use the

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target language in a more authentic situation However, such the pre-writing techniques as brainstorming with the whole class, supplying new structures and vocabulary for the writing task, and giving a modeled text they apply are not very effective ways to teach formal letters

It is obvious that the first two techniques can equip learners with a sufficient basis for writing text types similar to those in Vietnamese but are not very effective ways to teach the writing of formal letters of which conventions are quite different from those of the mother tongue This is because learners show a lack of ability to distinguish between English and Vietnamese writing style and to identify different text patterns (Trang, 2011, p 87) Consequently, they rely on Vietnamese styles and tend to produce Vietnamese English in their text (Tho, 2000; Thuy, 2009) The latter technique – giving the one and only modeled text – prevents learners from creativity (Goby, 1997, as cited in Vu, 2009, p 24) and encourages them to think that form comes first as “a mold into which content is somehow poured” (Eschholz, 1980, as cited in Vu, 2009, p 23)

Finally, insufficient attention is paid to the teaching and learning of letter writing, which is the direct cause inducing the researcher’s option of choosing them as particular genres in this study Although formal letters are or will

formal-be learners’ important means of expression and communication in work and on formal occasions, they are ignored in classrooms since learners prefer studying speaking and listening for communication (Hang, 2008, p 69; Long, 2001, p 72) Ironically, other genres such as personal letters and essays are still concentrated on despite this preference This poses the question of why formal letters become devalued in classrooms This can be explained that instructors teach and learners study in order to cope with the exams to get the certificates rather than for practical use because the main target of many learners here is to sit the international English examinations like TOEIC, IELTS, TOEFL, and those of A-B-C certification which are nearly exclusive of writing formal letters In fact, the majority of learners study English just to pass the examinations while only a few of them view it as a tool for

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more attractive and potentially profitable employment opportunities (Van, 2010,

pp 12-13)

The three problems mentioned above inspire the researcher to greater efforts to find out a solution The genre-based approach is proposed as a framework in pre-writing stage to teach writing more effectively, specifically to teach formal letters This approach equips learners with the conventional knowledge of formal letters and teaches them know how to apply what they study

to specific contexts to make a clear and close link with real life This approach, most notably, highlights the importance of locating language study within social contexts and the significance of focusing on the recurring and predictable patterns

of texts and sentences

1.2 Aims of the study

Thus this study aims to ascertain the impact of the genre-based approach under both linguistic and non-linguistic perspectives on the learning of writing formal letters at Branch 11 of HCMC University of Education It will also investigate learners’ attitudes towards the application of this approach

1.3 Research questions

With the aim of certifying the effects of the genre-based approach on the learning of writing formal letters in terms of both learners’ performance in writing and their attitudes towards this application, the research is going to find out the definite answers to the following research questions:

1) To what extent does the application of the genre-based approach improve EFL learners’ performance in writing formal letters?

2) What are EFL learners’ attitudes towards the application of the based approach in the learning of formal-letter writing?

genre-5

1.4 Significance of the study

First and foremost, the researcher is in the hope that there will be a practical application of the genre-based approach to the reality of teaching and learning writing, particularly the teaching and learning of writing formal letters at the foreign language center (FLC) of HCMC University of Education This study can also be a frame of reference for those who are interested in using genres to teach and learn writing For teachers, “Guidelines of analyzing genres” recommended in this study can be seen as an effective and flexible strategy for teaching the writing

of not only formal letters but also of various genres For learners, these guidelines

samples they read and about the texts they write

1.5 Organization of the study

the study by proclaiming its background, aims, research questions, significance, and structure Chapter 2 gives a review of the literature supporting the study by summarizing the approaches to teaching writing, introducing the concept of genre, addressing both the beneficial roles and the limitations of the genre-based approach in a writing class room, informing when to use this approach, which genres to be taught, as well as how to use this approach in the teaching of writing

It also presents the previous research on its application Chapter 3 presents the methodology employed to carry out the study and is laid out in four main parts of research site, participants, methods of data collection, and analytical framework Chapter 4 involves the analysis and interpretation of the data from the two tests and the questionnaire It also discusses main findings based on the results of the data analysis and interpretation Chapter 5 arrives at the main conclusions regarding the research questions, makes some recommendations for teaching writing and offers a few suggestions for further research

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CHAPTER 2

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

solution to the problem of teaching and learning writing at Branch 11 of HCMC University of Education This chapter with eight main sections presents the relevant literature underpinning the study The first summarizes the current approaches to teaching writing The second introduces the concept of genre by giving a definition of genre, and identifying some related concepts The third shares the roles of the genre-based approach in a writing classroom The fourth addresses the limitations of this approach The fifth recommends when the genre-based approach should be used The sixth presents some advice to choose which genres to teach in a language classroom The seventh mentions the previous research on the application of the genre-based approach to teaching writing Finally, this chapter offers some guidelines on how to use the genre-based approach for writing-teaching practices

2.1 Approaches to teaching writing

This section will briefly present the three major approaches of teaching writing which have been under ongoing debate in recent years – product approach, process approach and genre-based approach

2.1.1 Product approach

The product approach views writing as a vehicle for language practice and learning to write has four stages: familiarization, controlled writing, guided writing, and free writing (Silva, 1990, pp 12-14) The learner is simply a manipulator of previously learned structures and vocabulary whereas the teacher is

in the role of a proofreader without particular interest in quality of ideas or expression but with main concern for formal linguistic features The written text is

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just a collection of sentence patterns and vocabulary items Writing is basically a matter of arranging and fitting sentences and paragraphs into prescribed patterns without any concern for audience or purposes

To sum up, this approach does not demonstrate how the writer arrives at the finished product and tends to equate mastery of the language system with good writing

2.1.2 Process approach

In contrast with the product approach which is more concerned with the outcome of learning and more teacher-directed, the process approach considers writing to be a complex, recursive and creative process The learner with active engagement in meaning discovery and expression is the center of attention whereas the teacher supports them in the development of writing strategy for getting started, drafting, revising, and editing (Silva, 1990, p 15) Although the process approach has been a received one in English as a Second Language (ESL),

it is debatable when a piece of writing can be considered as finished and how the process of editing and revising are handled Besides, it is criticized for providing learners with insufficient input to write successfully, particularly in terms of linguistic knowledge and for failing to show the relationship between writing and its sociocultural context (Badge & White, 2000; Rahman, 2011; Tuffs, 1993)

2.1.3 Genre-based approach

In order to deal with the disadvantages of the process approach, the based approach has appeared in English Language Teaching (ELT) The emergency of this newcomer is based on the assumption that writing is part of the socialization process within a community and there is always an acceptance of a certain way of writing in the community (Badge & White, 2000; Tuffs, 1993) This approach will be discussed in more detail in the following sections

genre-8

2.2 Concept of genre

Before discussing the application of the genre-based approach to teaching writing, an understanding of the concept of “genre” is necessary The concept of

“genre” which is derived from the Latin means "kind", “class” or "sort” For a long

time, it was commonly used to refer to particular kinds of literature such as poetry, drama, and prose or other media of creative expression and any type of discourse, whether written or spoken, audio or visual, based on some set of stylistic criteria More recently, it has been used in a wide range of educational contexts to refer to predictable and recurring texts (Hammond & Derewianka, 2001, p 186)

2.2.1 Definitions of genre

In applied linguistics, the term “genre” has been considered as a powerful means for classifying and describing discourse and it has been conceptualized differently in each theoretical camp Under a systemic functional view, a genre is defined as a staged, goal-oriented social process which involves the interaction of participants using language in a conventional, stepwise structure (Hyland, 2002a; Martin & Rose, 2003) Under an ESP perspective, a genre represents a class of communicative events formed in response to some set of communicative purposes and characterized by a variety of similar patterns of structure, style, content, and intended audience (Swales, 1990, p 58) From a New Rhetoric standpoint, genres are typified rhetorical actions which writers produce to respond to and construct texts for recognized repeated situations Genre, in this way, becomes more than a formal entity; it is an aspect of social action (Miller, 1984, p 153)

Despite the continuing controversies surrounding the concept of genre and its pedagogy among genre theorists, there is a general agreement that genre refers

to “socially recognized ways of using language” in the belief that the recurrent features of a similar group of texts are determined by the social context of their creation and use; these features can express the relationship between a text and others similar to it as well as between that text and the choices and constraints

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which have an effect on text producers Therefore, through recurrent use and typification of conventionalized forms and communicative practices, individuals build relationships, establish communities, and get things done Form, function and content are all inherent in genre (Hyland, 2002b, 2003)

2.2.2 Genre nature

Although the definition of genre suggested by Hyland (2002b, 2003) can be seen as a working one for this research, it does not completely unpack the very nature of genre Devitt (2000, p 715) expressed his view that readers who have a particular interest in genre should not rely on simplified definitions, which bypass debates in the field, but should instead study some more recent discussions of the nature of genre in which dynamic and flexibility are the most basic qualities

2.2.2.1 Dynamic of genre

As mentioned in Section 2.1.1, genres can be considered as recurrent rhetorical actions; therefore, genres must be static Nevertheless, over time, when the conditions of use change, such as those changes in material conditions, community membership, technology, purposes, value, subjects, and forums, genres constructed by and constructing these situations must change gradually in response

to their users’ socio-cognitive needs or risk becoming obsolete (Bawarshi & Reiff, 2010; Devitt, 2000) Furthermore, variation is an inherent part of recurrence, and

so genres must be able to accommodate that variation Beyond accommodating the variation within recurrence, genres also need to be responsive to their users’ individually formed inclinations – balancing individuals’ own uniquely formed knowledge of the world with “socially induced perceptions of commonality” For genres to perform these two functions effectively over time, they “must accommodate both stability and change” They are always “sites of contention between stability and change” (Berkenkotter & Huckin, 1995, as cited in Bawarshi

& Reiff, 2010, p 79) To wrap up, in addition to the temporarily static quality, dynamic becomes a basic attribute of genre

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2.2.2.2 Flexibility of genre

In addition to dynamic, flexibility is another important attribute of genre that genre users need to bear in mind when dealing with a specific genre In anticipation of the critics’ reaction to the theory of genres as limiting a writer’s creativity, Bakhtin (1986, as cited in Artemeva & Freedman, 2006, p 24) asserted that the better our command of genres is, the more flexibly and freely we can apply

in using genres and the more fully we can express our creativity in them Thus, when acting recurrently in a typified situation, one can still express his or her individuality if they thoroughly master a genre Devitt (1993, p 579) backed up the idea by adding that being part of constituents of society, individuals create language and create genres; therefore, individuals can change language and hence change genres, for genres exhibit an extraordinary sensitivity to all fluctuations in the social atmosphere They may combine different genres or may “violate” the norms of an existing genre, thereby confirming that genre’s existence and potentially changing it

When working within existing genres, individuals may choose some elements from these genres and create a few new elements because even the most rigid genre requires some choices, and more common genres contain substantial flexibility within their bounds Individuals choose within linguistic and generic conventions, and they create and recreate the society that those conventions reflect Although genre is a social concept and construct, it also clarifies the nature of individual choices Hyland (2002a, p 66) also supported this view by claiming that writing teachers should value this personal authority and persuade learners to find out “their own unique voice to achieve excellence and self-expression in their writing”

To sum up this nature of genre, Miller (1984, p 163) claimed that a genre is

a “rhetorical means for mediating private intentions and social exigence; it motivates by connecting the private with the public, the singular with the recurrent”

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2.2.3 Genre theories

Hyon (1996, p 693) classified genre theories and their teaching applications into three research traditions: a) Australian systemic functional linguistics (SFL), b) English for specific purposes (ESP), and c) North American New Rhetoric studies Although they are united by a common attempt to describe and explain regularities of forms, purposes and situated social actions in genre, these approaches clearly differ in the emphasis they give to the text or the context, the research method they employ, and the types of pedagogies they encourage (Hyland, 2003, p 22)

Specifically, the central focus of the SFL and ESP approaches is “on teaching students the formal, staged qualities of genres so that they can recognize these features in the texts that they read and use them in the texts that they write” (Hyon, 1996, p 701) In SFL, “the teaching-learning cycle” in the shape of a wheel helps students notice the structural and linguistic features of genres, and how these features are in relation to social function but there is less attention paid

to the social relations and contexts that play an important role in how and why the text functions the way it does Pedagogically, critics worry that such an approach

to genre teaching promotes a “linear transmission pedagogy” in which textual features are largely presented and explicated in an uncritical way at the modeling stage for learners to do an imitation (Bawarshi & Reiff, 2010; Freedman & Medway, 1994)

In ESP, most researchers concentrated their attention on the formal distinctiveness of genres in order to provide learners with deep insights into the communicative purposes and linguistic features of texts that they are required to write in their professional discourses, while these experts paid less attention to the specific roles of content and their social environments (Hyon, 1996, p 695) A number of ESP researchers, for example, have used structural move analyses to describe the global organizational patterns in genres such as experimental research articles (Swales, 1990), business letters (Bhatia, 1993)

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The methodology by the linguistic approach of SFL and ESP groups is basically that of functional grammar but with more concern for social context and

an additional interest in organizational patterns at the discourse level (Flowerdew,

2002, p 91) Kay and Dudley-Evans (1998, p 311) remarked that in SFL and ESP,

“conventionalized lists of genre-identifying features” which lead to “an imposed rather than a responsive notion of text” are under the spotlight The result can be characterized as a competence-based rather than performance-based acquisition of genres in which learners recognize and produce a genre’s constitutive conventions but are unable to apply and adapt these genre conventions in response to actual communicative goals and situations

In ESP and SFL pedagogical contexts, teachers cannot provide learners with motivation and cultural, social background to actively engage with genres New Rhetoric, by contrast, which takes a more contextual approach to genre, seeks

to establish the connections between genre and repeated situations and to identify the way in which genres are seen as recurrent rhetorical actions (Freedman & Medway, 1994; Hyland, 2002b) Its pedagogy which focuses on situational contexts is more interested in the purposes and functions of genres, aiming to uncover something of attitudes, beliefs and values of the communities of text users that genres imply and construct (Flowerdew, 2002, p 91; Hyland, 2002b) It can help learners evaluate whether the “rhetorical habits they bring to the tasks are appropriate and effective” or not, rather than give them “formal trappings of the genres they work in” (Bazerman, 1988, as cited in Hyon, 1996, p 699) New rhetoricians believe that it is important to make learners and professionals aware of the situational characteristics and social functions of the genres in which they involve themselves

In brief, according to Flowerdew (2002), the outcome of the analysis is likely to be lexico-grammatical with the two formers and situational with the latter Despite this difference, genre theorists in each tenet, by common consent, specify participant relationships as the central part of language with the assumption that

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the writer should be aware of the context and the readers who are constitutive of that context (Hyland, 2002b, 2003)

2.2.4 Key concepts in genre studies

2.2.4.1 Networks of genres: Genre set and genre system

Devitt (2000, p 700) acknowledged that even though analysis of individual genres provides us with information necessary for the understanding of community norms, practices and ideologies, it is impossible to unpack complex communicative phenomena without studying the interaction among genres Considering only one text produced in response to a rhetorical context may limit our understanding of the complexity of generic interaction and the ways in which some genres call for other genres Therefore, this author concluded that in order to understand how a genre functions, it is necessary to understand all the other genres that surround and interact with the one under consideration, both the ones that act explicitly and the ones whose existence is only implied That is the reason why various concepts have been proposed to describe interaction among genres Among these, two concepts that are commonly referred to for a further explanation

of the actual networks established through inter-textual relationships between genres are genre set and genre system

2.2.4.1.1 Genre set

The notion of “genre set” first introduced by Devitt (1991, as cited in Groot,

2008, p 34) is interpreted as a collection of different text types used by a community member to fulfill a specific rhetorical need in their professional context to perform their work The genres included in the set indicate the activities and social relations inherent to the members’ professional function, e.g the collection of oral and written texts that tax accountants use to compose a formal report on the firm’s position on tax questions In her examination of how accountants get things done, this researcher posited that texts form networks of interaction for the accountants Besides, she confirmed that a genre set not only reflects the profession’s situations but also helps define and stablize those

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situations The existence of an established genre may encourage its continued use and the continuation of the activities and relations associated with that genre (p 340) Artemeva and Freedman (2006, p 29 ) simplified this notion by claiming a genre set represents all types of texts produced routinely by a person in a particular occupation in the process of her or his work Thus, genre set highlights the work of

an individual

2.2.4.1.2 Genre system

Due to the focus of genre set on individual perspectives, Bazerman (1994,

p 181) extended this notion by proposing the notion “genre system” Like genre sets, then, genre systems are made up of “sequences of genres that hand the baton

of communication onward” (Spinuzzi, 2004, p 3) Nevertheless, Bazerman’s (1994) concept of genre systems goes beyond the local community or professional organizational context and addresses connected genres produced as a result of consequential social action within the same activity “enacted by all parties involved”, across communities or across groups within a given

An example is the collections of texts that accountants produce and receive

in their contacts from and to clients, from and to authorities, and from and to colleagues (Yates & Orlikowski, 2002, p 103) Bazerman (1994, p 181) pointed out that the members of these communities involved in an activity create “a complex web of interrelated genres where each participant makes a recognizable act or move in some recognizable genre, which then may be followed by a certain range of appropriate generic responses by others” This concept, hence, reflects a complete communicative interaction including all social relations and the history

of the interaction (Artemeva & Freedman, 2006, p 30) Bazerman (1994, pp 83) also stated that a genre system includes genres from multiple genre sets, over time, and can involve the interaction of users with different levels of expertise and authority, who may not all have equal knowledge of or access to all the genres within the system whereas genre sets are more bounded constellations of genres

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that enable particular groups of individuals to accomplish particular actions within

a genre system

2.2.4.2 Uptake

Another basic concept in genre theories is uptake Within speech act theory, uptake traditionally refers to how an illocutionary act gets taken up as a perlocutionary effect under certain conditions For instance, when saying “it is hot

in here”, the speaker is with the intention of getting someone to cool the room, then the listener subsequently opens the window (Freadman, 2002, as cited in Bawarshi & Reiff, 2010, p 85) Freadman applied the concept of uptake to genre theories by arguing that genres are defined in part by the uptakes they condition According to Freadman, we cannot fully understand genres as social actions without accounting for uptake Knowing a genre is knowing how to take it up within a system of relations, or, in other words, knowing why to use a genre, how

to select an appropriate genre in relation to another or others as well as how to apply and turn genre strategies into textual practices We can understand this notion by analogy with playing sports For example, when soccer players are given lessons by the coach, they simply learn the rules; what they have to achieve is to

be able to turn rules for play into actual performances

2.2.4.3 Situated learning theory

Besides, situated learning theory also plays an important part in genre theories Situated learning theory was first proposed by Jean Lave, an anthropologist and Etienne Wenger, a computer scientist (1991) They argued that learning should not be simply viewed as the transmission of abstract and decontextualized knowledge from one individual to another, but a social process during which learners first observe and then gradually learn through carefully orchestrated processes of co-participation” They called this a process of

“Legitimate Peripheral Participation” (LPP) According to LPP, newcomers become members of a community initially by participating in simple and low-risk

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tasks Through peripheral activities, a beginner or a novice becomes acquainted with the tasks, vocabulary, and organizing principles of the community As the beginner or the novice moves from “the periphery of a community to its center, he

or she becomes more active and engaged within the culture and eventually assumes the role of an expert” (pp 37-39) In synthesizing work on situated learning theory, Stein (1998, as cited in Pareth, 2008, p 492) identifies four key elements as follows:

1) learning is grounded in the actions of everyday situations;

2) knowledge is acquired situationally and transfers only to similar situations; 3) learning is the result of a social process encompassing ways of thinking, perceiving, problem solving, and interacting in addition to declarative and procedural knowledge; and

4) learning is not separated from the world of action but exists in robust, complex, social environments made up of actors, actions, and situations

From the four elements above, it can be seen that situated learning theory specially emphasizes the important role of context Understanding situated learning theory when teaching any genres, the teacher is more fully aware of situating assignments within the contexts to develop communication skills, to adapt communication practices to situational exigencies to transfer skills learned in the classroom to reality

2.3 Why to use the genre-based approach

Emerging as a possible remedy for the drawbacks of the process approach, the genre-based approach serves the crucially important roles in teaching practices

2.3.1 Helping learners have confidence in writing

One substantial contribution of the genre-based approach to teaching writing is to make learners more confident in their ability of writing A workshop hold by Kay and Dudley-Evans (1998) with the purpose of sharing experiences of the teachers who put the genre into practice in a variety of different teaching and

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learning contexts showed that the genre-based approach could free learners from

“their own fears of writing by giving them security” For example, the chosen samples under New Rhetoric show clearly and specifically what they have to do in terms of linguistics This allows them to produce texts with confidence and in the long run will gradually increase flexible thinking and creativity

The participants also agreed that offering samples is very valuable since these samples provide a means whereby learners can analyze the effectiveness of their own writing and that of others in a particular situation (Kay & Dudley-Evans,

1998, pp 310-311) Moreover, these samples can facilitate their exploration of different texts and the development of a shared language to use when interacting with each other They offer learners a guiding framework for producing texts by raising their awareness of the connections between forms, purposes and participant roles in specific social contexts (Hyland, 2000, p 43) They also offer a richer resource than the study of a single text and enable learners to understand how textual, grammatical, and lexical choices are used in different contexts and find ways of investigating language use on which they can draw when doing their own writing (Tribble, 1996, pp 79-80)

2.3.2 Providing learners with cultural and linguistic resources for writing

Another contribution of the genre-based approach is its provision of cultural and linguistic resources for writing In order to emphasize this important role, Hyland (2003, p 25) claimed that learning about genres does not preclude critical analysis but provides a necessary basis for critical engagement with cultural and textual practices Its application to teaching writing equips learners with the genre knowledge – procedural knowledge, rhetorical knowledge, formal knowledge and subject-matter knowledge – which is important to their understanding of the second language environments, and crucial to their life chances in those environments

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In addition to that, by applying this approach, the educationalists attempt to demystify the kinds of writing that will enhance learners’ career opportunities and provide access to a greater range of life choices The teaching of key genres is, therefore, the most effective means of helping learners to accrue cultural and linguistic capital in particular professional, academic, and occupational communities (Johns, 1997, as cited in Hyland, 2003, p 24)

2.3.3 Helping learners perform a critical analysis of a writing situation

One good reason for the usage of this approach is that it enables learners to respond more easily and more appropriately to specific situations As Devitt (1993,

p 577) stated, knowing the genre means knowing not only how to conform to generic conventions such as appropriate subject matter, level of detail, tone, approach, usual layout, and organization but also how to respond appropriately to a given situation

In favor of this view, Bawarshi (2003, as cited in Johns, Bawarshi, Coe, Hyland, Paltridge, & Reiff, 2006) specified that the analysis of different genres helps learners become familiar within the social, rhetorical, and linguistic contexts before they participate effectively and critically within these contexts This helps learners identify and describe the conventions of genres (from the lexical and syntactic patterns to the structural, rhetorical, and thematic patterns) as well as the typical rhetorical situations (where, when, why, by whom, and under what conditions a genre is used) In this way, genre analysis becomes a good way for learners or novice writers to discover what can be and what cannot be said and done within the genre; what linguistic features and rhetorical features (relation to reader, stance, use of evidence, tone, organization, etc.) are available to it; what goals, assumptions, and values are presupposed by users of the genre; what actions the genre makes possible; and how to put this genre knowledge to good use in order to participate in the world effectively

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2.3.4 Providing learners with background knowledge

Another important reason why this approach should be used is its place in furnishing background knowledge for learners According to Bhatia (1993, as cited

in Kim, 2006, p 37), the genre-based approach is meaningful for teaching writing due to the tie between the formal and functional properties of a language which facilitates learners’ recognition of how and why linguistic conventions are employed for particular rhetorical effects When learners rely on the rhetorical structure to analyze the content, they can identify some common features of each genre and form certain of background knowledge in the next learning situation Thus, thanks to the previous knowledge and experiences of various genres, the learners can make predictions about what will possibly happen in a text When making these predictions, they become truly engaged in the reading task and participate actively in the learning With this knowledge and these experiences, they may also produce acceptable structures in their writing tasks with less effort Hyland (2002, p 43) summarized this role of the genre-based approach by claiming that writing is produced and mediated through writers’ experiences of prior discourse

2.3.5 Leading learners to a better understanding of discourse community

The next reason why one should use this approach is that it empowers and encourages learners to more fully understand the world around them and effectively participate in it (Kay & Dudley-Evans, 1998, p 310) According to these authors, this approach supports learners in realizing the relationship between the discourse and the social groups and allows them to enter a “particular discourse community”, a group of people who are united by their use of specific genres to reach shared goals Genres, then, not only help the people in these groups use language to get certain things done; they also help to define these groups, to keep out people who do not belong in them, and to regulate the relationships between the people who do belong

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Being aware of how the discourse and the community are connected, learners can build clear links between the writing purpose and situations beyond the writing classroom and join that community This requires us to consider not only texts but also their relationship to the wider social environment and the part they play for individuals with specific situations

2.3.6 Expanding process-based notions of invention in writing

The final reason for the choice of the genre-based approach for writing is its invention within constraints Invention in the process-based approach is considered

to involve pre-writing stage, to be a recursive phase in which writers explore, discover, and generate what they want to write and how they want to start to write

it It orients writers in relation to a subject before they begin to write and writers search inwardly for ideas and meanings Therefore, invention in the process approach leaves learners with different and disadvantaged cultural and linguistic

backgrounds on the fringes of the dominant culture and its genre (Johns et al.,

2006, p 243)

Unlike the process approach, the genre-based approach shifts the locus of invention from an interior cognitive process located within individuals to a situated cognitive process located within genres The invention in the genre-based approach should take the established generic convention into account How writers discover what they want to say, what content they decide to include and how they should structure it, and what effects will likely have within particular rhetorical situations and on particular audiences all depend on writer’s knowledge of the genre – procedural, formal, rhetorical, and subject-matter knowledge – in which

they are writing (Johns et al., 2006, p 244) Invention in here becomes the stage in

the writing process in which writers situate themselves within the genre they are writing

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2.4 Limitations of the genre-based approach

In spite of the positive roles of genre-based approach mentioned above, it is blamed for the neglect of learners’ self-sufficiency and the underestimate of skills required to produce content (Burns, 2000, p 236) Firstly, merely one specific genre is analyzed at a time in the application of genre-based approach, which supports learners in awareness of the components of only one particular genre, while there is no guarantee that these constituents are similar to those of other genres (Tuffs, 1993, p 708) This may cause a great dependence of learners upon both writing samples and teacher’s instruction in writing different genres Secondly, Rahman (2011, p 7) claimed that genre-based approach puts high stress

on conventions and features of a specified genre whereas it provides learners with little assistance of discovering the texts’ true messages This author also added that

if teachers spend so much class time explaining how language is used for a range

of purposes and with a variety of readers, learners are likely to be largely passive Therefore, this approach is criticized for missing learners’ creativity (Badge & White, 2000; Bawarshi, 2000)

2.5 When to use the genre-based approach

At the workshop, conducted by Heather Kay and Tony Dudley-Evans (1998) at the Regional Language Center in Singapore with 48 participants working with primary, secondary, tertiary, and adult students at different schools from various countries, it was shared by the participants that the genre-based approach

is particularly suitable for learners from elementary to intermediate levels of proficiency in a second language In these contexts, this approach encourages learners’ confidence and enables them to produce a text that serves its intended purpose (p 310)

In support of this claim, Rahman (2011, p 7) explained that learners at a low level of proficiency need something to rely on because they have little exposure to authentic English writing Therefore, they should be exposed to

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several examples of the same genre to develop their ability to write a particular genre Through the exposure to these similar texts, they can detect the specialized configurations of that genre, and they can activate their memories of prior reading

or writing experiences whenever they encounter the task of creating a new piece in

a familiar genre (Badge & White, 2000, pp 155-156)

2.6 Which genre to be taught

Despite the important roles of the genre-based approach in teaching writing, not all genres could be taught to learners in classrooms, but a critical selection from a wide variety of genres is always essential Tuffs (1993, pp 709 - 710) recommended some useful guidelines to choose a genre to teach in classroom:

1) Firstly, this genre should be internationally known

2) Secondly, it should be readily and cheaply available without any copyright problems

3) Thirdly, it needs a range of instances within the genre

4) Fourthly, it has to serve a clear purpose

5) Next, it is readily reproducible both in terms of photocopying the original (not too long or complex) and reproducing examples (on A4 size paper)

6) Finally, it should be relevant and having a reasonable “shelf-life”

2.7 Previous research on the application of genre to teaching writing

Despite the fact that genre theories have existed for years and much research has discussed how genre can be used as a pedagogical tool, the effectiveness of its application to teaching writing in Vietnam has not much been exploited In the Resource Center of the Faculty of English Linguistics and Literature (DELL) in HCMC USSH, only one study related to the application of genre-based approach by Bao, T N (2000) could be found at the time when the researcher started undertaking this research However, in his study, linguistic features and rhetorical moves of English composition were much more

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emphasized, but social contexts were less focused on In the evaluation process, portfolio assessment was carried out and the students taking part in the experiment were given a checklist to grade their own and their classmates’ best works taken from the portfolio

Another research was conducted by Tuan, L T (2011) at Ho Chi Minh City University of Finance-Marketing In his experimental process, he used the teaching-learning cycle with three phases to teach the recount genre As mentioned previously, this genre pedagogy is based on systemic functional linguistics

2.8 How to use the genre-based approach for writing-teaching practices

The research presented in Section 2.3 gives support to the belief that the genre-based approach can facilitate the teaching and learning of writing From Flowerdew’s (2002) perspective, which genre-based approach to be preferably chosen to apply to teaching depends on the purpose of analysis When this researcher conducted two studies in the Middle East and in Hong Kong, he used the two different genre-based approaches to teach academic lectures due to the target students’ different lecture experiences For the students in the Middle East with only minimal proficiency in general English, the linguistic approach was applied to teach them to analyze the different functional and formal features occurring in a corpus of lectures, whereas, for the students in Hong Kong with previous experience in lectures, New Rhetoric approach was applied (p 93)

As discussed in Section 2.2.3, New Rhetoric view gives less emphasis to the form of discourse but more to the recurrent actions in repeated situations, and the social contexts which give life to the texts are regarded as more important than their formal patterns This approach, thus, has been less concerned with establishing a clear pedagogic framework, and prefers to leave any teaching applications implicit (Hyland, 2002a, p 19) As a result, its contribution to second language (L2) writing instruction is minimal On the contrary, a genre-based approach under linguistic view with a text-intensive focus is explicit about

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application but always in danger of making learners come to see genres as a “set of rules” A concentration on surface features can lead to genres being taught as moulds into which meanings are poured, rather than as ways of making meanings (ibid., p 22)

Due to some drawbacks of each genre-based approach mentioned above as well as the characteristics of the participants involved in this study who are university students and adults with intermediate-level proficiency in English and with previous experience of informal letters but lack of experience in dealing with writing formal letters, the framework “Guidelines for Analyzing Genres” presented

by Devitt, Reiff and Bawarshi (2004) is recommended by the researcher for teaching pre-writing

“Guidelines for Analyzing Genres” was originally developed from Christine

Tardy’s (2004, as cited in Johns et al., 2006, pp 39-40) genre knowledge model

(Figure 1) This model provides a useful theoretical construct which introduces learners to genre by illustrating the complexities of genre, then allowing them to

Figure 1: A model of genre knowledge (Johns et al., 2006, p 239)

examine different dimensions separately before gradually exploring the interactions of these dimensions Tardy explained that genre knowledge is

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multidimensional, including domains like procedural, formal, rhetorical, and subject-matter knowledge In the early stages, however, learners often divide these knowledge domains into separate areas They may focus on one or two dimensions (such as generic moves or lexico-grammatical features) to the relative exclusion of others, or they may have difficulty in seeing the interactions among the domains (for example, identifying how disciplinary values influence a text’s form) When learners are more familiar with some knowledge domain to a certain extent, that knowledge becomes increasingly automatic and they will direct their attention to other generic elements Gradually, learners integrate these domains, developing tacit, rich knowledge and automaticity, which is characteristic of expert genre users These users are able to complete genre-writing tasks without conscious thought since they understand the interaction and overlap between these domains

to manipulate genres for very particular purposes (Johns et al., 2006, p 240)

Drawing on this model by Tardy, Devitt et al (2004) developed overall and coherent strategies for genre analysis that can assist in teaching writing (Appendix A) Their heuristic method for genre analysis, in which the learners are put in the place of independent discoverers instead of being merely told about things, offers the following guidelines to gain generic knowledge in Tardy’s model:

1) To acquire procedural knowledge, it is recommended to collect samples

of genres from various sources to show a more accurate picture of the complexity of genres The more samples are collected and presented, the more patterns within the genre learners will be able to notice This activity allows learners to select and explore unfamiliar or new genres that they possibly read and write

2) In order to gain rhetorical knowledge, it is advisable to identify the larger scene and describe different situations in which the genre is used such as setting, subject, participants, and purposes In terms of setting, learners have

to determine the place where the genre appears, the means by which it is transmitted, the occasion when it is used and other genres which it is in

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interaction with In terms of subject, learners have to define the topics, issues, etc the genre users interact about In terms of participants, learners need to notice the writers, the readers in the genre, their roles in it and the purposes for people to use it

3) In order to get formal knowledge, it is required to identify and describe patterns of the genre’s features Learners have to analyze the samples to find out recurrent features that these samples share For example, what content is typical, how it is dealt with, how the texts are structured, in what format they are presented, how long a typical text is, what expressions, sentences are most common, what types of sentences are typically used

4) In order to obtain subject-matter knowledge, it is proposed to analyze what patterns reveal about the genre, its situation and the scene in which it

is used After the analysis of samples, learners should be aware what content is the most important in the genre, what the attitude is implied in it, what actions are possibly performed through the genre by observing its language patterns, what knowledge is needed for participants to understand the genre, who are invited into the genre and what roles for writers and readers the genre encourages or discourages etc

nearly all dimensions of a genre can give the learners training for discovery, whereas the teacher gives appropriate help and guidance during their discussion when necessary Freedman (1999, p 765) said that teachers who have experience with relevant learning contexts can select appropriate strategies for teaching genre

2.9 Summary

So far, Chapter 2 has presented the conceptual framework of this study It first gave a summary of approaches to teaching writing Then it addressed the concept of genre in three camps, and its roles and limitations in teaching contexts

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It also pointed out when to use the genre-based approach, which genre to be taught The previous research on the application of this approach was also presented Finally, this chapter gave some guidelines on how to use the genre-based approach for writing-teaching practices Based on the theories of this chapter, the following chapter will develop the methodology used to carry out the study.

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