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Date Posted: 09:04:36 07/18/03 Fri
Author: Simone Couto Gomes
Subject: TASK 11

ELEVENTH CLASS July 14th to 18th

Genre-based approach

A genre is a particular class of speech events (in discourse analysis) which are considered as being of the same type, having particular and distinctive characteristics.

http://www.sil.org/lingualinks/LANGUAGELEARNING/OtherResourc
es/GlssryOfLnggLrnngTrms/WhatIsAGenre.htm

EXPLAIN WHAT A GENRE-BASED APPROACH IS.

Genre-based is not a unified approach for it can be subdivided into separate approaches that will provide an alternate view on genre. - three of these are most frequently put in practice. The Systemic Functional view, where people make use of language taking into consideration its insertion in society and thus, following pre-established rules to reach their standardized aims. The ESP perspective, where a certain group in society with specific aims recognize certain events as belonging to specific genres, which have their own structure and features due to the goal they want to achieve. And also the New Rhetoric view where the genre’s form is not taken into consideration as much as what its aim is, thus what is emphasized are the situations that are created by certain genres over and over again.
The above information has for a while now been employed in the design of genre-based course books, whether concentrating on academic writing or on adult second language literacy teaching. More and more the genre–based approach is being implemented in ELT, especially when ESP (English for specific purposes) is concerned. Nonetheless, this approach is not widespread in EFL context yet and has to be carefully adapted by teachers, after all the needs of each kind of student are different and when learning a second language students need a great emphasis on vocabulary and grammar.
As for the practical aspect of genre-based approach, many examples can be given of tasks aimed at EFL students. 1-Students can analyse texts and try to classify them as belonging to certain genres (for ex. informal letters, magazine articles and film reviews.) 2- From a selection of features belonging to a specific generic structure, identify them inside a text (for ex. sender’s address, receiver’s address, situation, complaint, justification, demand of action, sing off, and sender’s name; composing a formal letter.) 3- From a list of generic features, find out to which genre they belong (for ex. background, purpose, method, results, conclusion, as components of an abstract.) 4- Reorganize in a structured and conventionalized way parts of a text having in mind they belong to a certain genre (for ex. parts of an academic essay.) 4- After examining many texts belonging to the same genre, identify what makes them belong to the same genre and then try to produce a similar text that would be classified generically in the same manner (for ex. lectures, sermons, news broadcasts, etc.)
Most tasks can be oral or written, it only depends on which genre you are focusing on. The genre-based approach is already being successfully employed in many Australian K-12 public schools in terms of language learning and, as seen above, can be a nicely transferred experience to EFL classrooms. Nonetheless, a point that is interesting and relevant to point out is that many times genre and text-type are concepts that are taken as being synonyms even in pedagogical contexts, which is something that can make the genre-based approach not well comprehended or trusted by students and teachers alike. From this idea one can understand that whether in the preparation of a course or the preparation of a task educators must be very careful and aware that they know what they are doing and understand it thoroughly before applying it in the development of a student’s learning and making guinea-pigs out of them.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

- Paltridge, Brian. “Genre, text type, and the language classroom”. ELT Journal, Volume 50/3, July 1996,
p.237-243.
- (In:http://personal.cityu.edu.hk/~enhyland/lectures_1-10.htm )
- http://www.encounters.jp/mike/professional/publications/bevseminar.html

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