7.4.1 To Inform Genre-based Classroom Instruction
According to Tardy’s review(2006)of the genre learning literature,there are considerably more studies on genre learning in practice-based context(47)than in instructional settings(13).However,genre-based instruction received increasing attention from genre researchers and practitioners in the last decade(especially since 2010,see Table 25).A systematic search in the database of Linguistics and Language Behaviour Abstracts(LLBA)using the combination of key words“genre”,“instruction”and“writing”returned 263 articles published in peer-reviewed journals since 2006(the search was conducted in July,2015).By going through the titles and abstracts,I excluded articles on genre assessment,genre analysis,teacher training and theoretical discussion of genre instruction and identified 18 articles reporting genre-based writing instruction practices(See Table 24 for the target genre,participants,teaching activities,and genre knowledge taught in each study).Eight types of genre knowledge were introduced in these studies,including form and content(18/18),purpose(6/18),intertextuality(5/18),writer &reader roles(3/18),process(2/18),intercultural differences(2/18),community values and beliefs(1/18)and discursive practice(1/18).Clearly,knowledge on form and content received most attention from genre practitioners,with all studies incorporated it in classroom instruction,whereas intercultural genre knowledge is among those aspects which are considered to be less important.Among the two studies which covered intercultural differences in classroom instruction,Yigitoglu and Reichelt(2014)investigated teaching Turkish to English speakers and Turkish growing up in English-speaking countries.The instructor asked students to compare writing in English and Turkish.The approach to introducing intercultural differences is more indirect in the second study,in which the instructor asked students to reflect on their experience of L1 and L2 reading and writing.In sum,intercultural genre knowledge is less covered in genre-based instruction,and a more systematic way of instruction is needed.It is hoped that the framework established in the present study can be useful in incorporating intercultural genre knowledge into the syllabus design and curriculum development of genre-based writing instruction.
Table 24 A key word map of genre-based instruction studies
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