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Genre Based Approaches

This document discusses trends in genre theory and its application in pedagogy. It begins by defining genre as purposeful uses of language that have evolved socially. Key trends in genre theory include a focus on the whole text rather than sentences, language being goal-oriented to achieve social purposes, and meanings being realized through lexical and grammatical choices constrained by context. Genres differ across cultures and are ideological rather than neutral. Applications of genre theory in education involve learning genres as fundamental to language development, and contextual analysis being important when adopting new pedagogical approaches.

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Elvia Wil Fitri
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37 views10 pages

Genre Based Approaches

This document discusses trends in genre theory and its application in pedagogy. It begins by defining genre as purposeful uses of language that have evolved socially. Key trends in genre theory include a focus on the whole text rather than sentences, language being goal-oriented to achieve social purposes, and meanings being realized through lexical and grammatical choices constrained by context. Genres differ across cultures and are ideological rather than neutral. Applications of genre theory in education involve learning genres as fundamental to language development, and contextual analysis being important when adopting new pedagogical approaches.

Uploaded by

Elvia Wil Fitri
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Lecturer:

Sitti Fatimah, S.S., M.Ed.


 The term ‘genre’ has in recent times been extended beyond its traditional
use in literary contexts to include all purposeful uses of language: telling
someone how to make a toy boat, buying fruit in the market, sharing what
happened on the weekend, reviewing the literature in a particular field,
persuading someone to your point of view, and so on.

 One of the first issues to arise in


any discussion of genre is how to
define the term. Those working within different genre approaches will
emphasize different aspects depending on their particular interest. Most,
however, would agree that genres are social practices that have evolved to
enable us achieve our goals (Martin 1985; Painter 2001).
1. Trends and issues
in the development of genre theory

2. Trends and issues in the application of theory in


genre-based pedagogy.
In considering trends in genre theory, we will focus on certain principles
that are relevant in educational contexts and some of the issues surrounding
these principles.

 Focus on Text
While the emphasis in language learning is often placed on the acquisition
of syntax at the sentence level, in genre-based approaches the emphasis is
on the creation of meaning at the level of the whole text. Rather than
dealing with discrete instances of language, there is a recognition that
meaning accumulates and evolves over a stretch of text.
 Focus on Purpose
Genre theory starts from the premise that language use is goal-oriented.
Genres evolve within a culture to enable members of that culture achieve
their social purposes. Certain purposes might involve satisfying basic needs
such as shopping for food or telling the doctor about an illness.
 Focus on Meaning and Choice
While the overall development of the genre in terms of its stages is of
importance, equally significant are the meanings being created in each
stage (and how they differ from stage to stage). These meanings are
realized through the lexical and grammatical choices being made. Halliday
(1994) sees language as a resource for making meaning and proposes that
the language system has evolved to express two main kinds of meaning:
experiential meaning (how we use language to represent our understanding
of the world around us) and interpersonal meaning (how we use language
to create relationships with others).

 Language in Context
While genre theory stresses the notion of language as a system ofchoices, it
recognizes that such choice is constrained by the cultural and situational
context in which the genre is used.
 Culture and Ideology
Genres are not uniform across cultures-they pertain to a particular
community and its social institutions. In learning the genres of a culture,
we are learning how to participate in the new culture, to make new
meanings in new cultural contexts (Painter 1996; Lock 1996).

Genres are not neutral, but are ’ideologically driven’:


A central principle of genre theory is that genres are ideological. This is
true in both the sense that no texts are free of the values and beliefs of their
users and the sense that some genres are more dominant and hegemonic
within a community. Genres are systems of meaning which help construct
the social realities within which we live, and so this advantages those who
have access and control of valued genres and disadvantages others who do
not (Hyland 2002: 124).
There is no single teaching/learning approach associated with genre theory. Practices
vary depending on such factors as the nature of the student group (e.g. EFL/ESL,
beginner/proficient, tertiary/adult migrant/secondary/primary) and the emphasis
placed on particular aspects of pedagogy (e.g. the degree of explicitness).

We will concentrate on how genre theory has been applied in Australian educational
contexts (e.g. Christie and Martin 1997; Feez 1998; Paltridge 2002) and some of the
issues surrounding these practices.

 Genres and Learning


The learning of genres (and the role of genres in learning) has primarily been
theorized in terms of learning a first language. According to Bakhtin (translation
1986), learning genres is a fundamental part of language development-it is our
ability to predict the compositional structure and length of genres that enables us to
communicate.
 Contextual Analysis
As with any other pedagogical innovation, genre-based
approaches should not be wholeheartedly embraced without
reflection on whether they are sensitive to the prevailing views
and practices regarding language teaching and learning.

Contents of contextual analysis :


-Planning
-Implementation
-Developing an understanding of the field
-Familiarization with the genre
-Developing control over the genre
-Independent construction
-Extending and critiquing
-Creative exploitation of the genre
THANK YOU

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