A
Critical Genre-Based Approach to Teaching Academic Writing
in a Tertiary EFL
Context in
Emi
Emilia
This presentation will discuss a small part of the results of a research project undertaken during the presenter’s PhD studies in language and literacy education, the University of Melbourne, Australia. The study sought to investigate the values of using a genre-based approach in teaching academic English writing skills to students who were learning EFL in a state university, West Java, Indonesia. The approach that was developed was distinctive in at least two senses. Firstly, it was distinctive in that the approach sought to synthesise principles taken from other areas of theory to do with critical thinking (CT), critical pedagogy (CP) and critical literacy (CL). Secondly, it was distinctive in that it sought to use a genre-based pedagogy with a community of EFL students, whereas most uses of this pedagogy have been with native speakers or ESL students.
The presentation will start with a brief discussion on some concerns that had driven the conduct of the study, followed by a brief overview of the teaching program. A brief discussion will subsequently be provided on the findings of the study, gained particularly from students’ texts analyses and interviews, which revealed that despite some limitations, the teaching program was successful in many ways in the Indonesian EFL tertiary teaching context. Most significantly, the students’ argumentative writing skills in English improved in that they achieved enhanced control of the target argumentative genre, at greater length, with clear schematic structure and improved use of evidence and information in support of their arguments, using various linguistic resources, which also indicates their development in CT and CL. Moreover, data from interviews showed students’ awareness of having made progress in terms of metalanguage for discussing critical reading and writing; a good grasp of those CT dispositions, abilities and skills taught in the program; and enhanced awareness of the values of class dialogue, a democratic atmosphere, and the different roles of the teacher which allowed them to actively participate in their learning.
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Emillia, E. (2005, September). A critical
genre-based approach to teaching academic writing in a tertiary EFL context in
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