The fundamental question to answer in assessing the
relevance and usefulness of genre-based approaches to English language learning
is: Does the genre-based approach foster generic competence? Generic competence
is defined as “the ability of applying genre knowledge in L2 and EFL contexts
(Bhatia, 1993, 1999, 2004 in Deng, Chen and Zhang, 2014, p. 27).
The wide ranging success of the genre-based approach to
linguistic instruction and its adoption into state sanctioned curriculum in
Australia (Ahn, 2012, p. 2) is a testament to its effectiveness. A major appeal
of the genre based approach to learning English is that it encourages and
scaffolds competency in analysing and composing English at the level of the
whole text (Kongpetch, 2003, p. 78). This is a significant limitation of the
structural approach, which can have a somewhat narrow focus on word, clause and
sentence level grammar (Payaprom, 2012, p. 10) or isolated passages of text (Thornbury,
2002, p. 71). The genre based approach allows students of English to apply grammatical
knowledge learned in the classroom to real world contexts; thereby gaining
access to communities of discourse, especially academic and institutional
areas, as they are learning communicative competence through actively engaging
with texts that are used in those fields. Deng et al., (2014, p. v) asserts the
significant impact that prior knowledge of genre structures has had on ELL’s
and the focus on English competence in professional and academic areas in
China. Perez-Llantada (2009, p. 42) noted that the cementing of theoretical knowledge
into real world contexts helped improve the ability of their students to apply
grammar cross-context. Gibbons (in Thornbury, 2002, p. 5) suggests that not
only do students benefit from studying texts but asking students to create
their own texts further develops their mastery and generic competence.
The major disadvantages of this theory outlined in the
literature include length and complexity of texts; particularly narrative
forms. Rufenacht, McCarthy and Lamkin (2011, p. 291) explore the
appropriateness of fairy tales as texts for ESL learners and conclude that many
of the tales are much longer than traditional ESL texts. Another disadvantage is
that the genre-based approach applies more in practice to written rather than
spoken forms (Christie, 2013, p. 14), which requires teachers to use other
forms of instruction to develop students’ generic competence in spoken English.
This theory certainly has speaking or listening within its scope, (Halliday and
Hasan, 1985, p. 69) if explicit instruction in these text types was included,
but this is not widely reflected in recent literature.
The issue of power and who it rests with is always a concern
when dealing with language. Rosen (2011) criticises the rigid application of
textual structures in the genre-based approach and asserts that education owns
the texts; while pupils constantly fail to attain the perfect example of the
genre. Derewianka (2003 in White et al., 2015, p. 260) also raises this
criticism; she recommends that text type exemplars should be used only for
guidance. Christie (2013, p. 18) asserts that the way to deal with power
imbalances is to make explicit and challenge the imbalances in the language
with which texts and disciplines are constructed. “[A]ny genre should be
analysed and discussed in terms of its meanings, its language patterns and its
overall structure, all of them involved in achieving its social purposes”. White
et al. (2015) and Ahn (2012), however, allude to the huge scale of the power
imbalance issues in English language learning. They assert that the aim of the
genre-based approach is “redressing linguistically based inequality” (White et
al, 2015, p. 268) while criticising the fact that it can assert the dominance
of the English speaking culture at the expense of the students own (Ahn, 2012,
p. 9). The conclusion to be drawn here is that, while a genre-based approach
creates a space for the close examination of questions about why certain texts
are regarded as “canonical” (Christie, 2013, p. 13), it still exists within a
dominant western cultural discourse and with that comes inherent power
imbalances.
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