ELT Journal Advance Access published online on July 27, 2009
ELT Journal, doi:10.1093/elt/ccp057
© The Author 2009. Published by Oxford University Press; all rights reserved.
A focus on purpose: using a genre approach in an EFL writing class
Gordon Myskow holds an MA in TESOL from Teachers College, Columbia University. He teaches EFL classes at Kanto International High School (Tokyo). His research interests include L2 writing and teacher development. He is a coauthor of Write on Task (Longman) and is involved in teacher development, including guest lectures at Teachers College (Japan)
Kana Gordon is a TESOL MA candidate at Columbia University Teachers College. She is a programme leader and teacher at Kanto International High School. Her research interests include L2 writing, programme evaluation, and the social and academic development of Japanese ‘returnees’
Email: gmyskow{at}kantokokusai.net
Email: kanalg{at}gmail.com
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Abstract |
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This article shows how a genre approach has been used in an EFL high school writing course to teach the university application letter genre to students preparing for post-secondary studies. The authors discuss specific classroom materials to illustrate how a genre-based approach can be employed, not simply to teach static textual patterns but to help learners gain a richer understanding of the complex relationship between written texts and the social contexts in which they are situated. The article begins with a brief overview of L2 writing scholarship, and as the authors acknowledge, some overlap exists between contemporary genre-based pedagogies and earlier product approaches. The authors argue, however, that awareness of the (somewhat slippery) distinction between these approaches is essential, if teachers are to present genres as resources to be drawn on to help learners achieve specific social purposes rather than inflexible text templates to be prescriptively imitated.