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A link between genre and schemata: A case study of economics text
... Particular benefits of genre approaches have been noted in the area of reading development (for example Hewings & Henderson 1987;Hyon 1996). These studies report positive effects of genre instruction on students' understanding of text structure and overall reading effectiveness. ...
... Typological studies on writing assignments across various university disciplines include those by Rose (1983), Horowitz (1986a1986b), Canseco andByrd (1989), Braine (1995); Hale, Taylor, Bridgeman, Carson, Kroll and Kantor (1996), Moore andMorton (1998), Melzer (2003), and Dunworth (2008). Genreanalysis studies, on the other hand, have primarily been focused on genres with a relatively stable discourse structure in the natural sciences, including genres such as the laboratory report (Dudley-Evans 1985), the experimental report (Bazerman 1984), professional genres in business and economics (Bhatia 1993;Jablin & Krone 1984;Jenkins & Hinds 1987;Hewings & Henderson 1987), genres in legal discourse (Bhatia 1983; and research genres such as the scientific article, the article abstract, the master's dissertation and the PhD thesis (Bhatia 1997;Dudley-Evans 1986;Hopkins & Dudley-Evans 1988;Swales 1981;. ...
... In relation to translation, only a few studies explored the effectiveness of GBP in translation instruction. For example, Hewings and Henderson (1987) and Hyon (1996) reported the efficiency of GBP for improving student comprehension of text structure and their translation ability. ...
... Kinstch & Yarbrough 1982;Meyer & Rice 1982;Mannes 1994;Richgels, McGee, Lomax & Sheard 1987;Carrell 1992). At least in ESP, Swales' argument against the "neglect of communicative purpose and of looking at text in terms of genre-specific organization" (1990: 87) appears to have spawned genre-based training studies that have produced generally positive outcomes in learner performance (Hewings & Henderson, 1987;Flowerdew, 1993;Salager-Meyer, 1994;Hyland, 1994;Hyon, 1995;Faiz Abdullah, 1998). While the 'methodology of genres', as it were, suggests some affinity to Atkinson's (1997) more structured 'cognitive apprenticeship' approach to critical thinking via the methods of "modelling", "coaching", and "fading" in content -specific ESL instruction (p. ...
One of the major concerns in ESAP (English for Specific Academic Purposes) is to help the learners develop a conscious awareness of their latent knowledge of the interrelationships between language, rhetorical structure and communicative practices in their field and to control this metacognitive faculty. The problem is often particularly critical in L1 monolingual contexts where well-meaning learning materials and the associated explanations are entirely in English, but when 'everything is unfamiliar, [and] the learner is overloaded' (Dudley-Evans & St John 1998: 188). For the informed materials writer-cum-consultant/facilitator (informed mainly through the needs analysis, that is) working in collaboration with subject specialists, it is not always a question of whether to translate or not to translate, but one of to what extent and how to so that the appropriate level of support is provided. This paper presents and discusses 'at the chalk face' evidence in support of the use of L1 translation as a methodological strategy (see especially Weschler 1997)that may be discerned in the literature and particularly in the training phase of a Technical Forestry English materials writing project in Vietnam and Cambodia undertaken by the writer and his colleagues.
... The conclusions drawn in the studies on the effects of explicit teaching of genre were heartening, remarks Hyon, as "in studies of ESL reading development, Hewings and Henderson (1987) and ...
The identification of the genre of a text is an important aspect of written language comprehension,
and interpretation, and should be part of the required language skills for college students. Scholars are divided, though, about instruction in genre. Some think that students acquire genre knowledge in a natural manner, through the mere exposure to texts which represent various generic structures, while other scholars believe that the students need explicit instruction in genres in order to be able to categorize texts, recognize their generic structures, and comprehend the social functions and the rhetorical roles that text perform inside the social and cultural milieu in which they are embedded.
Understanding genre as social action which accomplishes various rhetorical functions in the social context has important implications for instructors and students. Often college education appears to be detached from the real, professional life, and students think that taking composition courses has a mere didactic purpose, and that no acquired college skills could be transferred into authentic and lucrative professions. Research done in the past decades shows that students could be instructed in genre in such ways that their acquired theoretical and practical knowledge might be used in actual careers. This can be achieved through solid, explicit genre teaching in classrooms, through the use of mediating genres that lessen the gap between the academic context, and the business world, and through cooperative work between the classroom and various businesses which could benefit from the professional work which students could perform free of charge.
... Particularly, although the contribution of text structure training to ESL/EAP reading comprehension performance is well documented in the literature( e.g. Carrell, 1985;Hewings & Henderson, 1987, Atai & Afghari, 2000, Atai, 2002, both ELT specialists and subject-matter experts seemed to neglect the facilitating role of this instructional activity in EAP reading courses. Finally, probably the typically large size of EAP classes (M= 45) as documented in a related survey ( Atai, 2000 ) depleted the potential opportunity for students to participate actively in EAP classes, irrespective of the type of instructor. ...
English for Academic Purposes (EAP) has been an ever-growing branch of EFL instruction in Iran. The main objective of the EAP programs at Iranian universities is claimed to be filling the gap between the students' general English competence and their ability to read authentic discipline-specific texts. Although materials development for these courses has attracted a lot of attention in recent years, there has been little or no serious systematic concern for EAP teacher education. The discipline-specific courses are offered either by ELT instructors or subject-matter(content) instructors , with no collaboration between the two parties. This, in turn, has resulted in a severe confusion in implementation of these programs. After reporting the results of a nationwide research on the status of the current Iranian EAP instructional system with focus on the actual implementation of these courses, the present study aims at providing a model for EAP teacher education and practice. Building upon close collaboration between ELT and subject-matter departments as an indispensable prerequisite phase of curriculum planning for EAP teacher education , the proposed model integrates the theoretical views concerning the principles and practice of EAP methodology with the educational, cultural, and local peculiarities of the Iranian context. The model and the argumentation promise some implications and applications to EAP teacher education worldwide.
Through the years researchers and LSP teachers alike have used various parameters for classifying texts. This article sets out to discuss the notion of ‘communicative purpose’ as a means for classifying text. It points to some of the difficulties associated with the functional approaches to genre classification in general and the notion of “commu-nicative purpose” in particular.
In recent years there has been an increase in interest in the analysis of economics discourse by both applied linguists and economists. This paper briefly discusses some of the main protagonists in the debate between economists about their own discourse, and brings together and reviews the significant studies by applied linguists in this area. It suggests that the studies by applied linguists may be grouped according to the categories Micro-studies, Macro-studies, and Educational Studies, and indicates areas of developing interest. It also suggests the need to account for other aspects of economics discourse, areas which seem to be largely ignored in the literature. This paper is of interest to those attempting to analyse economics discourse or the discourse of other social science disciplines in particular, and for those who are interested in discourse analysis in general.
The question of whether written genres can be learned through explicit teaching or can only be acquired implicitly through writing in authentic contexts remains unanswered. The question is complicated by the different parameters associated with teaching genre to first- or second-language learners, to children or adults, in settings in which the genre is authentically used or in settings (such as writing classes) in which genre learning is decontextualized. Quantitative studies of teaching genre offer mixed results, but in particular. there arc no control-group studies of first-language adults. In this paper, we report research on teaching the genre of the laboratory report to first-language university students in biology labs. In this posttest-only control-group study, the treatment was the use of LabWrite, online iustructioual materials for teaching the lab report. We hypothesized that the treatment group would be more effective in: (1) learning the scientific concept of the lob, and (2) learning to apply scientific reasoning. Results of holistic scoring of lab reports for hypothesis 1 and primary-trait scoring for hypothesis 2 showed that the lab reports of the LabWrite students were rated as significantly higher than those of the control group. A third hypothesis, that students using LabWrite would develop a significantly more positive attitude toward writing lab reports, was also supported. These findings suggest that first-language adults can learn genre through explicit teaching in a context of authentic use of the genre.
The present study aimed at investigating the specific discourse cycles of some introductory textbooks across disciplines and languages to see to what extent they acculturate students into the new subjects. To this end, 2 well-established and mostly used English and Persian introductory textbooks in sociology and 2 other well-established English and Persian introductory textbooks in linguistics were examined. The study was conducted with reference to Love's (as cited in Hewings, 2006) suggested framework for the analysis of introductory textbooks. The texts were analyzed in terms of the intradiscourse cycles. Then, the introductory textbooks from the 2 disciplines were compared and contrasted in order to determine their similarities and differences in acculturating students into the discipline. Results showed that though in the English introductory textbooks, the cycles either started with theory, data, or culminated in cutting-edge, real time problematization, in the Persian texts, the cycles less frequently culminated in problematization of the interpretive process. The study suggests that this kind of analysis enhances both teachers' and students' knowledge concerning the process of acculturation into their disciplines. 1. Introduction Recently, researchers have shown an increasing interest in academic written genre analysis so that it has become a major concern of language teaching research. Swales (1990) defines genres as classes of texts (i.e., communicative events) and their representations in an abstract, socially recognized model of language use. Genres are defined by social or communicative purposes readily recognized by the discourse communities which define these purposes as social standards of communication.
Purpose
What do economists talk about? This seemingly innocent interrogation conceals a broader and innovative research programme, with the potential to renew the reflection on heterodox economics in a post‐crisis scenario. The aim of this paper is to show that convergence between language for specific purposes and economics is possible, so as to single out the genesis and the emergence of critical economic discourse.
Design/methodology/approach
After underlining the necessary collaboration between language and subject‐matter specialists, the paper addresses the question of the problematic use of economics textbooks in English‐speaking countries. Then, it deals with the fascinating question of the multiplicity of specialized meanings in economics. After pointing out the shortcomings of orthodoxy characterized by hyper‐formalization and its inevitable corollary, the mathematical nature of the discipline, it investigates the genesis of critical economic discourse, which requires the acknowledgement of pluralism and the components of heterodoxy, in order to converge towards a process of disciplinary acculturation that goes hand in hand with the learning process of language for specific purposes.
Findings
A deep‐seated renewal of economics, consisting of a methodological shift towards the components of heterodoxy, has the potential to enhance the effectiveness of teaching English for economics, so that the latter effectively conveys specialized meaning.
Research limitations/implications
Teaching and researching English for specific purposes necessitates enhanced collaboration between subject‐matter specialists and applied linguists. However, this type of collaboration can be hampered by institutional or socio‐professional obstacles.
Social implications
Discursive analysis has become indispensable in order to surmount the collective failure of mainstream economics in the aftermath of the global financial crisis. With the help of textbooks of a new kind, one must go beyond the vision of students as mere consumers of knowledge.
Originality/value
Language for specific purposes has long shown interest in economics, but is the reciprocal true? This paper proposes an original association, by putting the two disciplinary fields on an equal footing, and by bringing new synergies forward.
ESP/EAP is essentially concerned with the genre-specific texts students are required to read/write and the kinds of activities they need to participate in. In this paper, we argue that to be effective ESP/EAP teaching and materials must be informed by adequately researched linguistic descriptions of the target genres and texts in general.
There are characteristic rhetorical and organisational features and linguistic options which distinguish different genres and, without prior identification of these, ESP teaching will be ad hoc and cannot expect to help learners cope with the demands imposed on them by the need to read and write in their specific disciplines. Successful pedagogy which aims at enabling learners to master these genres must draw on linguistic descriptions which provide insights into the features and organisation of the texts.
In this paper, we suggest a discourse-based approach to meet the need for ESP practice which is rooted in an understanding of the communicative purposes of texts and the linguistic manifestations of such purposes. Through an analysis of experimental research articles, we attempt to show that:
i) choice of theme in citations can serve as a text organisational device to show the interdependencies and connectedness of the elements making up a stretch of text.
ii) the macro-structure of an entire research article can be represented in terms of the generally-recognized Problem-Solution discourse pattern.
Non-native speaker students in higher education frequently face difficulties in understanding lectures; an important task of English for Academic Purposes courses in lecture comprehension is therefore to provide strategic support for students in listening to and learning from lectures. Analytical models of lecture discourse can offer a framework for the design of appropriate tasks to aid the development of listening strategies. Genre analysis is well established as a means of identifying the rhetorical features of written genres for teaching purposes, but it has been less widely used for the analysis of spoken genres such as lectures. This paper reports on the application of the techniques of genre analysis to a corpus of lecture introductions, and discusses the teaching implications of the analysis.
Within the last two decades, a number of researchers have been interested in genre as a tool for developing L1 and L2 instruction. Both genre and genre-based pedagogy, however, have been conceived of in distinct ways by researchers in different scholarly traditions and in different parts of the world, making the genre literature a complicated body of scholarship to understand. The purpose of this article is to provide a map of current genre theories and teaching applications in three research areas where genre scholarship has taken significantly different paths: (a) English for specific purposes (ESP), (b) North American New Rhetoric studies, and (c) Australian systemic functional linguistics. The article compares definitions and analyses of genres within these three traditions and examines their contexts, goals, and instructional frameworks for genre-based pedagogy. The investigation reveals that ESP and Australian genre research provides ESL instructors with insights into the linguistic features of written texts as well as useful guidelines for presenting these features in classrooms. New Rhetoric scholarship, on the other hand, offers language teachers fuller perspectives on the institutional contexts around academic and professional genres and the functions genres serve within these settings.
English for Specific Purposes (ESP) has seen relatively little attention to the design of courses and the development of materials for specific subjects taught in a Faculty of Arts. The needs of the undergraduate Arts student studying for a general Arts degree (e.g. Philosophy, History, or French) are not catered for in published materials. This is particularly so where ESL students are studying in a new academic cultural context and where there is also exposure to the demands of different and sometimes entirely new disciplinary cultures. This paper outlines the design and development of a course at the University of Zimbabwe aimed to meet the needs of ESL students studying in the Faculty of Arts. The development of Critical Language Awareness in relation to general and subject specific study skills is discussed. The term ‘Critical Communication Skills’ (CCS) is introduced and defined. An outline is given of a two part course. In Part One students work through materials which address CCS in relation to subject of common interest _____ the media in South Africa. In Part Two the demands of studying specific subjects are presented (e.g. Philosophy). The course is discussed in relation to ESP and critical skills development for use beyond university study.
Five side‐channels and small tributaries of the River Avon (Hampshire, UK) were examined between spring 1999 and spring 2000 using point abundance sampling by electrofishing to determine the status of fish listed in Annex II of the EC Habitats Directive prior to habitat management works to enhance spring feeding habitat of wading birds.
Seasonal patterns of abundance and microhabitat use of bullhead Cottus gobio and accompanying fish species were examined. Parr of Atlantic salmon Salmo salar were sufficiently abundant for microhabitat analysis at one site only. Only two specimens of brook lamprey Lampetra fluviatilis were observed, one at each of two sites. Bullhead was amongst the most abundant fish species at all five sites, 0+ bullhead predominating.
Bullhead microhabitat preferences were generally similar at all five sites, but seasonal variations were observed, as was the case for the accompanying fish species, which included dace Leuciscus leuciscus , chub Leuciscus cephalus , stone loach Barbatula barbatula , roach Rutilus rutilus , and threespine stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus .
Bullhead conservation status is discussed, in particular the possible exemption of British bullhead populations, such as already granted for those of Finland, from Annex II of the Habitats Directive.
© Crown Copyright 2004 Reproduced with the permission of Her Majesty's Stationary Office. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The purpose of this study was to investigate extended effects of an EAP genre-based reading course on eight adult non-native speakers. Using student interviews collected 1 year after instruction, the study examined whether the class genres (hard news story, feature article, textbook, and research article) were connected to students’ subsequent reading requirements and interests; what students remembered about genres taught in the course; and how they perceived the instruction had influenced their L2 reading. Results revealed that the class genres were related to some of the students’ academic and non-academic reading materials. In addition, students’ commentary on text passages and impressions of the class indicated that a number of students remembered class genre features and thought they applied the material to their L2 reading and writing. However, the effects of the course may have been greater or more conscious for some students and genres than others. The article concludes by discussing potential benefits as well as limitations of genre-based teaching for EAP reading curricula.
This paper reports on part of a project to investigate the reading requirements of second language students beginning the study of a new subject. It suggests that such students may have problems achieving full comprehension because of lack of an appropriate schema for approaching the textbook. It is suggested that an outstanding feature of the genre of the introductory textbook will be the attempt to establish a cognitive model for the discipline, and that this will be realised through specific linguistic features in specific disciplines. An introductory Geology textbook is examined, and a schema proposed for approaching the text. It is demonstrated that this schema is realised in the structure of chapters and in discourse cycles within chapters. A comparison is then made with a second textbook, and the conclusion is reached that, despite marked differences in approach to introducing students to the geological model, the two books share a basic schema. It is suggested that such analysis may assist ESP teachers in improving student literacy in new areas of study.
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