Writing recounts of habitual events: Investigating a genre‐based approach

Abstract

This multiple case study investigated the application of the genre‐based approach (GBA) in a second‐semester university‐level Arabic class. This article depicts the linguistic features that make possible the recounting of habitual events (recount) in Arabic and outlines how during the GBA, both (1) the notion of purpose for writing and (2) the connection between that purpose and the necessary language features helped students produce culturally informed recounts. An analysis of the writing of three students, representing three different performance levels, before and after having received instruction in genre‐based writing, revealed differences in the linguistic resources that students employed to convey meaning. Implications for foreign language genre pedagogy are discussed.

A Systemic Functional Linguistics Approach to Instructional Design for L2 German: Connecting Language and Content

“…Yet in order to unpack ways in which language recreates the context the text refers to as well as its central conflict, both language educators and learners need specific strategies and guidelines. In connection to this need, the enormous potential of an SFL‐inspired genre approach for WL teaching has been noted in existing research (Abdel‐Malek, 2019; Byrnes et al, 2006; Christie, 1999, 2000; Cope & Kalantzis, 1993, 2009; Crane, 2016; Gleason, 2014; Liamkina & Ryshina‐Pankova, 2012; Schleppegrell, 2019; Troyan 2014, 2016; Troyan et al, 2019). Focusing specifically on the advanced language classroom, Byrnes (2006a) and Ryshina‐Pankova (2006, 2016) offer particularly relevant contributions to the discussion.…”

A genre-based approach in the secondary school English writing class: Voices from student-teachers in the teaching practicum

“…Beyond the theoretical consideration, GBA has also been widely practiced to teach genres like recounts ( Abdel-Malek, 2019 ), summary ( Chen and Su, 2012 ; Yasuda, 2015 ), science writings ( de Oliveira and Lan, 2014 ), persuasive and argumentative essays ( Ramos, 2014 ; Moore, 2019 ; Huang and Zhang, 2020 ; Zhang and Zhang, 2021 ) in a range of educational contexts. Whilst there is no lack of empirical findings supporting that GBA can help students notice the discoursal formula and linguistic features of different genres ( Yasuda, 2011 , 2015 ; Abdel-Malek, 2019 , 2020 ), use functional metalanguage as cognitive tools to mediate meaning-making ( Negretti and Kuteeva, 2011 ; Moore and Schleppegrell, 2014 ; Iddings, 2021 ), and finally integrate various facets of genre knowledge to enhance the overall writing performance ( de Oliveira and Lan, 2014 ; Humphrey and Macnaught, 2016 ), the adoption of GBA is considered risky and demanding for teachers.…”

“…Against the backdrop of the prevalence of GBA, the Teaching and Learning Cycle (TLC) has been adopted as the typical genre instructional model in school-based literacy education (e.g., Yasuda, 2011 , 2015 ; de Oliveira and Lan, 2014 ; Humphrey and Macnaught, 2016 ; Abdel-Malek, 2019 , 2020 ). Recent studies have proven the effectiveness of TLC in improving students’ linguistic accuracy, lexical diversity, content development, and rhetorical organization in the process of learning writing ( Chen and Su, 2012 ; Caplan and Farling, 2017 ; Huang and Zhang, 2020 ; Zhang and Zhang, 2021 ).…”

Contextual factors impacting feedback practices for non‐English L2 writing

“…Given such purposes for writing, instructors might include a much broader variety of specific genres within beginning courses; focus entire courses on a particular genre, for example, narrative, expository, or persuasive writing; and explore a variety of approaches to feedback that speak directly to the purpose for writing in a given context and to the students' particular motivations for writing in the target language. (For more on genre in non‐English L2 writing, see, e.g., Abdel‐Malek, ; Allen & Goodspeed, ; Byrnes, ; Maxim, . )…”