UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES & INTERNATIONAL STUDY – VNU
POST – GRADUATE FACULTY


BÙI THỊ THU HUYỀN
THE BENEFITS AND LIMITATIONS OF A GENRE – BASED APPROACH TO
TEACHING WRITING TO GRADE 10 STUDENTS IN TAN TRAO HIGH
SCHOOL, TUYEN QUANG PROVINCE

(Những lợi ích và hạn chế của đường hướng dựa vào thể loại đối với việc dạy viết cho
học sinh lớp 10 trường THPT Tân trào, Tuyên Quang )

M.A Minor Thesis Field: English Methodology
Code: 601410

Ha Noi - 2012

5. Research Method
2
6. Design of the Study
2-3
7. Summary
3
DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER 1.LITERATURE REVIEW
1.1. Theoretical Backgrounds of Writing
3

3
1.1.1. Definitions
3-4
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1.1.2. Role of writing skill in Foreign Language Learning
4-5
1.2. Theoretical Backgrounds of Genre-Based Approach (G.B.A)
6
1.2.1. Why choose a genre based approach to teaching writing ?
6-7
1.2.2. Definitions
7-8
1.2.3. Genre-Based Approach (G.B.A)
8
1.2.4 Basic Principles of G.B.A

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2.1.2. The writing program of the grade 10 students
21
2.1.3. The participants
22
2.2. The Experimental program
23
2.2.1. Materials
23
2.2.2. Activities
23
2.2.3. Role of the teacher and the students
23-24
2.3. Data collection
24
2.3.1. Data collection Instruments
24
2.3.1.1. Pre-test and Post-test
24
2.3.1.2. Pre- and –Post Questionnaires
24
2.3.1.3. Teacher‟s and students‟ observation
25
2.3.2. Data collection Procedures
25
2.3.2.1.Before the experimental treatment
25
2.3.2.2.During the experimental treatment
25

35-36-37
3.1.2. Limitations of G.B.A to teaching writing
37-38
3.2. Summary
38-39
CONCLUSION
39
1.The benefits and limitations of the genre-based approach in teaching
writing to my own students.
39-40
2.Limitations of the study
40
3.Implications for further research
40-41
References
I, II, III
Appendix 1: Sore writing , rating scale
IV, V, VI
Appendix 2: Pre-questionnaire
VII, VIII
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Appendix 3:Post-questionnaire
IX, X
Appendix 4: Lesson Plan
XI,XII,XIII,
XIV,XV


Table 1.The activities done in the teaching learning using GBA
Table 2 .Checklist of writing tasks in English textbook 10
Table 3.Pre-test descriptive statistics
Table 4.Post-test descriptive statistics
Table 5.Pre-post test descriptive statistics of experimental group
Table 6.Students‟ interest in writing skill
Table 7.Students‟ opinions of writing in English
Table 8. Students‟ preferences for form of activities
Table 9.Students‟ participation in writing lessons
Figure 1: Pre-test results of both groups
Figure 2: Post-test results of both groups
Figure 3: Pre- post test results of experimental group

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INTRODUCTION
1. Rationale
Many language teachers in Vietnam are aware that teaching writing is more
difficult than teaching other language skills. This is cultural interference due to the
difference in the style of literacy and rhetorical patterns of expression in their native

write a narrative text and to explore their attitudes towards learning to write with this
approach.
3. Research Questions
In order to find out the fact whether a genre-based approach improves students‟
writing proficiency and motivates them to learn, this study was designed with the
following questions:
1. What are benefits of a genre-based approach to teaching writing to grade 10 students
in Tan Trao High school in Tuyen Quang province ?
2. What are limitations of a genre-based approach to teaching writing to grade 10
students in Tan Trao High school in Tuyen Quang province ?
4. Scope of the Study
The study was carried out only the grade 10 students of Tan Trao High school in
Tuyen Quang province. These students were measured their writing narrative proficiency
in correlation to the application of an experimental GBA
5. Research Method
The first method applied in this study is a quasi-experimental which involves the
three components of experiments according to Selinger and Shohamy (1989): the
population (the grade 10 students at Tan Trao High school), the treatment (GBA
activities), and the measurement of the treatment (t-test).
In addition, pre and post-questionnaires were delivered to students who took part in
the Genre based approach class as a supporting tool to obtain their change in attitude
towards writing. What is more, observation was also employed during the teaching time
to recognize the participation of students in the control group and the experimental group.
6. Design of the Study
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The study is composed of three main parts: Introduction, Development which

CHAPTER 1.LITERATURE REVIEW
1.1. Theoretical Backgrounds of Writing
1.1.1. Definitions
Writing has been defined in a variety of ways, which shows a lack of consensus as to
what it is, and reflects the complexity of the writing process. Traditionally, researchers
focused mainly on form and the final product while current researchers on writing
emphasize the writing process and strategies which are utilized by the writers to attain the
final product.
According to Byrne (1991), writing can be seen as an “act of forming graphic symbols‟‟;
that is letters or the combination of letters. Simply, writing is like “making marks on the
flat surface of some kinds ‟‟ (p.1).Lannon (1989) made a conflicting definition that
writing, in fact, is a far more complicated process than the production of graphic symbols.
It is “ a process of transforming the material discovered by research inspiration, accident,
trial and error, or whatever into a message with a definite meaning…, a process of
deliberate decision‟‟ (p.9). From another view of writing, Murray (1978: 29) and Perl
(1979:43) defined writing as “a creative discovery procedure characterized by the
dynamic interplay of content and language: the use of language to explore beyond the
known content.‟‟ Writing can also be seen as a social process by Candlin and Hyland
(1999).They has asserted that “writing is therefore an engagement in a social process,
where the production of texts reflects methodologies, arguments and rhetorical strategies
constructed to engage colleagues and persuade them of the claims that are made ‟‟
(p.107). As for Tribble, writing is “a language skills which is difficult to acquire” (1996:
3).He also stressed that writing “normally requires some forms of instruction‟‟ and that “it
is not a skills that is readily picked up by exposure‟‟ (1996: 11). Harris (1993: 10)
affirmed that writing is a process that occurs over a period of time, particularly if we take
into account the sometime extended periods of thinking that precede creating an initial
draft;. From my personal experience as a classroom teacher, I share with Rivers‟

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the process of writing where the students learn to write through stages in order to
overcome the students‟ difficulties in writing. One of the method which is regarded as a
suitable method to teaching writing is the genre based approach. This approach helps
students become more successful writers and readers of academic and workplace text (
Hyon, 1996:700 cited in Emilia, 2005:61); and to help students make sense of not only
the structure of the texts but also a wide range of compositional concerns (Brook, 200
cited in Emillia, 2005:61). More theories about Genre Based approach will discussed
below.
1.2. Theoretical Backgrounds of Genre-Based Approach (G.B.A)
1.2.1. Why choose a genre based approach to teaching writing?
Over the last few decades, there have been numerous L2 writing pedagogies
developed to improve students‟ writing proficiency. In the 1970s and for the most of the
1980s, experts were primarily interested in the process approach which focus on
developing students‟ linguistic skills through pre- writing activities such as planning,
drafting, editing and revising (Badger&White,200;Feez,2002;Muncie,2002).In the last
1980s and the 1990s, however, theoretical interest in writing instruction shifted to a genre
approach that considers writing as a purposeful act and focus on the analysis of the
contextual situation in which writing takes place (Atkison,2003;Cheng,2006, 2007, 2008;
Hyland, 2003a, 2004b, 2007, Johns, 2003; Paltridge, 1996, 200, 2001, 2002, 2007;
Swami,2008). The genre approach was developed in response to the criticism of the
limitations of the process approach which left students to find the recurring text structures
for themselves through experimentation and exploration. Feez (2002) argue that the Genre
approach specifically compensated for this deficit. Patridge (2007) also claim that many
writing conventions would remain opaque for L2 learners unless teachers brought these
forms and patterns of language use to their conscious awareness. He (2007) claimed that

why it is arguably the most established and popular writing approach in Australian school
context.
1.2.2. Definitions
Genre , according to Martin (1998, cited in Callaghan and Rothery ,1998:25 ) is
defined as a staged , goal oriented social process achieved primarily through language
.Martin , Christie - Rothery, ( 1987;59 ),Christie, ( 1991:236 ), Martin ( 2004: 4 ) in
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Emilia (2005) declare that genres are social processes because members of culture interact
with each other to achieve the goal oriented .It is a staged because it usually takes more
than one step to achieve their goals.
The term genre could be explained in relation to the meaning of a text (Christie,
2005: 233), which is identified by Biber (1998, cited in Paltrige, 1996 ) as a class of texts
having similarities in linguistic forms regardless of the genre. In this sense, a text is
designed as many meaningful stretch of language, either in oral or written form
(Derewianka, 2004 ) and its held together cohesively, through meaning ( Feez and Joyce,
2004:4 ) ; whether a stretch of language is a text or not , it has had nothing to do with its
size or form. It has had nothing to do with the meaning of the stretch of language working
together as unified whole for example, the single word stop on a road sign is a text,
because it can stand as a unified whole.
1.2.3. Genre-Based Approach (G.B.A)
GBA teaching writing, which based on Systemic Functional Linguistics developed
by Halliday ( 1994 ) has been developed mainly in Australia (John, 2002:5 ).Then the
GBA becomes increasingly influential in the field of teaching of English .This approach
has been adopted in primary, secondary, tertiary, professional and community teaching
programs for the native speakers of English as well as ESL and EFL learners(
Derewianka, 2003:133 ).In relation to the teaching of English in EFL context, the GBA

teaching language to encourage students to use the language in real context .Regarding
this principle, Gibbons provides a comprehensive concept of explicit teaching in
ESL/EFL.
Teachers are suggested to teach explicitly in relation to what is being studied, why
it is being studied and what will be expected from the students at the end of the course
(Gibbons, 2002: 52- 60 ).The role of teachers is to use methodologies which collaborate
with the students in the learning process .The teacher intervene where necessary in the
learning process to support students as they build knowledge and skills which have been
negotiated. In short, the GBA is concern with providing students with explicit knowledge
about language. The teachers are suggested to be more explicit in teaching: how language
works to make meaning; the text organization and linguistics forms that characterize
different genre .According to Christie (1991:254-255), the Genre theories argue that
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educators have a responsibility to intervene in the learning process and teaching should be
seen as a deliberate act, one in which the teacher takes a overtly interventionist role.
The last principle is concerning the apprenticeship teaching. Under this principle,
learning is collaboration between teacher and student with the teacher taking on an
authoritative role similar to that of expert supporting an apprentice (Feez and Joyce,
1998:26). The collaboration always involves language in the form of a dialogue between
teacher and student. Brunner (1986:74, cited in Feez and Joyce, 2005:26) used the term
scaffolding to describe the teacher‟s role in the learning collaboration. Gibbons (2002:10)
declares that scaffolding is a kind of help that assists learners to move new skills,
concepts or levels of understanding.
Another concept related to this principle is the Zone proximal Development which
refers to the gap between a level of independent and a level of potential performance.
Vygotsky (1978 in Gibbons, 2002:10 ) says that zone proximal development refers to

3. Join Construction of the Text; the students are ready to think about writing.
4. Independent construction of the Text; the students write their own text.
Regarding several models of Genre-based approach cycle as mentioned above, this
study uses the four stage models of GBA: Building knowledge of the field (BKOF),
Modeling of the text (MOT), Join Construction of the Text (JCOT) and Independent
construction of the Text (ICOT).These models has been used in Indonesia; the 2006
English Curriculum. The four stages are: Building knowledge of the field (BKOF),
Modeling of the text (MOT), Join Construction of the Text (JCOT) and Independent
construction of the Text (ICOT).The four stages will be discussed as follows:
1.2.5.1. Building knowledge of the field
This stage is the first cycle of GBA which is aimed at building up background
knowledge; so the focus is primarily on the content of the topic ( Gibbons, 2002:61).In
this stage teachers are suggested to encourage students to read relevant material to genre
discussed, viewing pictures and taking part in role play .Teacher also needs to highlight
the expression and vocabularies used in the text( Feez, 2002 ).If necessary, the teacher
may translate the vocabularies into the students‟ first language to nurture students‟
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understandings that their language pattern is different from the pattern of English(Firkin,
2007; Elimia, 2008).
In the stage of BKOF, Derewianka (1990) argues that it would be better for teachers
to introduce more than one text to build up students‟ understanding of the genre taught.
The teachers give opportunities to students to experience and explore the cultural and
situational aspects of the social context of the text. According to Gibbons (2002), the
stage of building knowledge of the field is a time consuming stage as many relevant text
should be presented to build the students knowledge of the genre discussed.
1.2.5.2 .Modeling of the text

1.2.5.3. Join Construction of the Text
Having understood the social function, the schematic structure and the language
features of the text, then the students exercised to write a text collaboratively. This
activity can be jointly constructed by the whole class, by a small group, or by a teacher
and students during conferencing ( Derewianka, 1990:8 Gibbons, 2002:66).Burn (1990)
suggests that joint negotiation includes the teachers and learners in a join construction of
the text in the same genre, followed by a join construction of another text by learners
working in groups.
According to Emilia (2005, there are some activities done in this stage, such as:
*Grouping students into a group of four and familiarizing them with the task they will
do in this stage .Writing in groups‟ aims to allow the students to practice activities that
make up skill which can best nurtured by communicating with others and engaging in
dialogue. It is also intended to lead students to exchange and to examine ideas in an open
and organized way.
* Approaching each group at the start of the joint construction. It aimed to see if the
students have difficulties in starting their writing. The teacher can ask some guiding
questions to those who seemingly have difficulties.
* Observing students; development and control of the genre. The teacher encourages
the students to focus on all aspects of Writing (Gibbons, 2002) and assistance is given not
only to shape the genre but also to use language that is appropriate foe written text
(Callaghan and Rothery, 1998)
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* Consultation with each group on their draft. It is conducted in a context of shared
experience, with the teacher play as authoritative role (Derewianka, 1990).Callaghan and
Rothery (1998) declare that assistance in constructing texts is of two kinds: one might be
a direct telling of what to say and the other might be a questions and comments that

consulting with the teacher about the draft, assessing the students‟ development in writing
genre, editing and publishing provide an optional final step in the teaching cycle and
getting the point where they can undertake writing a genre in a completely independent
manner.
As suggested by Callaghan and Rothery (1988) and Derewianka (2004), the
activities done in the teaching learning using Genre based approach can be concludes as
follow:
No
Stages
Activities 1
Building knowledge
of the field -Asking some questions that are related to the
text that will be discussed.
-Developing basic understanding of the text if
most students are unfamiliar with the text.
-Reading a sample text to make the students
familiar with the feature of the text.
-Asking the students to write to check how well

3 Join Construction of
the Text -Researching topic, the teacher and students work
on researching skills such as note making and
finding some information from the books in the
library.
-Pooling information, the teacher guides the
students to construct their ideas and information
through charts, columns, headings etc.
-Revising the structure, the teacher can lead the
students to revise the schematics structure of the
text by referring to model text.
-Jointly constructing a text, the teacher lets the
students to contribute information and ideas in
creating a text. Teacher can guide the students in
constructing good schematic structures of the text
through questions or suggestion.
-Assessing the students‟ progress, teacher
decides group of students who can follow the

and language features. The purpose of communication or social function is the reason
why we speak or write or create the text. Organization structure of the text or generic
structure is the text organization or text arrangement. Language features or lexical
grammar that is such things as the grammar, vocabulary and connectors that we use.
There are six genres or types of texts that should be taught at High School. They are
narratives, recounts, expositions, explanations, description, and information reports. The
chosen genre in this study is narrative text because narrative texts are not just telling them
a story but how from the study they get something valuable for their lives. It is a moral,
lesson, or literary ending. .It can help students apply in their daily lives to live better,
more meaningful. In selecting the text to be taught to my students, I try to make content
as close as possible to their real life.
To improve writing skill, the students have to understand the purpose, types,
structure and language features of a narrative, which are shown as followed:
Purpose: Derewianka (1996, cited in Ian Bruce, 2008) emphasizes “The basic purpose of
a narrative is to entertain, i.e. to gain and hold the reader‟s interest in a story. But
narrative may also seek to reach information, to embody the writer‟s reflections on
experience, and – perhaps most important, to nourish and extend the reader‟s imagination.
The focus of the text is on a sequence of actions”.
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Types of Narrative: There are many types of narrative. They can be imaginary, factual or
a combination of both. They may include fairy stories, mysteries, science fiction,
romances, horror stories, adventure stories, fables, myths and legends, historical
narratives, ballads, slice of life or personal experience. Personal experience is one type of
the narrative text which should be taught for the tenth grade students because they could
write their experience which they met in their real life.
Structure: