Language Skills Through Genre-Based Approach
A genre is defined as a form of effective communication in any written, spoken, artistic nature or in a digital means being comprised of various conventions which are socially developed over a given time horizon. Generally, there are key skills in learning English language through genre-based approach. The skills tend to be reading, listening, speaking and writing (Bloor, 2013).These four techniques are categorized into two sections. The first group is described as receptive skills which includes listening and reading skills.
The second part is referred as reproductive skills whereby there is writing and speaking. The two skills are described as the basis of mastering English language. They are the best techniques of using English as the foreign language. These skills helps students to explore different ideas and thoughts, note them through writing and make them visible and concrete basically through speaking. Through this then communication is well reflected and therefore enhancing capabilities of mastering English language. Therefore, based on genre approach when ideas are written then speaking aids in arranging them systematically thus communicating something worthy.
Conceptual framework
Genres involve the way in which linguist group’s words together to represent channels that writers use to respond to different situations. They have exploited genres in the longest time possible as they tend to use this over the ages and has all through proven to be helpful in language conveying. Genres readers will be able to understand clearly and have a second thought and have to rethink about various texts. For individual TVTC educators, genre-based approaches have been continuously used to provide important and valuable information resources in order to aid service writing instructors and learners to offer relevant texts (Cheng, 2011).
Genre pedagogies have been used by teachers to literally ground their courses in the texts that various learners will have to write in their own understanding of target contexts. They have been largely used to mainly focus on the process of composition, the content of significant texts, various abstract prescriptions, and improvement of disembodied grammar issues. Genre-based pedagogy gives researchers and educators a more core responsibility in the effective preparation of students to teach second language writing in future (Davis, 2010).They are also used to advise individuals on matters regarding the increased development of curriculum materials and several significant activities for writing classes. Genres give teachers key opportunities to plan, sequence, evaluate, analyze, help and assess language teaching for both cosmetology and design students.
Current debate in study of genre
In the last five years, genres have contributed to increased attention on their vital application in both language teaching and learning. They have helped individuals to clearly understand how language is structured in order to acquire social purposes in various ways or contexts of use. They are able to change their rapid discourse and learning how to write. Through genres, teachers are able to give their students targeted, relevant, vital and supportive information and instructions (Flowerdew, 2014).
Genre theoretical changes and advancement have been properly utilized in the diversification of social and demographic rapid changes in the education sector especially language across the globe. They have led to the growth and development of modular and interdisciplinary programs which have optimized the complexity levels of language writing and teaching thus increasing the academic performance of the students. University classroom has increased their diversity in cultural terms, linguistic approach and socially.
Conceptual Framework
The students from various genre backgrounds come with distinct identities, background, behavioral habits, and different understanding thus resulting in increased learning experiences especially in language writing schemata in their prevalent studies. Genres have been used to support language writing models like the enactment of cognitive homogeneity (Gee & Handford, 2013). This is important as it has enabled students to become more theoretically and methodologically robust, more linguistically knowledge and research-oriented mindful setting in order to bridge the wide gap that exists between the arts of school writing and therefore improves students learning in future.
Genres are key aspects to correctly identify and analyze text features figures and grammar structures. The question is how genre has helped teachers to teach second language in art of writing? How genre has enhanced the improvement of teacher education programs? Is the genre helpful for students when it comes to aspect of ensuring more insights of composition theory, cognitive psychology approaches, and traditional grammar issues? The other question is how genre is addressing language and writing needs for students in a school.
Method
Approach of the study
It is quite clear that genres have continued to provide explicit methods to be learned, issuing out a clear and coherent framework for learning language and contexts, making sure that course objectives, aims, and requirements consider learners needs (Hughes & Reed, 2016). This explains a clear picture on both qualitative and quantitative approach on understanding language mastery by the cosmetology students. In this particular manner, they are able to create significant resources for the students to clearly understand and challenge problematic matters in a valued discourse thus giving an efficient writing pedagogy English language.
Proposed site of the study
The research is based on language teaching processes in schools. The major participants are the cosmetology students who have provided a basic information on the aspect of genre.
Source of data used
There was a maximum number of forty participants used in the study. Both gave different information’s on the issue of genre in language curriculum in school. There was twenty students and ten teachers. Both participants were divided based on demographic factors such as gender, class and age.
Procedure
All the participants were interviewed on the importance of genre in language teaching. Each participant was given a questionnaire where he or she was to indicate on any relevant information on the importance of genre in mastering English.
The other technique was to visit different learning institutions where a survey was done. We observed that a big number of cosmetology students are aware on aspect of genre in language curriculum. This was done by observing the performances of cosmetology students in mastering English language.
Ethical considerations
The section includes those ethical issues that raised during the study. Some of the ethics in studying genre-based language teaching are;
Genre offers comprehensive framework to consider language and contexts. This means that language mastery is based on appreciating genre pedagogy. The second aspect is that genre Gives adequate resources for learners to clearly understand and challenge the problematic issues revolving around valued discourse in language learning. This optimizes educator’s awareness of texts to be confident in addressing important advice to learners on matters of genre writing. Genres have also been used in L2 writing classrooms. In addition, language mastery helps teachers with the ability to diversify learnings capability, innovation and creativity in understanding language (Laufer & Waldman, 2011).
Current Debate in Study of Genre
Analysis of data
Genre pedagogies in a training and vocational college teaching emphasizes more on planning-writing and reviewing framework. It enables cosmetology students to take into account various long-term strategies for writing and speaking English (Kalantzis & Cope, 2014).Genres therefore have been used in learning to maximize the social authority of existing powerful texts in a contextual framework. They encourage learners and provide them with the freedom to wrote and thus boost their self-esteem in having language fluency. They also liberate them from grammar limitations on the construction of social meaning, cultural and public contexts.
Genre language is used by teachers in various specific contexts by acknowledging the fact that their students do not have this knowledge initially thus helping them to dig deep in language syntactic structural modifications, vocabulary and text composure that typically incorporates important materials which are widely used in understanding language (Kennedy, 2014).
Knowledge of genres critical since it increases the capability and potential for educators thus having positive impacts on their writing understanding and professional career development. By correctly analyzing and evaluating the texts teachers are in a better position to compare, reflect and give immediate feedback on the writing of their own and that of the unleash the potential of their students. They are able to identify the main materials to use for learning, methods, and approach on various instructional paradigms.
Genres increase knowledge of grammar as they are used to identify how parts of cosmetology texts, paragraphs, phrase, and sentences are correctly structured, organized, designed and coded in a bid to ensure effective writing and communication. Through increased genre education programs and workshops, teachers are able to gain skills to have the capability of properly exercising necessary linguistic choices thus assisting students to present the ideas in an effective manner. This enables students to be successful in their learning outcomes as they are able to have information on the structuring of texts. They ensure the ability to create meaning is enhanced by issuing out alternatives and making sure that the options are readily available to learners in order to provide them with the opportunity to make informed decisions. This creates learners awareness of reality, text structure and increased reassurance.
However, there exist various controversies revolving around the use of genres in teaching language. One of them is that genre teachers normally get defend themselves from adherent and critics that genre instructions limits or constraints writers self-expression and creativity through language conformity. It is deemed to have a limiting power that constraints the originality of students and writers. Some controversies argue that genres have not been uncritically adopted in various L2 writing and reading classroom setting.
Critiques argue that genres cannot be learned and taught in the inauthentic contextual framework of a classroom setting. It also does not take in to account L2 writers are disadvantaged in the various unfamiliar class setting. They see genre teaching as a way to make shortcuts in teaching. Critical genre theorist argues that genres fail immensely to preclude critical analysis in learning and teaching. They argue that genres only give an appropriate basis for core recognition with both cultural and textual language practices. Genre teaching has received various criticism for being formulaic. This shows that formula should be highly avoided.
Method
Implications of the study
Planned genre writing classrooms are utilized to bring about important themes in the society that help students to relate and apply their experiences and knowledge in real life activities. Topics such as cosmetology and design are useful ways to contextualize key research studies a simulation and factual ideological descriptions. Thus learners can be able to sue genres to discuss a good number of topics.
For example, they can use genres to keep the material in inventories design, get written and verbal instructions from lab operators in the cosmetology field give reports and are able to write project proposals. In this way, teachers can use genre analysis to help students play an active role in learning and become responsible. It is also used to assist learners to develop innate skills that make them actively participate in both academic and professional communities. Consequently, genres have been used by students to have letter writing skills in a job application
Some of the genre and writing instruction uses and principles include the following
- Genre writing is a social activity
- Learning write genres is needs based
- Learning to write needs considerable results and expectations
- Learning is a social activity
- Genres have been used in L2 writing classrooms.
- Corpus linguistics in TVTC
Corpus linguistics use in Training and vocational college students (TVTC) takes into account the large volumes of data that are in existence in both written and spoken format just to analyze and formulate a quantitative analysis of the language being investigated (Handford, 2010). With the improved technology over the past decade, corpus linguistics has been explosive and easily attained since people nowadays have access to computers.
They can get to sample large volumes of data in a given instant and it’s also easy to gain into a specific book since computers have offered that large space for storage and accessibility This has led to the growth of this and ease of learners as one is simply reduced to the fact that anyone that simply own a computer can undertake corpus linguistics simple enough. However these teaching tools in training and vocational college students (TVTC) faces various controversies like the following
The controversies involves language policy, language teaching, professional development and materials and products.
Professional development.
Corpus linguistics entails the formulation of words to make a definitive sentence .so this entails that in corpus linguistics we undertake an empirical study of the language we are based in (Kennedy, 2014). This simply implies that corpus analysis involves the careful analysis and documentation of a language. Unlike the earlier approaches where language was defined as a set of sentences in this approach according to Chomsky language is defined as sets of sentences .a set of sentences result to the birth of a language a sense of communication and the basis of language teaching entails the formulation and analysis of these types of words for one to effectively master the language.
The empirical duty of the corpus linguistics in this case, therefore, is the study of the words and formats that result in the birth of a language per say (O’Keeffe & McCarthy, 2010). Thus the main reasons for the corpus linguistics formulation were to provide an empirical record at the level of the whole speech community.
Approach of the Study
Language policy
A corpus-based approach to both linguistic and language teaching education sector has diversified its prominence over the years.
Corpus linguistic have been directly and indirectly used in revolutionized reference publishing. For example in dictionaries and published reference grammars. They have been sued in lexicographers in machine-readable nature that enables teachers to derive authentic and example of lexical materials from massive forms of texts. Corpus linguistic have also been used in both corpus markup and annotation. These help in speech tagging and grouping of keywords. They are used to form a core part of correctly grammar descriptions. This means that students can be able to evaluate, analyze and explore variations in both written and spoken grammar.
Corpus has been used to provide frequency data. They also help learners to have wide awareness and knowledge regarding high exposure to language collocations.
Another use of corpus linguistics is language testing, for example, text construction, selection process, calculating data, result finding and test scores.
Language teaching
Corpus has to be used to enhance teacher’s development by increasing language skills and awareness
Corpus linguistic is importantly utilized as an academic subject just like other language disciplines. It has been used in teaching oriented corpora, LSP and in professional communication. They are useful in teaching significant research studies on both development and learner corpora. It is also used in inter-language research analysis (Paltridge, 2012). In this case, teachers are able to cope with advanced and complex student questions and be able to correct their writing errors. The students are able to relate well with their classmates through communication and understanding various writing skills.
Materials and products.
They have been largely used in syllabus design and materials development for example in cosmetology and design fields. Corpus has been extensively utilized in giving accurate and precise language descriptions in teaching, for instance, a wide range of English scholar uses corpus data and information to teach the English language as a foreign language. They are able to write understandable grammatical structures in English textbooks, syllabus and other learning materials.
Using the tools of corpus linguistic enable teachers to recognize the common linguistic features of various strategies of genres
Controversies. Frequency and authenticity have been considered to be a source of objections and criticism in using corpus linguistics in teaching language (Richards & Schmidt, 2013). Critiques argue that corpus linguistic data usually impoverishes language learning by proving unnecessary prominence to the more frequent approaches at the high expense of rare expressions. It is constrained in that corpus is de-contextualized meaning that phrase of texts and nor discourse. They argue that language use resulting from corpus linguistic analyses can become a huge burden for pedagogy. The frequency of corpus has also been limited to influence pedagogy.
In summary, it is evident that genres are advantageous to students. Cosmetology students derive language content and contexts thus providing them a chance to grasp explicit and relatively systematic explanations and evaluations on how writing works in communication.
References
Basturkmen, H. (2014). Ideas and options in English for specific purposes. Routledge.
Bhatia, V. K. (2014). Analyzing genre: Language use in professional settings. Routledge.
Bloor, T., & Bloor, M. (2013). The functional analysis of English. Routledge.
Cheng, W. (2011). Exploring corpus linguistics: Language in action. Routledge.
Davies, M. (2010). The Corpus of Contemporary American English as the first reliable monitor corpus of English. Literary and linguistic computing, 25(4), 447-464.
Flowerdew, J. (2014). Academic discourse. Routledge.
Gee, J. P., & Handford, M. (Eds.). (2013). The Routledge handbook of discourse analysis. Routledge.
Hughes, R., & Reed, B. S. (2016). Teaching and researching speaking. Routledge.
Kalantzis, M., & Cope, B. (2014). The powers of literacy (RLE Edu I): A genre approach to teaching writing. Routledge.
Kennedy, G. (2014). An introduction to corpus linguistics. Routledge.
Laufer, B., & Waldman, T. (2011). Verb?noun collocations in second language writing: A corpus analysis of learners’ English. Language Learning, 61(2), 647-672.
O’Keeffe, A., & McCarthy, M. (Eds.). (2010). The Routledge handbook of corpus linguistics. Routledge.
Paltridge, B. (2012). Genre and English for specific purposes. The handbook of English for specific purposes, 347-366.
Richards, J. C., & Schmidt, R. W. (2013). Longman dictionary of language teaching and applied linguistics. Routledge.
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