Genre-related episodes as a lens on students’ emerging genre knowledge: Implications for genre-based writing pedagogy, collaborative tasks, and learning materials

Abstract

Genre-based approaches have become a mainstay in the teaching of second language writing. While there have been significant developments in genre-based writing instruction and important advances in genre theory, some long-standing questions about genre-based instructional tasks and materials remain unanswered. One of these relates to which genre-based tasks and learning materials may meet the dual goals of supporting students’ development of genre-specific knowledge and of broader genre awareness. This research report addresses this question using an innovative methodological approach, the analysis of genre-related episodes (GREs). It provides a brief overview of the findings from classroom observations focused on GREs that took place while students were engaged in collaborative genre analysis tasks and discusses the findings in relation to task type and genre knowledge. The report concludes with an overview of a few pedagogical and research implications.