Longman language activator: Summers, Della (ed. dir.) (1993/1994), Harlow: Longman, 1587 pp

Abstract

The framework of genre analysis described in Swales (1990) has become arguably the most influential one for analyzing EAP learners' target discourse and for developing learner-responsive EAP materials at the pre-instructional stage. What other roles can genre analysis play in EAP teaching and learning? In this paper, I present multiple excerpts from a student's genre analysis tasks and from my own analysis of the same journal article introduction that the student analyzed. I look closely at one ‘incident' in which the student interpreted a statement in the genre exemplar as the authors' attempt to “create a gap of study.” Elaborating on this ‘incident,’ I argue that the genre analysis framework conceptualized by Swales (1990) can function simultaneously at three interacting levels: as a framework for analyzing learners' target discourse at the pre-instructional stage, as a framework for guiding learners to learn EAP writing during instruction, and as a framework for EAP teachers to continuously deepen their genre knowledge and their knowledge of students' target genres. I conclude by proposing two future research directions: focusing on studying learners who use genre analysis to learn EAP and focusing on learners' real needs in genre analysis research projects.