文/郑 尧
【Abstract】The process genre approach (PGA) to ESL/EFL writing has been advocated by its proponents for being feasible and effective. To shed light on its application in the Chinese university context, a literature review on relevant studies in foreign EFL/ESL contexts is taken. It starts by reviewing the initial concepts and models of PGA and then proceeds to discusses relevant studies conducted in this field.
【Key words】the process genre approach; teaching EFL/ESL writing; literature review
【摘 要】 过程体裁教学法因其具有一定的可行性与有效性，在一些EFL/ESL写作教学中获得了推广。通过回顾国外关于过程体裁教学法的相关研究，可以为其在国内高校英语写作教学中的应用提供启示。文章首先回顾了该教学法的基本概念与模型，随后讨论了这一领域的相关国外研究。
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关键词 过程体裁教学法；EFL/ESL写作教学；文献综述
1.Introduction
Teaching English as a Foreign Language (EFL) writing is challenging. This study comes out of concerns about teaching EFL writing in Chinese university. In the English acquisition-poor environment of China, students face time constraints and depend heavily on teachers’ instruction in learning EFL writing. As teachers, therefore, it is our responsibility to draw on an effective approach to promote students’ writing competence. The process genre approach (PGA), as a synthesis of the product, process and genre approaches, is advocated by many researchers for being effective in facilitating students writing in EFL/ESL contexts. To shed light on the benefits of PGA to teaching Chinese university students, a literature review is taken.
2.Concepts and Models
The concept of PGA origins from Badger and White’s (2000) concerns about the strengths and weaknesses of product, process and genre approaches. They argue that the three approaches are complementary and there is a need for synthesis. Acknowledging writing development varies between different learners and writing should be embedded in the social situations, Badger and White contribute a teaching model, in which five elements interact with three possible input sources. On this theoretical base, Guo (2005) provides specific guidelines for adopting PGA and presents a six-stage procedure for pedagogical implementation.
3.Studies in EFL/ESL Contexts
A survey of literature shows that PGA has been proposed into implementation in other EFL/ESL contexts. Theoretically, Kim and Kim (2005) state that the eclectic use of both the process and the genre approaches could provide new insights into teaching EFL writing in Korean universities. Nordin and Mohammad (2006) caution that to implement PGA in ESL writing classrooms genre-based pedagogy should not replace the usefulness and power of process writing. Empirically, Pujianto, Emilia and Ihrom (2014) in their qualitative study explore whether PGA teaching steps can help promote senior high students’ writing competence of report text based on schematic structures and linguistic features analysis. The results show that, in some degrees, PGA is effective in helping learners develop their writing skills of report text. Nevertheless, it has been observed that low-achieving learners should be provided with longer modeling and teacher-student conference stages. Their study contributes towards teachers’ understanding of PGA and uncovering the problems related in EFL classes in Indonesia.
4.Conclusion
As mentioned above, Chinese students are provided limited exposure to English and face numerous constraints in developing their EFL writing skills. Realizing the benefits of PGA, many Chinese researchers have contributed to the theoretical base of this method by discussing its feasibility and implementation. Also, teachers have began to apply this method into their own writing instructions. The current research status of China actually is in line with the foreign studies and to some extend complements those studies. However, it is still necessary and beneficial to draw on the foreign experience to provide students effective scaffolding and raise their writing competence in a productive way.
【REFERENCES】
[1]Badger, R, & White, G.(2000). A process genre approach to teaching writing. ELT Journal [J].54(2), 153-160.
[2]Guo, Y.(2005). A process genre model for teaching writing. English Teaching Forum [J]. 43 (3), 18-26.
[3]Kim, J, & Kim, J.(2005). Teaching Korean university writing Class. Asian EFL [J].7(2).
[4]Nordin, S. M, & Mohammad, N. (2006). The best of two approaches: Process/Genre based approach to teaching writing. The English Teacher [J]. 35, 75-85.
[5]Pujianto, D, Emilia, E, & Ihrom, S.(2014). A process-genre approach to teaching writing report text to senior high school students. Indonesian Journal of Applied Linguistics [J]. 1(4), 99-110.
（项目简介：本论文获得国家留学基金管理委员会2014年度新加坡南洋理工大学高校英语教师进修奖学金资助）
（作者单位：长江师范学院）