Contested or complementary? Mingling between two distinct writing pedagogies for genre instruction in one EFL undergraduate writing course

Authors

  • Yi-Hsuan Gloria Lo National Taiwan University of Science and Technology Author
  • Ying-Hsueh Cheng National Chung Cheng University Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1558/wap.32503

Keywords:

Genre-based writing instruction, Essay, Journal, Undergraduate students, EFL

Abstract

This paper aims to investigate how novice EFL writers develop their genre awareness and rhetorical flexibility in a genre-based writing course that incorporates two distinct types of genres (essay and journal writing) for practice simultaneously. Three sets of qualitative and quantitative data were collected: surveys, reflection papers from 40 students, and semi-structured interviews with eight students. Descriptive statistical analysis provides an overview on students' perceptions on the two types of genres and the distinct pedagogies. Qualitative data gathered from the in-depth interviews were used to understand how learners intermingle between two distinct writing pedagogies and what the perceived impact is on students' subsequent functional writing practice. In order to explore how students developed their genre awareness (cognitive) and rhetorical flexibility (metacognitive), we draw on Grabe and Kaplan's (1996) notion of ethnography of writing: (1) the purpose of a certain genre; (2) the criteria for writing; (3) audience; and (4) their goals/expectations. The findings show that most learners attached different benefits to these two genre-based instructions, enabling them to recontextualize their writing performance when necessary. Pedagogically, this study provides alternative pedagogies to the most commonly seen dilemma for L2 writing instruction. Theoretically, this research demonstrates how contested pedagogies can be complementary to enhance our understanding of to what extent cross-genre awareness can be raised and transformed through distinct genre-based practices.   

Author Biographies

  • Yi-Hsuan Gloria Lo, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology

    Yi-Hsuan Gloria Lo is a Professor in the Department of Applied Foreign Languages of National Taiwan University of Science and Technology. She obtained her Ph.D. in Language Education from Indiana University Bloomington, U.S. Her research interests include EFL professional development, sociocultural perspectives of teaching and learning, ESP, as well as L2 writing research and pedagogy.

  • Ying-Hsueh Cheng, National Chung Cheng University

    Ying-Hsueh Cheng is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Foreign Languages and Literature of National Chung Cheng University in Taiwan. She obtained her Ph.D. in Foreign and Second Language Education from The Ohio State University, U.S. Her research interests include L2 writing, EAP and ESP, and recently including data-driven learning to improve EFL students’ writing. She has published a journal article entitled, “Dissertation grant proposals as “writing games”: An exploratory study of two L2 graduate students’ experiences (2014).”

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Published

2018-09-24

Issue

Section

Research Matters

How to Cite

Lo, Y.-H. G., & Cheng, Y.-H. (2018). Contested or complementary? Mingling between two distinct writing pedagogies for genre instruction in one EFL undergraduate writing course. Writing and Pedagogy, 10(1-2), 31-60. https://doi.org/10.1558/wap.32503