An Empirical Research On The Application Of The Process-Genre Approach To English Writing Teaching In Senior High School

This empirical research tries to explore the effectiveness of the Process-Genre Approach in English practical writing based on the unit thematic context.In 2018,the Ministry of Education of China published National English Curriculum Standard for General Senior High School(2017 edition),which first introduced the unit theme of teaching to guide the new education reform.Badger and White(2000)proposed that the Process-Genre Approach came into being on the basis of such approaches as product,process,and genre approaches,and it has aroused experts and teachers’ attention to its function,resulting in many kinds of researches.These researches discussed the role of the Process-Genre Approach in promoting writing teaching.However,previous studies only focused on developing different writing processes and genres.So,it is imperative to apply the Process-Genre Approach to English writing teaching based on the unit thematic context.This research tries to answer the following three questions in the English Practical Writing Teaching in the senior high school:1)What effects can the acquisition of genre knowledge have on the English practical writing based on the Process-Genre Approach?2)What functions can the Process-Genre Approach have in the improvements of the students’ writing performance?3)What functions can the Process-Genre Approach have in the improvements of students’ attitudes to the English practical writing?To answer the questions,the empirical research of 14 weeks was conducted on the English practical writing teaching based on the Process-Genre Approach in Nihe Senior High School of Hefei.Before and after the experiment,90 students’ questionnaires,English writings and students’ interviews from an experimental class and a control class were collected.Firstly,through qualitative analysis,the students’ writings and relevant interviews show that there are apparent changes in the acquisition of students’ genre knowledge from theme content,structural characteristics and language use.Besides,through quantitative analysis,the relevant questionnaires and experimental data using SPSS 26.0 software show that there are apparent functions in the students’ writing performance and attitudes:1)Independent sample T-tests were carried out to determine the functions in content,structure,language and total scores before and after the experiment.2)Paired sample T-tests were carried out to determine the functions in students ’attitudes to the English practical writing before and after the experiment.Based on the qualitative and qualitative analysis,the results of the research are as follows:1)Significant effects of the Process-Genre Approach to English practical writing are produced on the students’ practical writings.2)The objectives of the English practical writing centered on the thematic context are achieved in the content,structure and language.3)Significant functions in such students’ attitudes as the beliefs,feelings and behaviour are achieved.The empirical research shows that the writing teaching based on the thematic context achieves the teaching objectives of the English practical writing,which has a degree of practicability and creativity.Although it has proven effective,the experiment also has limitations,requiring further research to achieve a more efficient implementation.