The Application Of Genre-based Teaching Approach In College English Reading

It has been widely acknowledged that reading plays a key role in developing students’linguistic competence. How to improve the teaching of English reading has always been ahot topic in the teachers and experts of second language acquisition. Since the mid-1980s,genre and genre analysis has been the focus of studies in the field of language teaching.Genre-based teaching approach has provided a new attempt for English reading instruction,which applies the theory of genre and genre analysis to teaching activities revolvingaround schematic structure of the text. This approach aims to make students understand thesocial function and the communicative purpose of a particular genre, as well as the genrestructure and the cognitive models, thus have a better understanding of the text accord withspecific genre practices. Genre-based teaching approach has become a popular frame workin advanced English teaching like ESP and EAP, as well as in teaching English writing andspoken English, and has achieved remarkable results. However, genre-based teachingapproach in college English reading is still at a relatively early stage of development.This paper aims to study the feasibility and necessity of applying genre-basedteaching approach to college English reading. The writer first reviews the relevant theoryof reading, genre, genre analysis and genre-based teaching approach, and combines withdomestic and international research and current situation to explore the influence ofgenre-based teaching approach on college English teaching. Then based on the literaturereview, the writer puts forwards three hypotheses:1. Genre-based teaching approach can improve students’ reading ability.2. Genre-based teaching approach can stimulate students’ reading interest, increasetheir reading confidence, and help them form good habits of using readingstrategies.3. Genre-based teaching approach can cultivate students’ awareness of genre, whichcan be used to grasp certain communicative goals of the text.To test the above three hypotheses, the writer chooses two parallel classes amongsecond-year students and conducts the specific teaching experiment from Accountingmajors of Wenli College in Bohai University by using the quantitative and qualitativeanalysis method combined. The paper presents in detail the experimental samples,experimental procedures, and experimental instruments, including two readingcomprehension tests, two questionnaires, individual interviews and classroom observation.The writer collects and analyzes the data from the experiment and summarizes the majorfindings of the study. The study shows that the experiment has yielded the promising results: The results from comparisons of the two reading comprehension tests indicate thatthe students in the experimental class have their reading comprehension level improved.They can grasp the main ideas, find out the topic sentence, infer and make judge from thetext they are reading after the training of genre-based teaching approach. Findings fromanalyzing the two questionnaires reveal the changes of the experimental class students inthe aspects like reading strategies and genre awareness. Genre-based teaching approachcan stimulate students’ interest, build up their confidence in reading and help them to formgood habits of using reading strategies. It also can cultivate students’ genre awareness andhelp them to grasp certain communicative goals of the text. The classroom observation andinformal interviews, as the qualitative evidence, also prove the positive influence ofgenre-based teaching approach on college English reading.Genre-based teaching approach can be effectively applied in the college Englishreading teaching. Therefore, the study holds considerable pedagogical implications.Teachers should cultivate the students’ genre awareness and constantly apply the genreanalysis theory into practice by analyzing the structure and language style of the text toimprove the students’ overall reading ability.