Application Of Genre-based Approach In College English Writing Instruction

Writing owns a crucial important position in English learning. The methodology and approach of English writing instruction have been studied by researchers and teachers for many years. The purpose of this thesis is to study the effectiveness of genre-based teaching approach in college English writing instruction.By reviewing the literature, the author finds out the poor performance in students’ English writing, and there is a need for teachers to explore an efficient and practical teaching approach to improve Chinese students’ English writing proficiency. Since the 1980 s, the focus of linguistic study has been shifting from grammar to discourse. Linguists and educators pay lots of attention to “genre” theory. By using genre approach, the teacher presents the situation of a certain genre of writing and instructs students to compose their own writing with the help of model texts, teachers and their peers.In order to test the effectiveness of genre-based teaching approach in improving college English students’ writing proficiency, the author conducted an experimental study in Zhi Xing College of Northwest Normal University. The subjects are 30 college students of second-year chosen randomly from the department of education. During the experimental study, two writing tests chosen from CET-4 and two questionnaires were given to the subjects to test the effectiveness of genre-based approach before the experiment and after the experiment. Through 11-week instruction on students’ writing and by analyzing the collected data, including the P value(.000<.05) and the results of questionnaire, the author concludes that students have made a significant change in the study. In addition, the learners favor the approach and they have much more interest in writing in English than before. Its application allows learners to develop a positive attitude towards English writing.The author hopes that foreign language teachers can apply genre approach to the teaching of college English writing and make further study on it. Some limitations still exist in the study. Because of the limitation of time, the author didn’t own enough class time to present students with various models of different genres.Genre approach is an effective methodology in teaching writing, and its positive results from this study are helpful to handle the embarrassing condition of students’ slow progress in writing proficiency to some extent.