Teaching Language for Specific Purposes LG7004

Assignment 1

The Role of Genre in ESP and EAP

K164907

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The Role of Genre in ESP and EAP

The purpose of this essay is to present a brief overview of the role of genre in teaching English
for Specific Purposes (ESP) and English for Academic Purposes (EAP). Specifically, this paper
intends to focus on highlighting some of the current debates around the place of genre in ESP
and its implications for learners who are preparing for a Cambridge Exam.

The historic roots of ESP may be traced back to Noam Chomsky, whose generative theory of
grammar challenged previous behaviourist tenets. Chomsky argued for the conception of
grammar as a rule-bound system: once the rules of the system are absorbed, they can be
adjusted and subverted, lending themselves to unlimited opportunities for creativity of
expression. As Wilhem von Humboldt wrote, language “makes infinite use of finite means”
(cited in Chomsky 1964, p. 6). Mentalism suggests that the mind absorbs information in
specific contexts, but is then able to take what has been learned, employ a rule-bound system
to master it, and apply those rules and conditions to the pursuit of endless creative expression.
ESP is founded upon the mentalist conception of the mind’s functions. Applying this principle
to the understanding of genre in ESP is crucial because “language can only be properly
understood as a reflection of human thought processes” (Hutchinson & Waters 1987, p. 39).
The various skill requirements of different situations suggest that learning and application of
knowledge may not be one and the same. Specific contexts establish rules and conditions for
language use, which are then subverted, hybridized, and transformed into a wide variety of new
genres, with endless possibilities. The relationship between implicit knowledge and successful
mastery of genres (as opposed to the learning and application of prescribed rules to recognise
genre) is corroborated by Freedman (1994). According to her, it is the consciousness-raising
nature of activities through context-based studies of relevant texts that will enable genre-related
teaching to do well. ESP has developed into a subset of linguistic study that focuses on this
contextualization of language.

Basturkmen (2014, p. 47) notes that “a functional view of language is seen in different types
of enquiry in ESP, descriptions of speech acts, genres, and social interaction formulas used in
professional, workplace, or academic environments.” ESP may focus on the use of speech acts
by examining how they are used in target environments. Increasing sensitivity to ESP has led
scholars to consider that there may be different optimal environments and techniques for
learning and applying language. This idea is derived from careful attention to the specific
functions of language in different contexts. For example, ESP focuses on the idea of speech

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acts, a concept developed by Austin (1962, p. 25), which suggests that certain types of
utterances have their own justification as “not merely saying something, but doing something.”
Speech acts do not occupy their own unique position in the grammatical structure of language,
yet they have their own space in the application of language. ESP particularly concerns itself
with this distinction, looking at how ESP practitioners can address different styles of language
application within various classroom contexts.

Swales offers a widely accepted definition of genre, describing it as “a class of communicative

events with some shared set of communicative purposes” (cited in Paltridge 2013, p. 347).
Expanding on this definition, Ellis et al. (1998, p. 147) suggest, “A genre is a text, either spoken
or written, that serves a particular purpose in a society and is composed of a series of segments,
called moves.” Discussions of context-based language application occurred even before the
development of ESP as a discipline. DuBois observed the crucial importance of slides in
conference presentations years before discussion surrounding multimodality and ESP began
(cited in Paltridge 2013, p. 352). According to DuBois (1980, p. 45), a study of multiple
biomedical research presentations indicated that slides play a larger role than other non-
linguistic visual devices. This finding is particularly prescient; the point DuBois made only
grows increasingly relevant as technology becomes more accessible to all. The growing
potential for people to present language in a variety of forms only underscores the need for
ESP practitioners to pay more attention to genre.

DuBois’s observation about presentations illustrates one way that people naturally navigate
genres of language in their daily lives. Without even considering the concept of genre, people
know that during a presentation they will be speaking in a way that differs from the way they
speak colloquially. More formal grammar rules and a broader academic vocabulary may be
instinctively employed when formally presenting on a topic. What makes this challenging for
non-fluent presenters is that these skills of adaptation to genre and language context are often
taught implicitly. A language learner may have difficulty learning the specific generic rules
that make for a successful presentation. Students who are learning a new language need to be
made aware of the subtle shifts of genre that occur in various contexts of language use.
Similarly, ESL students learning how to prepare for the Cambridge Exams will need to become
familiar with the language genres expected on the exams. FCE Part 2, for example, tests the
learner’s ability to “write in the correct style, layout and register through a contextualised task”
(Davies and Falla, 2008).

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The field of academic study is host to a rich diversity of language genres. As stated by Hyland
and Hamp-Lyons (2002, p. 2), “English for Academic Purposes is generally defined quite
simply as teaching English with the aim of facilitating learners’ study or research in that
language.” As globalisation takes hold, more language-learning students are taking on specific
research topics in academia. As a result, the demand for EAP instruction has grown
considerably. The growing demand for more detailed EAP education is leading scholars to
pursue multi-disciplinary research into which genres are most important for EAP students to
learn. Two decades ago, Hyon (1996, p. 693) noted that “the concept of genre has been the
focus of a wave of studies in a number of fields concerned with LI and L2 teaching.” EAP
research indicates that genre-based teaching can have long-term effects on EAP students, many
of which recount explicit learning of language genres as part of their most effective learning
experiences (Hyon 2001, p. 432). Ellis et al. (1998, p. 147) suggest that in the context of EAP,
genre analysis is comprised of identifying the organization of moves, the linguistic features
experts of the genre use, and the social psychological explanations of why given moves are
effective. Leki and Carson (1997, pp. 63-64) recommend talking to ESL students about their
experiences in EAP to learn which genres work best for learning EAP.

Hutchinson and Waters discuss the specific role of genre in understanding ESP, especially in
terms of learning. A central debate in ESP focuses on the distinction between developing a
curriculum detailing what students should learn, and determining the most viable pedagogy to
apply this content effectively; should one take precedent over the other, or is an even
consideration of both required for a more holistic approach? According to Hutchinson and
Waters (1987, p. 61), “analysing what people do tells you little, if anything about how they
learnt to do it. Yet, the whole ESP process is concerned not with knowing or doing, but with
learning.” This becomes the basis for an inquiry into the optimal context for learning. Using an
ESP/EAP genre-based teaching approach in student preparation for the Cambridge Exams may
prove effective as “ESP is just one branch of EFL/ESL” (Hutchinson & Waters 1987, p. 18),
so students will be able to learn the specific contextual applications of language while being
scaffolded in more traditional ways through other ESL approaches.

Adelnia and Salehi (2016, pp. 194-195) present a recent, detailed study in which results of
students taking the Oxford Quick Placement Test (OQPT) are compared for two groups: one
learning by traditional methods and one learning with genre-based techniques. This research
presents a powerful argument in favour of employing genre-based techniques when preparing
ESL students for a test. Students will need to learn how to recognize and understand the

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rhetorical organisation of the Cambridge Exams. Teachers must consider how they could best
explain the linguistic organisation of the exam, and how that relates to the knowledge being
tested. Students who better understand the expected linguistic parameters for testing will likely
score better on tests. It has been noted however, that the product-based nature of learning in
genre-based approach could mislead to association by learners between texts and fixed patterns
(Paltridge 2013, p. 356), hence the need for language instructors preparing their class for a
Cambridge Exam to integrate “teaching about” genre as opposed to solely focussing on the end
product. A process-oriented genre study in line with Flowerdew’s (1993) idea of genres as
“prototypes which allow for individual variation” would familiarise the students with the
Cambridge Exam and how it is constructed. By looking at a past copy of the exam, students
could develop an understanding of how the questions are structured linguistically, and how that
structure relates to the required knowledge. Partridge also refers to recent, less notorious studies
that place students’ own prior knowledge of genres as an important tool when faced with the
task of producing “contextually appropriate texts in specific purpose settings” (2013, p. 356).
In a sense, teachers are searching for genres as “recurrent global patterns” in the Cambridge
exam to make the content more relatable to contexts with which language learners may already
be familiar (Martin & Rose 2008, p. 5).

The concept of linguistic genres is derived from the influence of mentalism on contemporary
linguistic, which highlights the flexibility of the mind to learn in one environment and make
creative applications of that knowledge in another. ESP is particularly concerned with the genre
of language that best elicits successful learning. By providing suggestions of linguistic context,
teachers can scaffold learners by helping them to understand the ways that language can be
adapted to different environments. Integrating a genre-based focus to the delivery of
Cambridge Exams preparation courses may help language learners better understand how to
appropriately answer specific questions in a specific context. In further research, one could
explore how the community, discipline and literacy notions discussed by Hyland and Bondi
(2006) can provide a deeper insight into genre approach in a broader application of EAP.

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References

Adelnia, R & Salehi, H. (2016), Improving Iranian high school students' reading
comprehension using the tenets of genre analysis, Advances in Language and Literary Studies,
vol. 7, no. 4, (pp. 187-196).

Austin, JL. (1962), How to do things with words, Oxford UP, London.

Basturkmen, H. (2014), Ideas and options in English for Specific Purposes, Lawrence Erlbaum
Associates, Mahwah.

Chomsky, N. (1964), Aspects of the theory of syntax, Massachusetts Institute of Technology,

Cambridge.

Davies, P. and Falla, T. (2008). FCE result. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Dubois, BL. (1980), The use of slides in biomedical speeches, The ESP Journal, vol. 1, no. 1,
(pp. 45-50).

Ellis, R., Johnson, KE., Henry, A. & Roseberry, RL. (1998), An evaluation of a genre‐based
approach to the teaching of EAP/ESP writing, TESOL Quarterly, vol. 32, no. 1, (pp. 147-156).

Freedman, A. (1994). Do As I Say: The Relationship between Teaching and Learning New
Genres. In Freedman, A. & Medway, P. (Eds.), Genre and the New Rhetoric (pp. 191 - 210).
London: Taylor and Francis.

Hutchinson, T. & Waters, A. (1987), English for Specific Purposes, Cambridge University
Press, Cambridge.

Hyland, K. and Bondi, M. (2006). Academic Discourse Across Disciplines (Linguistic

Insights). Peter Lang Publishing Group.

Hyland, K. & Hamp-Lyons, L. (2002), EAP: Issues and directions, Journal of English for
Academic Purposes, vol. 1, no. 1, (pp. 1-12).

Hyon, S. (1996), Genre in three traditions: Implications for ESL, TESOL Quarterly, vol. 30,
no. 4, (pp. 693-722).

Hyon, S. (2001), Long-term effects of genre-based instruction: A follow-up study of an EAP

reading course, English for Specific Purposes, vol. 20, (pp. 417-438).

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Leki, I. & Carson, J. (1997), Completely different worlds: EAP and the writing experiences of
ESL students in university courses, TESOL Quarterly, vol. 31, no. 1, (pp. 39-69).

Martin, JR. & Rose, D. (2008), Genre Relations: Mapping Culture, Equinox Textbooks and
Surveys in Linguistics, London Equinox Publishing Ltd., London.

Paltridge, B. (2013), Genre and English for specific purposes in B. Paltridge & S. Starfield,
(eds), The Handbook of English for Specific Purposes, Wiley, Hoboken, (pp. 347-366).