An action study on a process genre approach to teaching IELTS writing task 2 to non english major students at band 4 5 5 5 in a vietnamese university setting

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES
***************************

TRẦN THỊ THƠ

AN ACTION RESEARCH STUDY ON A PROCESS-GENRE
APPROACH TO TEACHING IELTS WRITING TASK 2 TO
NON-ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS AT BAND 4.5-5.5 IN A
VIETNAMESE UNIVERSITY SETTING
Nghiên cứu cải tiến sư phạm về việc áp dụng đường hướng kết hợp quá trình và
dựa vào thể loại trong việc dạy viết luận IELTS, phần 2, cho sinh viên khối không
chuyên tại một trường Đại học ở Việt Nam

M.A. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Field: English Teaching Methodology
Code: 60140111

HANOI-2016


VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES
***************************

TRẦN THỊ THƠ

AN ACTION RESEARCH STUDY ON A PROCESS-GENRE

APPROACH TO TEACHING IELTS WRITING TASK 2 TO
NON-ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS AT BAND 4.5-5.5 IN A
VIETNAMESE UNIVERSITY SETTING
Nghiên cứu cải tiến sư phạm về việc áp dụng đường hướng kết hợp quá trình và
dựa vào thể loại trong việc dạy viết luận IELTS, phần 2, cho sinh viên khối không
chuyên tại một trường Đại học ở Việt Nam

M.A. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Field: English Teaching Methodology
Code: 60140111
Supervisor:Dr. Hoàng Thị Hạnh

HANOI-2016


Statement of Ownership
I hereby declare that this thesis is my own work and that, to the best of my
knowledge, it contained no material previously published or written by another
person (except where explicitly defined in the acknowledgements), nor material
which has been submitted for the award of any degree or diploma of a university or
other institutions of higher learning.

Signature:

……………………………….

Name:

Trần Thị Thơ

Date :

2016……………………………….

i


Acknowledgements
To complete this thesis, I owe profound indebtedness to many people for
their enthusiastic help during the conduct of my research.
I would like to give my sincere thanks to my supervisor, Dr. Hoang Thi
Hanh,

for

her

invaluable

support,

helpful

guidance

and

considerable

encouragement, which plays a highly significant part in the completion of this
paper.
Besides, I would like to send my heartfelt thanks to fourteen students in my
class, who enthusiastically participated in the data collection process. In fact,
without their help, I could not complete this thesis.
Also, I owe a great debt of gratitude to my parents and my friends, who
have constantly encouraged me during the time when I conducted my research
paper.
Last but not least, I would like to thank my readers for their interests and
comments on this study.

ii


Abstract
Writing instruction has become a field of increasing interest at higher education
institutions in recent years. There have been numerous approaches to theteaching of
writing in the history of language teaching and these have led to several paradigm
shifts in the field. This study aimed to find out whether the implementation of the
process-genre approach can improve students‟ writing ability and performance in
IELTS writing task 2. The implementation of this approach in teaching and learning
IELTS writing task 2 in a Vietnamese University was investigated through
observation, interview and students‟ writing collections. The result indicates that
this approach help to improve students‟ ability and performance in writing,
including their understanding of the genre‟s purpose, the improvement of language
and ideas. However, this improvement was proved to be only valid in particular
genres and topics, in which students are prepared and provided with vocabulary and
ideas, but not in a variety of topics in IELTS. Therefore, some suggestions and
pedagogical implications were drawn out so that this approach could be applied
most effectively.

iii


Contents
Statement of Ownership .............................................................................................. i
Acknowledgements .................................................................................................... ii
Abstract ..................................................................................................................... iii
List of Abbreviations................................................................................................. vi
List of tables and figures .......................................................................................... vii
PART A: INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................1
1. Rationale of the Research ....................................................................................1
2. Aims, Scope, Methods, and Significance of the Study .......................................2
2.1. Aims and Objectives .....................................................................................2
2.2. Scope of the Study .........................................................................................3
2.3. Research methods ..........................................................................................3
2.4. Significance of the Study ..............................................................................3
PART B: DEVELOPMENT .......................................................................................4
CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW ....................................................................4
1.1. IELTS: the International English Language Testing System ...........................4
1.2. Process-based approaches .................................................................................5
1.2.1. Model of process-based approaches ...........................................................5
1.2.2. Advantages and disadvantages of process-based approaches ....................5
1.3. Genre-based approaches ...................................................................................7
1.3.1. Model of genre-based approaches ..............................................................7
1.3.2. Advantages and disadvantages of genre-based approaches .......................7
1.4. The Process Approach vs the Genre Approach ................................................9
1.5. Integrating process and genre approaches to teaching writing .......................11
1.6. Process-genre approaches ...............................................................................13
1.7. Previous studies on the applications of process-genre approach to teaching L2

writing: findings and limitations ............................................................................15
CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY ............................................................................17

iv


2.1. The current situation of IELTS in Vietnam ....................................................17
2.2. IELTS in National University of Civil Engineering (NUCE) ........................17
2.3. The Context of the Study and the Research Participants................................18
2.3.1. The research participants ..........................................................................18
2.3.2. The writing IELTS Preparation course in NUCE ....................................19
2.4. Action Research ..............................................................................................20
2.5. Data collection procedure ...............................................................................20
2.6. Data Collection Methods ................................................................................22
2.6.1. Observation ..............................................................................................22
2.6.2. Semi-structured interviews .......................................................................23
2.6.3. Collection of students‟ writings throughout the program ........................24
2.7. Data Analysis Procedures ...............................................................................24
2.7.1. Data from observations and interviews ....................................................24
2.7.2. Data from the collection of student‟s writings .........................................25
CHAPTER 3: ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS ...........................27
3.1. Findings and analysis ......................................................................................27
3.1.1. Students‟ perceptions of process-genre approach application .................27
3.1.2. The effectiveness of process-genre approach on students‟ writings ........34
3.2. Discussion .......................................................................................................43
CHAPTER 4: CONCLUSIONS ...............................................................................46
4.1. Synthesis of the study‟s major findings ..........................................................46
4.1.1. Research question 1 ..................................................................................46
4.1.2. Research question 2 ..................................................................................47
4.2. Pedagogical implications ................................................................................48

4.3. Limitations of the study ..................................................................................49
4.4. Suggestions for further studies .......................................................................50
REFERENCES ..........................................................................................................52
APPENDIXES ............................................................................................................ I

v


List of Abbreviations
AWL: Academic word list
EFL: English as a foreign language
EFC/C: error-free clause
EFT/T: error-free T-unit
IELTS: International English Language Testing System
K1000: the most frequent 1000 word families
K2000: the second 1000 most frequent words
NUCE: National University of Civil Engineering

vi


List of tables and figures
Table 1: The writing IELTS Preparation Course, Task 2 .........................................19
Figure 1: Task Achievement in Students‟ writings

35

Figure 2: Percentage of correct Reference, substitution and ellipsis, Conjunction and
Lexical cohesion........................................................................................................38
Figure 3: Percentage of error-free T-unit and error-free clauses ..............................40

Figure 4: The use of lexical resources ......................................................................42

vii


PART A: INTRODUCTION
1. Rationale of the Research
Writing skill is deemed to be difficult for EFL students in the language learning
(Richards, 1990). According to Richard and Renandya (2002), the difficulties
include those in generating and organizing ideas, using an appropriate choice of
vocabulary, sentence and paragraph organization and putting such ideas into an
intelligible text. As for Vietnamese EFL students, besides these difficulties, they
have to face many other obstacles when learning to write compositions in English,
especially to non-English major students who are taking IELTS exams.
In IELTS writing task 2, students are asked to respond to a topic by giving and
justifying an opinion, discussing the topic, summarizing details, outlining problems,
identifying possible solutions and supporting their ideas with reasons, arguments
and relevant examples from their own knowledge or experience (IELTS Test
Booklet, 2014). To non-English major students, it is even quite a challenge to make
a sentence on their own, not to mention a short simple paragraph. As a consequence,
the task of composing complicated essays like in IELTS writing task 2 become
harder, which they rarely perform well.
Although some approaches are applied in teaching writing such as process and
genre-based, besides the merits, there are also some drawbacks in each of these
approaches. The former helps learners to develop more effective ways of conveying
meaning and to better comprehend the content that they want to express (Walsh,
2004). However, it has a very restricted view of writing, in which the practice of
writing is identical regardless of what the topic is and who the writer or the reader is
(Badger & White, 2000). The latter is seen as an extension of the product approach,
in which the writing “varies with the social context in which it is produced” (Badger

& White, 2000, p. 155), also critised because it may not requires students to express

1


their own ideas or may be too dependent on the teacher finding suitable materials as
models (Caudery, 1998).
With the hope to seek for ways that can enhance students‟ writing skills in IELTS
task 2, especially of those who do not major in English, and lessen disadvantages of
process and genre-based approach, the researcher would like to test whether the
integrated approach of these two above which was developed by Badger & White
(2000) could help students improve their writing and whether they find such
approach effective.
2. Aims, Scope, Methods, and Significance of the Study
2.1. Aims and Objectives
This research tries to seek the possibilities to apply process-genre approach in
teaching writing skills to non-English major students in IELTS preparation courses.
While each approach has its own upsides and downsides in teaching application, the
more effective one for writing needs is to incorporate the insights of these
approaches (Badger & White, 2000). Also, this research aims to unpack the factors
that effect students‟ writing performance.
The above goals are specified into the following objectives:
 To explore the perspectives of the students towards process-genre approach in
learning IELTS writing task 2
 To see whether the application of the process-genre approach to teaching
writing IELTS task 2 to non-English major students is effective
To achieve the above-stated aims and objectives, the study was designed to answer
the following research questions:
(1) What do students perceive about process-genre approach in learning writing
IELTS writing task 2?

2


(2) Does the integrated process-genre approach help improve students‟
performance in IELTS writing task 2? If yes, to what extent?
2.2. Scope of the Study
The research is confined to the application of the process-genre approach to
teaching writing Task 2 in IELTS exams in a writing course of 15 lessons. A class
of 14 non-English major students was investigated.
2.3. Research methods
As regarded as “the practical judgment in concrete situations”, which support the
practitioner researchers in facing with the challenge and problems of practice and
carrying through innovations in a reflective way (Altrichter, Feldman, Posch, and
Somekh, 2013), the action research was selected to investigate the practicability of
process-genre approach in teaching and learning IELTS writing Task 2. The
research instruments were the pre-test and post-test, writing portfolios and
interviews.
2.4. Significance of the Study
There are some reasons motivating me to conduct this research. First of all, the
finding of this research will show how the process-genre approach and its stages
could change students‟ writing performance and reflect students‟ views and their
reactions on the process of teaching and studying writing. Thanks to that, I could
adapt my teaching methods and materials so that they could be suitable and useful
for my students.
Besides, for other classes in the similar context, this research may act as a reference
for pedagogical skills and research practice. Other teachers may find in this research
some suggestions or implications for their teaching writing IELTS and carrying out
further research on this issue.

3

PART B: DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW
This chapter reviews the literature on the process-genre approach to teaching IELTS
writing Task 2. It starts with some background information, definitions and theories
of key terms related and specific to this line of research. This is followed by a
critical review of previous studies on the applications of process approach, genrebased approach and the integrated of both to teaching L2 writing.
1.1. IELTS: the International English Language Testing System
IELTS, the International English Language Testing System, is designed to assess
the language ability of candidates who want to study or work where English is the
language of communication.
The IELTS test (academic module) is made up of four components: Listening,
Reading, Writing and Speaking. The Writing component is a direct test of writing,
requiring candidates to produce two samples of writing in 60 minutes allocated. In
Task 1, candidates write a short description of information presented in the form of
charts, diagrams, tables, and maps. Task 2 requires candidates to write a
composition, usually an essay, in response to a proposition or question. In both
tasks, candidates are assessed on their ability to write with “appropriate register,
rhetorical organization, style and content” (UCLES, 1996.)
According to the instruction in the IELTS Handbook (1999), in task 2, candidates
are presented with a point of view or argument or problem. In this task, the
candidates are assessed on their ability to: “provide general factual information”,
“outline a problem and present a solution”, “present and possibly justify an opinion,
assessment or hypothesis”, and “present and possibly evaluate and challenge ideas,
evidence and argument” (p.11). The instructions suggest that candidates will be

4

required to produce an argument type of text, which may be a discussion, opinion or
problem and solution essay.
1.2. Process-based approaches
1.2.1. Model of process-based approaches
Process-based writing is viewed as the way writers actually work on their writing
tasks from the beginning stage to the end of the written product. O‟Brien (2004)
defines this approach as an activity in which teachers encourage learners to see
writing not as grammar exercises, but as the discovery of meaning and ideas.
During the writing process, teachers can enable learners to explore their thoughts
and develop their own writing by using the five-step writing process model
developed from Scott (1996). This model consists of five stages, including:
prewriting, first draft composing, feedback, second draft writing, and editing
(Tompkins, 2000, p. 223)
Through the writing process, professional writers or even students hardly follow the
fixed sequence of writing stages linearly because they have to move back and forth
among different writing steps in order to come up with better ideas. In other words,
the stages of writing process may come flexibly, not in a fixed order. The writer
may evaluate while generating ideas or thinking up new ides when he does
evaluation (Scott, 1996).
Writing in the process approach can thus be seen as a dynamic and unpredictable
process (Tribble, 1990) while writers try to reformulate their ideas and approximate
the meaning of what they want to express in their work.
1.2.2. Advantages and disadvantages of process-based approaches
First, the process approach stresses the process that writers go through in
composing texts (Nunan, 1991). It allows students to manage their own writing by

5


giving students a chance to think as they write (Brown, 2001, p. 336). That is,

students convey their messages to the readers in written form through the complex
writing process; prewriting, drafting, revising, and editing.
The second point is related to what learners have internally. Brown (2001) claims
that the process approach is advantageous to students in language learning because
students are the creators of language, they need to focus on content and message,
and their own intrinsic motives are valued.. Raimes (1983) indicates that in the
process approach, students do not write on a given topic in a restricted time and
hand in the composition but explore a topic through writing. Raimes also states that
through the process approach teachers find that the writing process is a process of
discovery for the students: discovery of new ideas and new language forms to
express those ideas. In addition, the approach is beneficial to students because the
approach focuses more on the various classroom activities. This is believed to
promote the development of skilled language use, and a number of interesting
classroom techniques have emerged from the process approach to writing (Nunan,
1991). When various group activities are utilized in writing classes, the learners
exchange comments or responses, or work together to write a paragraph or an essay.
Nunan (1991) also affirms that this approach also encourages collaborative group
work between learners as a way of enhancing motivation and developing positive
attitudes towards writing.
In spite of being widely used in ESL/ EFL composition, process-based writing still
has some limitations. Firstly, as Leki (1992) asserts, some people think that the
process approach is unrealistic because it puts too much emphasis on multiple drafts
which may cause ESL students to fail the academic exams with their single draft
restrictions. In addition, Badger and White (2000) also point out that learners have
no clear understanding about the characteristics of writing and are provided
insufficient linguistic input to write in L2 successfully in a certain text type.

6

1.3. Genre-based approaches
1.3.1. Model of genre-based approaches
Hammond and Derewianka (2001) define the genre-based approach as the way to
language and literacy education that combines an understanding of genre and genre
teaching together in the writing class. The genre-based approach can be called
differently such as the “English for Academic Purposes approach” (Silva, 1990) or
the “English for Specific Purposes approach” (Dudley-Evans, 1997), they stress the
importance of various types of writing which are closely tied to social purposes
(Maley, 1996). According Cope and Kalantzis (1993), the genre approach to writing
consists of three phases: (1) the target genre is modeled for the students; (2) a text is
jointly constructed by the teacher and students; and (3) a text is independently
constructed by each student. According to Badger and White (2000), writing in the
genre-based approach is regarded as an extension of the product-oriented approach
since learners have an opportunity to study a wide variety of writing patterns; for
instance, the business letter, the academic report, and the research paper before.
1.3.2. Advantages and disadvantages of genre-based approaches
Studying a given genre provides students with an understanding of why a
communication style is the way it is through a reflection of its social context and its
purpose (Swales, 1990, p.695). Swales (1990) also pointed out how rhetorical
instruction plays as pivotal a role in writing improvement as prior knowledge. In
this context, the genre approach is very beneficial because it brings together formal
and functional properties of a language in writing instruction, and it acknowledges
that there are strong associations between them. As Bhatia (1993) and Kim & Kim
(2005) recommended, it is meaningful for writing instructors to tie the formal and
functional properties of a language together in order to facilitate students‟
recognition of how and why linguistic conventions are employed for particular
rhetorical effects. If the rhetorical structure of content is analyzed by students in the

7

genre approach, some common patterns can be identified in each genre. Naturally,
these patterns will form a kind of background knowledge students can activate in
the next learning situation. Eventually, the prior knowledge will make it easier for
students to produce acceptable structures in their writing tasks. Therefore, an
assigned genre seems to serve as an influential tool for both the learning and
teaching of writing (for both students and teachers).
Furthermore, according to Kay and Dudley-Evans (as cited in Kim, 2007) the genre
approach encourages students to participate in the world around them, to
comprehend writing as a tool that they can utilize, and to realize how writers
manage content to promote logical organization. It also allows students to become
more flexible in their thinking and eventually to realize how authors organize their
writings. However, some proponents have indicated that the genre approach is more
suitable for learners at beginning or intermediate levels of proficiency in a second
language rather than those at advanced levels, in that it releases students from deep
anxieties about their writing tasks. When people learn something new, they
commonly want to find some cases that they can refer to or consider as samples.
There is no doubt that writing tasks can be more demanding than other language
skills, so students at low level of proficiency need something that they can rely on
since they have little exposure to English writing (Kay & Dudley-Evans, 1998).
Despite genres‟ beneficial roles in helping learners to produce written work with
confidence, there are two concerns about the genre approach. One is that it
underestimates the skills required to produce content, and the other is that it
neglects learners‟ self-sufficiency (Byram, 2004). The genre approach not only
places too much emphasis on conventions and genre features but also is less helpful
for students in discovering the texts‟ true messages due to the targeted aspects of the
specified genre. Likewise, if teachers spend class time explaining how language is
used for a range of purposes and with a variety of readers, learners are likely to be
largely passive. Thus, the genre approach is blamed for limiting learners‟ creative

8


thoughts about content and is criticized in that it overlooks natural processes of
learning and learners‟ creativity (Badge & White, 2000). Finally, Bawarshi (2000)
pointed out that, at its best, it helps learners to identify and interpret literary texts,
while at its worst, it interferes with the learners‟ creativity. This concern means that
students may end up writing genres as meaningless reproductions.
1.4. The Process Approach vs the Genre Approach
In the process approach, the steps or stages are illustrated and practiced from the
generation of ideas and compilation of information through a series of activities for
planning, gathering information, drafting, revising, and editing (Campbell, 1998).
This sequence of activities typically occurs in four stages: “prewriting,
composing/drafting, revising, and editing” (Badger & White, 2000).
Proponents of the process approach argue that the procedures of process writing
help learners to develop more effective ways of conveying meaning and to better
comprehend the content that they want to express. They strongly believe that
students can discover what they want to say and write more successfully through
the process model than the genre approach, as the process approach is viewed as
writer-centered (Walsh, 2004, p. 15). However, none of the process writing
procedures of the past sufficiently dealt with linguistic knowledge, such as grammar
and the organization of content, as much as necessary. Even though the final stage
of editing addressed some mechanical features of language, they were mainly
concerned with the skills of processing ideas like planning and drafting.
Furthermore, the process approach has a very restricted view of writing, in that the
approach presumes that writing proficiency takes place only with the support of the
repeated exercise of the same writing procedures. Although it is obvious that the
amounts of pre-writing necessary for writing a personal letter and for creating an
academic research paper are different, in the process model, the practice of writing

9


is identical regardless of what the topic is and who the writer or the reader is
(Badger & White, 2000, pp. 154-155).
In genre approach, on the other hand, the knowledge of language is intimately
attached to a social purpose, and more focus is on the viewpoint of the reader than
on that of the writer. Writing is mostly viewed as the students‟ reproduction of text
based on the genre offered by teachers. It is also believed that learning takes place
through imitation and exploration of different kinds of models (Hyon, 1996, p. 705).
Accordingly, learners should be exposed to many examples of the same genre to
develop their ability to write a particular genre (Badger & White, 2000, p. 155).
Through exposure to similar texts, students can detect the specialized configurations
of that genre, and they also can activate their memories of prior reading or writing
experiences whenever they encounter the task of creating a new piece in a familiar
genre (Badger & White, 2000, p. 156).
When it comes to explaining writing development in the genre approach, Hammond
(1992, as cited in Burns, 2001) proposed “a wheel model of a teaching-learning
cycle having three phases: modeling, joint negotiation of text by learners and
teacher, and the independent construction of texts by learners” (p. 240). Modeling,
Hammond noted, is the time when the target genre that students should construct is
introduced to them. At this stage, discussion focuses on the educational and social
function of the genre, and analysis focuses on the text structure and language. Joint
negotiation of text refers to the stage when learners carry out exercises which
manipulate relevant language forms. It fosters a negotiating process between the
teacher and the students. It involves reading, researching, and disseminating
information, and the text of the genre is dependent on those activities. The
independent construction of texts is the final phase; in which learners produce
actual texts through activities such as choosing a topic, researching, and writing.

10


Proponents such as Kay and Dudley-Evans (1998) have argued that the genre
approach is more effective for learners to advance their writing skills in a second
language than the process approach since the model helps free students from their
severe worries over writing. For instance, Henry and Roseberry (1998), in an
experimental study, found that the learner‟s understanding of both the rhetorical
structure and the linguistic features was increased by the genre-based instructions
(Henry & Roseberry, 1998).
In conclusion, each writing approach, namely process and genre, has its own merits
and demerits. While the former help learners to express their idea effectively
through repetitive stages, the latter offer students the specific model/ sample to
follow, encouraging them to write without anxiety over writing. Therefore, to make
the best use of both and support students in writing, I decided to apply the
integrated approach into my teaching context, where students arein low level, at 3.54.0 in IELTS, lacking both of language and ideas but having to deal with
challenging tasks in various topics in task 2. The integrated one provides both
samples which make student become more confident to write and process to
practice writing.
1.5. Integrating process and genre approaches to teaching writing
The nature of writing is complex. According to Hyland, writing is “a sociocognitive activity” (2003b) in which writers need certain skills to deal with complex
cognitive processes in composing as well as knowledge of language, contexts, and
audiences. Tribble (1996) suggested that the writers need be aware of not only how
to write but also what to write in context. He also suggested that two significant
qualities of a person to write successfully include his ability to draw on a range of
appropriate processes when he is engaged in the creation of written texts and his
knowledge of the way in which context and content influence the genres of writing
which are typical of particular communicative event.

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It has been argued that, despite the criticisms of both process and genre adherents,
these approaches are not “mutually exclusive” (Hyland, 2004), although each
focuses on different aspects of writing. Badger and White also stated that the
conflict between the approaches is “misguided, and damaging classroom practice”
(2000) because process, product, and place (in the sense of settings, functions, and
background) of writing are closely inter-related (Archibald & Jeffery, 2000).
Process and genre approaches should be considered as compensating for the
weaknesses of the other (Badger & White, 2000; Hyland, 2003b).
Genre pedagogy is based on the assumption that learning is best accomplished
through an explicit awareness of language used in context, rather than a student‟s
inductive learning, but this does not mean replacing process oriented approaches
(Hyland, 2004, p. 21). However, Swales (1990), although shares the same above
ideas, admitted that the increase in self-confidence and skill in discovering ideas for
writing that students gain through a process oriented approach is important, but not
sufficient for learning genre skills. He suggested that genre acquisition should pay
at least equal attention to a writer‟s internal processes and the external factors of
composing.
Scholars studying writing (Badger & White, 2000; Hyland, 2003b, 2004; Tribble,
1996) have proposed the incorporation of both process and genre approaches to the
teaching of writing. Tribble added that process and genre approaches are not
“incompatible” (1996); it is possible to see that writing instruction that draws on the
strengths of both approaches can encourage students to express their ideas
individually in an authentic voice and to write socially appropriate text. Hyland
suggested that the synthesis of process and genre approaches in practice may ensure
that “learners have an adequate understanding of the processes of text creation; the
purposes of writing and how to express these in effective way through formal and
rhetorical text choices; and the contexts within which texts are composed and read
and which give them meaning” (2003b, p. 24). According to the survey of language

12


teachers from various countries by Kay and Dudley-Evans, the notion of synthesis
of these two approaches is also welcomed by language teachers, as they suggested
that deploying a process approach in conjunction with a genre based approach
“would combine knowledge about the genre product with the opportunity to plan,
draft, revise, and edit work, as well as provide the opportunity for greater
interaction” (1998, p. 312).
1.6. Process-genre approaches
The merits and drawbacks of process-based and genre-based described suggest a
new approach to teaching L2 writing, which combines these two approaches. This
combination has been termed the process-genre approach by Badger and White
(2000). This approach allows students to study the relationship between purpose
and form for a particular genre as they use the recursive processes of prewriting,
drafting, revision, and editing. Using these steps develops students‟ awareness of
different text types and of the composing process. The different activities included
in this approach ensure that grammatical and vocabulary items are taught not in
isolation, but in meaningful, interactive situations and derived from the particular
genre (Badge & White, 2000).
According to Badger and White (2000), the teaching procedure for the process
genre approach is divided into the following six steps: (1) preparation, (2)
modeling, (3) planning, (4) joint constructing, (5) independent constructing, and (6)
revising (p. 159), based on which Madhav Raj Belbase (2012) develops a short
description of what occurs during the six steps, which illustrates how elements of
the process and genre approaches work in unity.
Step 1: Preparation
The teacher begins preparing the students to write by defining a situation that will
require a written text and placing it within a specific genre, such as a persuasive

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essay arguing for or against an issue of current interest. This activates the schemata
and allows students to anticipate the structural features of the genre.
Step 2: Modeling
During this step the teacher introduces a model of the genre and lets students
consider the purpose of the text. For example, the purpose of an argumentative
essay is to persuade the reader to act on something. Next, the teacher discusses how
the text is structured and how its organization develops to accomplish its purpose.
Step 3: Planning
This step includes many meaningful activities that activate the students‟ schemata
about the topic, including brainstorming, discussing, and reading related material.
The aim is to help the students develop an interest in the topic by relating it to their
experience. Since they have to participate and contribute in the classroom, learners
will find the activities interesting and entertaining.
Step 4: Joint constructing
In this step, the teacher and students work together as a beginning of writing a text.
While doing so, the teacher uses the writing processes of brainstorming, drafting,
and revising. The students contribute information and ideas, and the teacher writes
the generated text on the black/white board. The final draft provides a model for
students to refer to when they work on their individual compositions. It fosters
collaborative writing. This step can be boosted by providing a very caring and
sharing environment by the teacher. This step will provide students with a chance to
write in a group and to prepare them for individual work.
Step 5: Independent constructing
By this time students will have examined model texts and have jointly constructed a
text in the genre. They now undertake the task of composing their own texts on a
related topic. Class time can be set aside for students to compose independently so

that the teacher is available to help, clarify, or consult about the process. The
writing task can also be continued as a homework assignment. The teacher has to
clarify what students should do for writing homework.

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Step 6: Revising and editing
Students lastly will have a draft that will undergo final revision and editing. This
does not necessarily mean that teachers have to collect all the papers and mark them
one by one. Students may check, discuss, and evaluate their work with fellow
students, as the teacher again guides and facilitates. The teacher may make an effort
to publish the students‟ work, which will impart a sense of achievement and
motivate the students to become better writers. Their final achievement will foster
self-esteem among learners as they have produced something.
In my research, this model of process-genre approach was applied to my writing
class.
1.7. Previous studies on the applications of process-genre approach to teaching
L2 writing: findings and limitations
As far as I have searched for the information, although there are studies related to
process approach and genre-based, most of them are about each approach solely.
There are only few conducted on the integrated process-genre approach.
Studies conducted in different contexts and different research populations show
positive effects of process-genre approach in writing not only in students‟
performance but also in their understandings on the purpose of particular genre and
the writing skills (Babalola, 2012, Gupitasari, 2013 and Handayani & Siregar,
2013). Their use of appropriate language and writing scores were both improved.
Also, the research by Gupitasari (2013) and Babalola (2012) show the effectiveness
of teacher‟s feedback and peer check during the process of teaching and studying
writing.

After reading these studies, I noticed to some limitations. Firstly, all quantitative
data of research above were collected from the assessment of a single and nonacademic genre, the application letters in that by Gupitasari(2013), and descriptive

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text in Handayani& Siregar‟s (2013), and written English in Babalola‟s (2012)
Therefore, these data might not be valid to other genres, especially to academic
essay like IELTS writing task 2. Secondly, although carried out by various data
collection instruments, none of them use interview to investigate student‟s views on
the application of this approach. Consequently, the finding that this approach
motivates students to write needs to be revised. Finally, none of these studies was
carried out in Vietnam, whose English education system is a little bit different in
some aspects. The finding interpretation, therefore, may not totally applicable here.
As an attempt to address these problems, this study applied the process-genre
approach in teaching a range of genres in IELTS writing task 2, such as the opinion,
discussion, problem-solution and causes-effects essays. Additionally, this research
was on the application of the integrated approach in the context of Vietnam
education environment, which could figured out some other benefits and limitations
of this approach to teaching writing in this context.

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