A brief rundown of genre in the teaching o English as a First Additional Language in the South African Context

1. Genre and the teaching of
English as an Additional
Language

2. In the South African Context
• The Senior Phase EFAL CAPS states that the major learning approach
is text based.
• “The text-based approach explores how texts work. The purpose of
the text based approach is to enable learners to become competent,
confident and critical readers, writers, viewers and designers of texts.
It involves listening to, reading, viewing and analysing texts to
understand how they are produced and what their effects are.
Through this critical interaction, learners develop the ability to
evaluate texts. The text-based approach also involves producing
different kinds of texts for particular purposes and audiences. This
approach is informed by an understanding of how texts are
constructed.”

3. The Genre Approach to
teaching Language

4. Background to the Genre Approach
• The Genre approach became popular in the 1980s
• additional language teaching
• based on the work of Michael Halliday in Australia.
• text is the central teaching tool –
• read, analyse and construct texts using guidelines or rules about the structure
of different types of texts.
• purpose of all text is communication
• purpose, audience and meaning accentuated throughout the cycle of reading
and writing.

5. What is Genre?
TEXT TYPE
• Every text has a specific purpose and usually a specific
audience.
• 3 main social purposes of texts (genres)
• Engaging/entertaining
• Informing
• Evaluating

7. Stages (structure)
• Each genre has a specific structure
• goes through a series of steps to achieve its purpose.
• Steps are more or less predictable
• Stages – most predictable steps
• Eg Orientation, Complication and Resolution in a
narrative.
• NB: Any text will have more than one purpose, but it is its
main purpose that determines its stages

8. Some Genres used in Senior
Phase

9. Narratives
• Stories
• Purpose – to entertain
• Stages
• orientation - who, what, where, when, etc,
• complication – a problem - can get worse, partly
resolved, involve some description or comment
• resolution - problem is finally resolved

10. Exercise
• Think of a well known story
• Identify the 3 stages of the story
Think of a
story ….

11. Language patterns in a narrative
• These include
• descriptive or figurative language
• direct speech
• action nouns
• Tense can vary

12. Factual Reports
• Classify and describe things
• Purpose - to inform
• Stages
• classification
• description

14. Language Patterns in a report
• These include
• timeless present (facts are always the facts, and will never
change)
• action verbs – eat, hunt, etc

15. Explanations
• To explain phenomena and how they work
• Purpose – to inform
• Stages
• Classification
• Explanation
• Mostly found in Science and related subject books and textbooks

16. How does Whatsapp work?
WhatsApp is a free third party application which allows you to
communicate with your friends and family, share images, videos and
links using network access.
PHENOMENON
EXPLANATION
This application is internet based. The application, once installed,
creates a user account in the database.
Fact 1
After that it accesses the smartphones phonebook and syncs it with its Fact 2
own database making it easier for the user to connect with his/her own
contacts those who have accounts on Whatsapp.
Fact 3
One of the most versatile features of Whatsapp is the ability to send
messages to large groups of people at once

17. Language patterns in explanations
• These include
• Timeless present
• Time and sequence words – first, next, after

18. Procedural Texts
• 3 types
• Procedures
• Purpose – explain or instruct how to do a task/experiment
• Procedural Recounts
• Purpose -explain how a task/experiment was done
• Protocols
• Purpose – explain what to do or not to do eg rules

19. • Procedure stages
• Purpose
• Equipment
• Method
• Procedural recount stages
• Purpose
• Method
• Results

20. Exercise
• Discuss a procedure on how to make tea
• Purpose, Equipment, Method
How would you
tell someone how
to make tea?

21. Language patterns in procedural texts
• Procedure
• Often use phrases not sentences
• Present tense
• Action verbs – imperatives – put, do, boil, etc
• Procedural recount
• Past tense
• Action verbs/imperatives

22. Evaluating texts - Arguments
• Used in academic writing
• Purpose – present and support a point of view
• Stages
• Thesis – state the point of view
• Argument – points to support the point of view
• Reiteration – restate the thesis, stating how it has been
proved

23. Language patterns in Arguments
• These include
• Nominalisation
• Text connectives to link ideas and paragraphs

24. Evaluating texts - reviews
• Often found in EFAL writing exercises as Book Reviews.
Other personal writing such as diaries of events are also a
type of review
• Purpose - react to an event or text
• Stages
• Context
• Description
• Evaluation

25. Language patterns in reviews
• These include
• Use of personal pronouns (eg “I”)
• Opinion