NEWS & EVENTS
Appliable Linguistics Seminar 25
(Seminar on Language Science and System Science 91)
Time: 16:00, 11 May 2016
Venue: #312, School of Foreign Languages
Speaker: Prof. Wang Zhenhua
Title: Genre interference in text composing
Abstract:
We have examined several textbooks such as College English and English Composition. Though the contents of texts are updated, still there are some problems, such as:
● not many types of genre are covered,
● the arrangement of the genre types is not reasonable,
● theoretical knowledge of genre is not elaborated; even if there is elaboration, the elaboration and the instruction are not in good match.
Besides, when we examine the instructors’ comments on students’ writings, the instructors will emphasize the correctness of grammar and the choices of words. As to how well the writing is composed and how effective the writing realizes its goal, they give few comments.
Therefore, when assigned to writing, students often feel panic.
To solve the problems, we suggest that genre be applied to interfere students’ writing. We carried out some experiment with BA, MA and PhD students, and found that genre interference works, and their writings are improved in goal realization and rhetorical effect.
In this paper, we introduce our experiment and propose the application of genre theory in teaching writing. We would like to call on the instructors to learn and understand genre theory on the one hand. For example, to learn and understand types of genre such story genre, history genre, report-explanation genre, procedure genre, to name just a few. On the other hand, instructors illustrate comparatively different genre types with bad examples as well good ones, and finally assign students to compose on their own.
