http://eca.state.gov/education/engteaching/pubs/BR/functionalsec4_10.htm Genre Approaches 10 Applied Genre Analysis and ESP Vijay K. Bhatia More than simply an act of linguistic description, discourse analysis is a linguistic explanation attempting to answer the question, why members of specific discourse communities use the language the way they do. Taking communicative purpose as the key characteristic feature of a genre, this paper will first highlight some of the major features of genre theory which make it attractive for application to language teaching. The second section discusses how a genre-based approach to language learning and teaching helps the learner to use language purposely. The final section illustrates a genre-based approach to language teaching using examples from materials designed for specific professional contexts. Introduction Recent work in applied genre analysis (Swales, 1981a, 1990; Bhatia, 1983a, 1993; Dudley-Evans, 1986; Berkenkotter and Huckin, 1995) has reiterated the importance of linguistic analysis in the practice of language teaching. Discourse analysis is viewed not simply as an act of linguistic description but more as linguistic explanation, attempting to answer the question, why do members of specific discourse communities use the language the way they do? The answer requires input not from linguistics alone, but equally importantly, fro sociolinguistic and ethnographic studies, psycholinguistic and cognitive psychology, communication research, studies of disciplinary cultures and insights from members of such discourse communities, to name only a few crucial sources of information. Taking communicative purpose as the key characteristic feature of a genre, the analysis attempts to unravel mysteries of the artifact in question. Genre analysis thus, has become one of the major influences on the current practices in the teaching and learning of languages, in general, and in the teaching and learning of ESP and English for Professional Communication (EPC), in particular. In this paper I would like to demonstrate the use of genre theory to the teaching of ESP. I will do this in the following three sections. 1. The first section will highlight some of the major characteristic features of genre theory which make it attractive for applications to language teaching. 2. The second section will discuss how a genre-based approach to language learning and teaching helps the learner to use language purposefully. 3. The final section will illustrate a genre-based approach to language teaching by taking examples from materials designed for specific professional contexts. What Is Genre Analysis? Genre analysis is the study of situated linguistic behavior in institutionalized academic or professional settings. It has the following four characteristics. * Rather than providing a detailed extension, validation or otherwise of one linguistic framework or the other, genre analysis shows a genuine interest in the use of language to achieve communicative goals. In this sense, it is not an extension of linguistic formalism. * However, genre analysis does not represent a static description of language use but gives a dynamic explanation of the way expert users of language manipulate generic conventions to achieve a variety of complex goals. In this sense, it combines the advantages of a sociolinguistics perspective, especially the use of ethnographic information, with those of a cognitive perspective, especially regarding the tactical use of language. * It is primarily motivated by applied linguistic concerns, especially language teaching at various levels. * It is narrow in focus but wide in vision, focussing on specific differentiation in language use at various levels of generality. Genre-Based Approach To ESP In my view, there are at least four distinct, though systematically related, areas of competence that an ESP learner needs to develop in order to get over his or her lack of confidence in handling specialist discourse. Even if most of these learners already possess a reasonably adequate competence in the use of the language for general every day functions, they will still need to develop a. understanding of the specialist code, b. familiarity with the dynamics of specialist genres, which includes the rhetorical forms and content, c. specific contexts they respond to and the conventions they tend to use in their responses, and finally, d. a proficiency in the manipulation of specialist genres to respond to the exigencies of unfamiliar and novel situations. In other words, learners need to develop the understanding of code, the acquisition of genre knowledge associated with the specialist culture, sensitivity to cognitive structuring of specialist genres and then, and only then, can they hope to exploit generic knowledge of a repertoire of specialist genres by becoming informed users of the discourse of their chosen field. The following elaborates each of these four stages. (1) Knowledge of the Code The knowledge of the code, of course, is the pre-requisite for developing communicative expertise in specialist or even everyday discourse. Most of the ESL programs all over the world aim to achieve this with varying degrees of success. However, it is important to note that an almost perfect knowledge of the code is neither necessary nor sufficient for successful ESP instruction, though it does seem to be a popular myth that we language teachers often believe. This myth has gained popular currency among many ESP teachers who believe that any form of ESP work requires almost perfect competence in the use of the code. Where teachers hold such a belief, further ESL instruction invariably incorporates tedious remedial teaching, often resulting in less than satisfactory consequences. We often fail to recognize that if seven to eight years of ESL instruction have failed to equip the learner with this desired level of competence, further remedial work, because of its essentially repetitive nature, will be far less effective. The other side of the myth is that if somehow second language learners can be given so called underlying linguistic competence , then there is no need to develop ESP competence because the learners will be able to cope with the flow of new information in any subject discipline, just as a native speaker does. This claim, at best, seems to be grossly overstated and, at worst, seriously flawed. The claim seems to rest on the somewhat naive assumption that the main difference between everyday use of language and specialist discourses lies in the use of specialist lexis. However, much of the work done in discourse and genre analysis in professional and academic contexts in the last two decades strongly suggests that there are fundamental differences in the use of lexico-grammatical, semantico-pragmatic and discoursal resources in specialist genres. (2) Acquisition of Genre Knowledge To participate in a specialist communicative event, one must acquaint oneself not only with the communicative goals of a particular discourse community, but also with the communicative goal-oriented purposes associated with specific use of genres. Therefore, before learners undertake any goal-driven communicative activity, they need to become aware of appropriate rhetorical procedures and conventions typically associated with the specialist discourse community they aspire to join. Genre knowledge of this kind is a form of situated cognition,which appears to be inextricable from professional writers' procedural and social knowledge (Berkenkotter and Huckin, 1995:13). Learners need to acquire genre knowledge, procedural knowledge (which includes a knowledge of tools and their uses as well as their discipline's methods and interpretive framework), and social knowledge (in the sense of familiarity with the rhetorical and conceptual context) in order to become better informed apprentices. As Fairclough (1992) points out, ... a genre implies not only a particular text type, but also particular processes of producing, distributing and consuming texts. (3) Sensitivity to Cognitive Structures Having understood the goals of the specialist community and to some extent internalized some of the conventions associated with specialist genres used by them, the learner will then need to become familiar with the way language is typically used to achieve these goals and communicative purposes. In addition, learners will need to exploit these conventions in response to changing socio-cognitive demands in specific professional contexts or certain novel situations and purposes. This can be developed by sensitizing learners not only to the generic forms and content in genre-specific texts but also to their emerging responses to changes in social practices. Surprisingly, even after specialist learners become reasonably competent in language for everyday situations, they may still need further knowledge of the code. Recent research in the study of a variety of academic and professional genres (see Bhatia, 1983a, 1992, 1993) indicates that although there can be large areas of overlap in the use of lexico-grammatical resources across various professional contexts, there certainly are specific uses of lexico-grammatical features which carry typically genre-specific values in specialized contexts. Swales (1981b) has investigated the use of definitions in student writing in science, textbooks in economics, and legislation and found that the distribution, the form, and the functional value these definitions carry differ radically in the three genres. More recently, Bhatia (1992) has found that the use of nominals in advertising, scientific academic genres, and legislation differs significantly in terms of their form, distribution, and discoursal values. These and similar findings of this nature indicate that just as certain lexical items have specialist meanings in specific professional genres, a number of syntactic forms may also carry genre-specific restricted values in addition to their general meanings codified in grammar books. Therefore, it is imperative that the specialist learner become aware of restricted aspects of linguistic code in addition to the general competence he or she requires in the language. Genre-based grammatical explanations raise learners' awareness of the rationale of the text-genre that they are required to read and write. Rather than simply learning to read and produce a piece of text as a computer does, students should develop a sensitivity to the conventions in order to ensure the pragmatic success of the text in the appropriate academic or the professional context. As Swales so aptly noted, ... A genre-centered approach is likely to focus student attention on rhetorical action and on the organizational and linguistic means of its accomplishment. (4) Exploitation of Generic Knowledge It is only after learners have developed some acquaintance or, better yet, expertise at levels discussed above, that they can confidently interpret, use or even take liberties with specialist discourse. The first three stages mentioned above mostly involve understanding conventions, whereas this last stage includes exploiting and taking liberties with conventions to achieve pragmatic success in specified professional contexts. Genre-Based Approach In Action Case one : UNDP-Government of Singapore self-access project The genre-based approach to ESP materials development for ESP is relatively new. Following is a description of the UNDP-Government of Singapore Project in the Teaching of English in Meeting the Needs of Business and Technology undertaken to develop EBT (English for Business and Technology). These materials were used on a self-access basis to supplement the existing mainline programs at the then two polytechnics in Singapore.1 The materials are primarily based on the description of authentic linguistic data, where the focus is not just on the language (lexico-grammar and cognitive structure) but also on the conventions and procedures that shape the genres in question. The materials, therefore, do not simply promote the awareness of the linguistic system underlying a particular genre but also offer genre-specific explanations as to why certain features of language realize specific values in individual genres. The underlying principle, therefore, is to take the learner from pure descriptive linguistic tasks towards genre-specific explanations of why such linguistic features are used and to what effect. The intent is to help the learner to use language more effectively in academic and professional settings and to bring much-needed psychological reality and relevance to the learning task. The approach to genre analysis and materials design seeks to clarify rather than prescribe. Once learned and adequately understood, the conventions and procedures can be exploited creatively to achieve private ends within the socially recognized communicative purposes. Each unit is devoted to a specific (sub)genre and consists of a head text followed in most cases by a set of three head worksheets. The head text represents a standard or model example of the particular (sub)genre and sets out the main rhetorical moves or steps needed for its adequate realization by color-coding each move. Each head text is followed by a set of three head worksheets. Head worksheet 1 is meant to help the learner internalize the interpretative generic structure of the genre in question. This highlights the main discoursal strategies that are conventionally exploited to achieve communicative ends in specific academic and professional settings. This worksheet gives the learner what Carrell (1983) refers to as formal schemata in the form of discoursal conventions that are typically associated with the genre. Head worksheet 1 in the Business volume, for example, begins with a head text, which is taken as a standard or model example of a sales promotion letter (See Bhatia and Tay, 1987:1). After the learners have read the head text, they are provided with a detailed explanation of the communicative purpose of the (sub)genre and the various Moves the writer makes use of to achieve that purpose. The Moves are also color-coded in the head text in order to make them obvious to the learner. The explanation contains no technical or other difficult vocabulary, except the names of the Moves, which are kept in simple terms. The purpose of such an explanation is to provide the learner with what Carrell (1983) refers to as 'content schemata' which the learner uses to understand the strategies that an expert genre writer employs to achieve his communicative purpose(s). The explanation can be given on the audio or video tape or in written form. The teacher must first ensure that the learners have understood and internalized both a typical communicative structure (formal schema) and the conventionalized patterns of knowledge, beliefs and experience of the specialist community associated with the genre in question. The head worksheet gives further practice to the learner in the following three aspects of genre construction and comprehension: 1. Acquisition of the knowledge of the promotional genre through explanation 2 Sensitization to generic form and content through analysis 3. Use and exploitation of generic knowledge through variation in contexts. Each exercise is, therefore, preceded by significant explanation of the strategy used by the author to achieve his or her intention. Exercise 2, for example, is not simply a mechanical exercise in the identification of various Moves in the genre, but it also introduces the learner to different ways of establishing credentials, (see exercise A below), including a case where the author needs to skip such a conventional realization of the first Move , as in exercise B below (slightly modified versions from Bhatia and Tay, 1987: 5). Exercise 2 A Explanation The writer of a promotional letter can use the Move ESTABLISHING CREDENTIALS not only by (1) referring to the needs of the business world in general or the needs of a customer in particular as in Mr. Huff's letter but by (2) referring to his own company's achievements/speciality as well. In the following example, C E Holidays, the name synonymous with the very best in travel trade with 20 years of professional expertise, will present you with a variety of programmes. the writer ESTABLISHES CREDENTIALS by stating his company's past experiences and field of specialization. Either of these two strategies or, both may realize this Move. Instructions Label the following text to indicate how many different strategies the author uses in ESTABLISHING CREDENTIALS of his company. The next 12 months are going to be difficult ones for Singapore industries as a whole. We, at Marco Polo are fully aware of the current market situation and are continuously upgrading our facilities and amenities to meet new competition. B Explanation In certain cases when the company has had past business dealings with the customer, the writer does not need to ESTABLISH CREDENTIALS. Instead, the writer can choose to begin the letter by thanking the customer for his continued support. The following is an example of this kind. You have now been a member of International Airline Passenger Association for about three months. Your continuing support keeps our worldwide organization strong and we want you to know that we appreciate your confidence in our services. Instructions Label the strategies that the author uses in the following text examples to ESTABLISH CREDENTIALS. (1) With the current economic downturn we would like to take this opportunity to express our sincere appreciation for your support during the past months. (2) Have you ever wished there was one study providing you with a step-by-step guide to establish a joint venture in the People's Republic of China? Head worksheet 2 focuses mainly on the linguistic realizations of various rhetorical moves and the genre as a whole. Although the worksheet is meant to provide practice in the use of appropriate language, the grammatical explanation offered at each stage is invariably genre-specific, and therefore, more relevant to the task in hand. The following is an example taken from Head Worksheet 2 (Bhatia and Tay, 1987: 9-11). Head worksheet 3 (not shown here) gives more advanced practice in free genre writing. It often concentrates on refinement and creative variation in style, grammatical appropriateness and other aspects of genre construction, like editing and revision, often using easification devices (see Bhatia, 1983b). Another significant aspect in these exercises is that they all make use of more or less authentic, (though grammatically imperfect and stylistically weak and inadequate) examples from the real world. This is much more useful for learning purposes than texts especially written with inserted lexico-grammatical or stylistic errors. Learners are more likely to face realistic errors actually committed by a professional or academic community than those invented by the teacher. Exercises in this worksheet also take the learner systematically from relatively simple and controlled to more complex and advanced free genre writing. (Bhatia and Tay, 1987: 26-27). Head Worksheet 2 Exercise 1 (A) Explanation The writer of a promotional letter establishes the importance of his company either by referring to the business needs in general and the customer needs in particular or by referring to his company's achievements/speciality. There are certain typical language features which characterize the different ways of establishing credentials. For instance, notice the use of the pronouns, you/we and the general/specific references in the examples that follow. 1. Referring to the customer's needs: Have you ever thought how much time your typist wastes in taking down your letters? Pronominal Reference: You 2. Referring to the general business needs: Every woman dreams of having at least one really beautiful coat and here is a splendid opportunity to make that dream come true. General Reference: Every woman 3. Referring to the company's achievements/speciality: We are fully aware of the current market situation and are continuously upgrading our facilities and amenities to meet new competition. Pronominal Reference: We C E Holidays, the name synonymous with the very best in the travel trade, present you with a wide variety of tour programmes. Specific Reference: Name of the Company - C E Holidays' Instructions Now, observe the use of references in the following sentences and tick them under the headings given to indicate the two ways (needs/achievements) of establishing credentials. 1. Are you deafened by the ceaseless noise of typewriters and calculating machines? 2. Why do thousands of people who normally suffer from the miseries of cold weather wear thermotex? 3. At the Ideal Home Exhibition, which opens at Earl Court on 21 June, we have attractive new designs in furniture, and many new ideas. 4. How can project managers plan and effect strategies which facilitate the accomplishments of an I/S project? 5. We at Wright Services are experienced Management Consultants with experience in industries as diverse as mining, banking and manufacturing. Customer's needs General business needs Company' achievements/ speciality Check with Answer Sheet (B) Explanation Instructions Now observe that in the following examples, the writer refers to his company's achievements/speciality in two ways: 1. Factual evidence: He not only states that a product/service is good but also presents some data in the form of facts and figures to illustrate its worth. EXAMPLE: C E Holidays, the name synonymous with the very best in the travel trade, with 20 years of professional expertise, will present you with a wide variety of tour programmes. Factual evidence : 20 years of professional expertise 2. Unsupported generalizations and high pressure talk: He states that a product/service is efficient without presenting specific reasons and explanations to prove its worth. EXAMPLE: Unsupported generalizations continuously upgrading our facilities and amenities. Instructions Indicate in the boxes which of the sentences below uses factual evidence or unsupported generalizations in referring to the company's achievements/specialty. 1. We, the experienced carpet-markets, guarantee our carpets to last for 10 years. We use oriental wool exclusively-- every fibre of wool is at least 12 inches long and our carpets have 400 knots to every square inch. 2. We at Tech Craft make the best plastic pipes on the market today. They represent the very best in chemical research. 3. How would you like to have solar heating installed in your home at 50% actual cost? 4. What would you say to a gift that gave you a warmer and more comfortable home, free form draughts and a saving of over 20% in fuel costs? Factual evidence Unsupported generalizations Check with Answer Sheet (C) Improve the following sentences by providing factual evidence. 1. We have insulated a large number of houses and reports from all over confirm that there is a considerable reduction in the fuel bill after insulation. 2. In Singapore, LEP International Ltd. has been operational for a long time and the services offered by our aircargo division include in and out-bound aircargo consolidation, import clearance, cargo delivery and collection and warehousing in the Changi Airport complex. 3. The Valuation Department of this firm has been in existence since the setting up of the firm's office and now comprises many qualified valuers. Although the materials in their present form contain only one set of worksheets called the head worksheets, several sets of additional worksheets have been prepared to bring in more variety focussing more and more on advanced creative aspects of genre construction, use and exploitation. Case Two : MA in Law and Language, City University of Hong Kong Context The MA in Law and Language program at the City University of Hong Kong is a unique postgraduate programme designed for those professionals in various industrial, management and bureaucratic institutions who although not legal experts are nevertheless required to be able to read, understand, interpret, translate and sometimes write legal documents as part of their daily professional activities. As part of the program, they have one module on English for Law, which trains them in the use of English in typical legal settings. Although able to use English in their every day life when they find it necessary, they understandably feel quite nervous when handling legal language, especially legal rules and regulation, legal agreements and contracts. As part of their daily routine, most of them are often required, among other things, to read, interpret, translate and explain ordinances, legislative acts, contracts and agreements to their superiors and quite often to members of the general public. Communicative Needs These students need to develop some of the following skills. * The ability to understand why legal documents are written the way they are * The ability to understand how these documents are constructed, interpreted, and used * The ability to read and clarify these legal documents for the benefit of lay audiences And, most of all, * The acquisition of increased self-confidence, and sensitivity to the use of legal genres by acquiring genre skills, including those of rhetorical consciousness Meeting the needs: Integrating Process, Product and Purposes Without specifying the details of methods and materials used, I would like to discuss one of the units based on the use of a single text in order to develop some of the skills I have referred to in the preceding paragraphs. Preparatory Work The learners are assumed to be linguistically competent. They are given background information about the contexts in which legislative rules are drafted, interpreted, and used in legal settings. Particular attention is paid to the dual characteristics of legal rules, i.e., clarity, precision, and unambiguity, on the one hand, and all-inclusiveness, on the other. The learners are then given sufficient practice in analysis of legislative sentences, focusing especially on the use of lexico-grammatical devices which are typically used to make their interpretation and use certain as well as flexible. Particular attention is paid to the identification and use of complex-prepositional phrases and qualificational insertions to make rules clear, precise, and unambiguous and binomial expressions to make them all-inclusive. Considerable attention is also paid to cognitive structuring typically associated with legislative sentences. In addition, the learners are given some practice in identifying psycholinguistic problems resulting from discontinuities in syntax as a result of qualificational insertions. This all requires approximately ten to twelve hours of work. It also involves the use of several typical textual illustrations in the class and as part of individual and/or group work. Illustrative Material At this stage the learners are introduced to the notion of easification for the specialist audience and simplification for the lay audience, which are introduced as two different genres, because they serve two different communicative purposes, and are meant for two different audiences. As illustrated in Bhatia (1983b and 1993: 145), easification is an attempt to make a professional text more accessible to the learner by using a variety of devices which guide the reader without making any drastic changes to the original content of the text. In the legislative context, the most appropriate and useful easification devices include those which not only clarify the cognitive structuring in the expression of complex legal contingencies but also reduce the information load at particular points in legislative statements. These easification procedures make the text easier to process while preserving the generic integrity of the original. Simplification procedures, on the other hand, create alternative textualizations meant for a lay audience. The following example illustrates one easification device: Look at the following sections from an agreement between the publishers and the author, and complete the tasks given at the end. Original Version The author hereby warrants to the Publishers that the author has the right and power to make this Agreement and that the Work is the Author's own original work, except for material in the public domain and such excerpts from other works as may be included with the written permission of the copyright owners, and will in no way whatever give rise to a violation of any existing Copyright, or a breach of any existing agreement, and that the Work contains nothing defamatory or libelous and that all statements contained therein purporting to be facts are true and that nothing in the Work is liable to give rise to a criminal prosecution or to a civil action for damages or any other remedy and the author will indemnify the Publishers against any loss, injury or expense arising out of any breach or alleged breach of this warranty. The Publishers reserve the right to alter or to insist the Author alter the text of the Work in such a way as may appear to them appropriate for the purpose of removing or amending any passage which on the advice of the Publishers' legal advisers may be considered objectionable or likely to be actionable at law without affecting the Author's liability under this Clause in respect of any passage not so removed or amended. The foregoing warranties and indemnities shall survive the termination of this agreement. Tasks 1. Analyze the text in terms of linguistic features discussed in the previous sessions. Also discuss whether and to what extent the use of these features help the writer to make this text clear, precise, unambiguous, and all- inclusive. 2. What seems to be the communicative purpose of the text? Is this to regulate future legal relationship between the Publishers and the Author? If so, can this be written in a more accessible manner? Write an easier version of this section and discuss its implications. 3. How would you simplify the content of this section for a non-specialist audience who simply would like to be informed about the content of the clause? A typical response to task (2) of easification for specialist audience is reproduced here for comparison. Easified Student Version (1) The author hereby warrants to the Publishers that (a) the author has the right and power to make this Agreement, and (b) the Work is the Author's own original work, except for material in the public domain and such excerpts from other works as may be included with the written permission of the copyright owners, and will in no way whatever give rise to a violation of any existing Copyright, or a breach of any existing agreement, and (c) the Work contains nothing defamatory or libelous, and (d) all statements contained therein purporting to be facts are true and, (e) nothing in the Work is liable to give rise to a criminal prosecution or to a civil action for damages or any other remedy, and (f) the author will indemnify the Publishers against any loss, injury or expense arising out of any breach or alleged breach of this warranty. (2) The Publishers reserve the right to alter or to insist the Author alter the text of the Work in such a way as may appear to them appropriate for the purpose of removing or amending any passage which on the advice of the Publishers' legal advisers may be considered objectionable or likely to be actionable at law without affecting the Author's liability under this Clause in respect of any passage not so removed or amended. (3) The foregoing warranties and indemnities shall survive the termination of this agreement. The simple change in format helps the students find the hierarchy of ideas in the text. GAINS A quick comparison of the two versions demonstrates the self-confidence the learner seems to have gained in handling complexities of legal discourse and the extent to which he or she has become sensitive to the specific demands imposed on informed readership of such documents. It also indicates the internalization and use, among other things, of the following abilities and strategies typically used in the construction, and interpretation of specialized genres associated with the legal culture, which include an ability to cope with the complexities of legal syntax in legislative contexts, to handle the use of excessive information load in the legislative sentence, to use textual-mapping devices in the expression of complex contingencies, and to distinguish communicative purposes in the two versions used above. Similar work is also carried out in the use of legal cases and judgments before the learners are given some training in handling matters of intertextuality and interdiscursivity in various legal genres. An approach like this establishes the importance of generic integrity in ESP work on the one hand, and that of generic creativity on the other. The main advantage of such a genre-based approach to the teaching and learning of specialist English is that the learner does not learn language in isolation from specialist contexts, but is encouraged to make the relevant connection between the use of language on the one hand and the purpose of communication on the other, always aware of the question, why do members of the specialist discourse community use the language in this way? This develops in the learner an explicit desire to participate consciously in the professional community, rather than just being able to read and write legal texts as a computer does, without being a participant in the communicative event. This awareness of participation in the ownership of the genres of legal culture is what Swales (1990) calls raising rhetorical consciousness in the learner. On the language teaching side, this may also be seen to represent a conscious effort to integrate the product, process, and communicative purpose in a meaningful context. Dr. Vijay K Bhatia is an Associate Professor in the Department of English at the City University of Hong Kong. His main research interests are discourse and genre analysis, legal English, other academic and professional genres, cross-cultural communication, ESP and EPC. He has served on the editorial advisory board of English for Specific Purposes, RELC Journal and World Englishes. He has published in most of the major journals in applied linguistics, ESP and discourse analysis. His most recent publication is Analyzing Genre -- Language Use in Professional Settings (1993). Note: 1. The resulting two volumes of materials were the outcome of the joint effort of a team of EBT specialists and practicing teachers representing the three participating institutions, namely, the National University of Singapore, Ngee Ann Polytechnic and Singapore Polytechnic. Volume 1 contains materials to be used in English for Business and Volume 2 in English for Technology.
标签: ESP
