Open AccessFostering Written Production of Review Texts among EFL University Students Through a Genre-Based Approach
Author(s) -
Diana Carolina Durán
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
ikala, revista de lenguaje y cultura
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2145-566X
pISSN - 0123-3432
DOI - 10.17533/udea.ikala.v26n02a10
Subject(s) - comprehension , task (project management) , psychology , perception , focus group , mathematics education , computer science , pedagogy , sociology , neuroscience , anthropology , programming language , management , economics
This study investigated the effects of a Genre-Based Approach (gba) on 54 participants’ abilities to write a review text of a mobile application or website while reflecting on the “evaluating a text” function embedded in the target genre. The participants belonged to a pre-intermediate (A2.2 cefr) efl course offered at a university in Bogotá, Colombia that has implemented a gba for over five years. The program recently adapted the teaching and learning cycle to give more prominence to the students’ active participation in the Joint Construction phase by including systematic peer feedback with the further purpose of giving learners more independence from the teacher. The study aimed to assess the effects of the implementation on participants’ written production and to explore their insights and awareness of the selected genre. Data were collected through students’ artifacts, an online questionnaire, and focus groups, and were analyzed following a mixed-methods approach that incorporated grounded theory and descriptive statistics. Findings suggest an overall comprehension of the social purpose of the chosen genre, outstanding achievements of the task, a favorable acceptance of the implementation, and a perception of usefulness related to the peer feedback routines, although peer feedback was also considered the biggest challenge the participants faced.