The Experimental Research Of Process-Genre Approach To The Teaching Of English Writing In Senior High School

In the past few decades, researchers in the western countries have done a lot of research work in teaching writing and have formed a series of approaches and theories, such as expressive, mimetic, process-based approach, genre approach and so on. In 2000, two researchers, R. Badger & G. White, put forward a comprehensive pattern — process-genre approach. In this dissertation, the author will contrast the practical effectiveness of process-genre approach and product approach in improving senior students' English writing proficiency through experimental research. The study includes three hypotheses:(1) Both approaches contribute to the gains of English writing proficiency for senior students;(2) Process-genre approach is more effective than product approach in developing students' abilities in organizing a paragraph of different genres and using various language structures;(3) Process-genre approach serves better than product approach to improve students' abilities in cooperating, thinking and problem-solving and at the same time build up their confidence in writing.This dissertation consists of six chapters. Chapter one is an introduction; chapter two briefly summarizes theories of teaching English writing; chapter three analyzes the contradiction between the traditional teaching mode of English writing and the new forms of teaching followed by the New English Curriculum Criterion in China; chapter four states the enforcement of process-geiire approach in teaching Senior English writing under the background of the New English Curriculum Criterion and the new textbooks ; chapter five carries on the experimental analysis. Two questionnaires were designed and distributed to the two groups of subjects before and after the experiment and both groups were required to take a pretest of each genre at the beginning of the experiment to decide on their writing proficiency and a posttest to reveal the change after the experiment and then discusses the results of the study; chapter six is the conclusions, reflections on the problems existing in the study process and put forward some suggestions in using the approach.The study result shows that the subjects under the instruction ofprocess-genre approach achieve more significant growth in English writing proficiency and interest in writing, build up more awareness of cooperation and confidence in writing, improve their abilities of independent thinking and problem-solving more effectively than those under the product writing instruction.To be frank, there exist some problems to be solved in the process of the experiment, such as the problem of representatives of the samples, class hours of teaching, the reliability of the test, the variable psychological factors of different subjects and the subjectivity of evaluating compositions. The author will be concerned about the above problems in the successive research.