GENRE BASED APPROACH
A. Genre Based Approach
The theory of genre based approach is developed by Martin which is
relate to the theory of SFL (Systematic Functional Linguistic) that is
developed by Halliday. He states that generally language has three
functions, they are:
1. Language is used to convey ideas or thoughts.
2. Language is used to shows human relationship.
3. Language is used to create a cohesive and coherent text both orally and
in writing to achieve communication goals.9
According to Hyland as cited by Emilia, the genre based approach is a
teaching approach that focuses on mastering knowledge of language and its
proper use and aims to enable students to achieve the goal of using language
effectively and systematically by linking language and context. 10 The
students should be taught various types of text that may encourage them to
succeed in school and even in college. Text-Based learning is a learning that
shows students’ ability in writing and arranging texts. Obviously, the
approach that should be used to teach the various types of text is genre based
approach.
Emilia states that there are some key principles in genre-based
instruction, they are:
a. Emphasizing the importance of developing students’ awareness
that each text is a unique creation of a unique writer as well as
relative to a particular group of people and particular context.
b. Considering learning language as a social activity. This requires
dependence between students and society, which in this case can
be friends, teachers, or other adults, including parents, who can
help students achieve better learning. Through this principle it is
expected that students learn languages, students learn through
language, and students learn about language.
c. Emphasizing that learning will work more effectively if the
teacher explain in detail the compentencies that expected to be
mastered by students after the learning process.
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d. Telling the students that they are studying under the guidance of
teacher within the framework of apprenticeship.
e. Believing that grammar instruction is an important part of guiding
students to the knowledge of how language work.11
Genre based approach suggest a teaching procedure conducted through several
steps including Building Knowledge of Field (BkoF), Modeling (MoT), Joint
Construction (JCoT) and Independent Construction (ICoT).12 To teaching types of
text, the teacher should do these steps below systematically, in order to make the
students easier to understand the different text.
1. Building Knowledge of Field
This steps aims to build students’ knowledge about the material, the
teacher can use various types of techniques in this step, such as
brainstorming, ice breaking, etc.
1) The teacher gives students a text that related to the material that
will be taught.
Teacher can use this activity to teach reading, listening, or
speaking to discuss the text.
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2) The teacher gives students a text that related to the
3) material that will be taught.
Teacher can use this activity to teach reading, listening, or
speaking to discuss the text.
4) The teacher asks students to read the text and then the teacher
gives some questions based on the text.
From this activity the teacher can see students’ ability in reading.
In this activity the teacher can implement how to read a text.
5) Students identify the word that they are not understand in the
text.
In this part the teacher can measure students’ vocabulary
mastery, also can teach them new vocabulary.
6) Students learn the other language skills, such as listening, related
to the material that be taught by the teacher.
Teacher can read the text and the students should listen to it.
After that, the teacher can ask the students what are they get from
the text.
7) Speaking activity also can be entered in building knowledge of
field step.
8) In this part the teacher can build the critical thinking of students
with asking some questions, such as who is the writer, to whom
the text is, why the writer write the text, etc.
2. Modelling
In this step the teacher is dominant because the teacher need to
explain to students about the material. In modeling the teacher can
demonstrate the text, from the general structure until the language
features of the text. Also can shows to the students how to write that
types of text.
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1) Teacher explains the types of text (genre) that will be written by
the students, include general structure, social function, and
language features of the text.
2) In this part teacher specifically explain the general structure of
the text, and the function to support the text achieve the purpose.
3) Teacher shows a text and explain, which one is the general
structure and language features.
4) Students are asked to read and answer the questions about the
text.
5) Teacher and students identify the general structure and language
features of the text together.
6) Students are given another text and the teacher asks students to
identify the general structure and language features of the text
individually.
3. Joint Construction
After explain about the material, the teacher needs to measure the
students’ comprehend about the text. This step is a step that the
students will implement their comprehension and ability in writing
the text that taught by the teacher.
They are two ways to do joint construction suggested by
Derewianka as follows:
1) Teacher and students write a text. Teacher roles as a scribe or
writer on the whiteboard. While the students suggests or say
what that should teachers write about the text. Then the teacher
write the statements that the students said on the whiteboard.
During writing the text, the teacher write some word that wrong
and correct it again to teach the student if writing can not be done
once.
2) In this ways students are asked to make groups. The group
members must consist of students with high, medium, and low
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achievement. So the composition of each group must be evenly
distributed. After that, the students are ask to work together write
a text and be guided by the teacher.13
4. Independent Construction.
This step more focus on students individually, students are asked to
write the text that taught by the teacher individually. As suggested
by the experts of SFL GBA (Callaghan and Rothery; Derewianka;
Feez; Macken Horaik; Rothery) cited in Emilia, independent
construction is carried out after students feel confident and confident
in their understanding of the type of text and the topic to be written.14
This step often referred to as exam or exercise. Teacher also can
measure more detail about students’ comprehension.
B. Concept of Writing
Writing skill is an important skill for language learning. Writing is
the one important skill from four skills which should be mastered by
students. Brown states that “writing is considering process”.15 In the other
words, writing is a advanced work states by Bailey.16 Writing so encourages
thought and reflection, both of which aid in learning (Boscolo & Mason;
Tynjala) cited by Ghufron.17 Briefly, writing is an activity that requires a
thinking process before writing something, which is the result of the thought
already contain the purpose of the writing, and what message that the writer
wants to convey to the reader. That’s why writing is called a progressive
activity because when writing the writer is required to be progressive and
produce something.
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In writing process, there are several steps that should be done by the
writer. First, the writer should thinking, this step include choosing the
subject, what kind of ways that used by the writer to developing the writing,
and determine the writing strategy and its style. Second, after thinking the
writer should do the writing process, which is mean the writer should write
the ideas or thoughts. This step also known as drafting step. Last step is
revising, the writer were asked to read again the writing and make sure there
is no writing error. Writing is a complex activity, which the writer starts
with selecting the words, then construct a sentences into a paragraph, and
keep repeating the same process.
In order to teaching writing in school, the teachers also need to know
what is writing and teaching. The way teachers teaching in the classroom
really influence students learning in classroom. The more organized the
lesson plan that is provided by teacher, it is make students easier to learn.
Teacher must involve students actively in the writing process, to make
students understand how to write. Writing will be one of the many activities
that teachers offer students each day, and like any classroom activity it
depends on effective classroom management skills for successful outcomes.
In teaching writing, teachers should consider students’ age. Teachers
also have to adjust the topic for students learning and what kind of text they
will write. For example, if the students are junior high school students,
teacher can start with ask the students to write about their daily activity,
what are they like, or write about their holiday. In student’ writing process,
the teacher should help them in vocabulary or spelling, in order to prevent
the student copy the other students’ writing.
Most the English teachers are trained by studying a product: writing.
What is the process we should teach? It is the process of discovery through
language. It is the process of exploration of what we know and what we feel
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about what we know through language. It is the process of using language
to learn about our world, to evaluate what we learn about our world, to
communicate what we learn about our world. Instead of teaching finished
writing, we should teach unfinished writing, and glory in its unfinishedness.
We work with language in action. We share with our students the continual
excitement of choosing one word instead of another, of searching for the
one true word. This is not a question of correct or incorrect, of etiquette or
custom. This is a matter of far higher importance. The writer, as he writes,
is making ethical decisions. He doesn't test his words by a rule hook, but by
life. He uses language to reveal the truth to himself so that he can tell it to
others. It is an exciting, eventful, evolving process. This process of
discovery through language we call writing can be introduced to your
classroom as soon as you have a very simple understanding of that process,
and as soon as you accept the full implications of teaching process, not
product.18
There are some processes in writing, they are as following:
1. Prewriting
According to Hall, prewriting is freely exploring topics, choosing a
topic, and beginning to gather and organize details before you
write.19 In Addition, Oshima and Hongue state that prewriting is a
way to get ideas. In this step, you choose a topic and collect ideas to
explain the topic.20
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2. Drafting/Organizing
Hall states that drafting is getting your ideas down on paper in
roughly the format you intend.21 Oshima and Hongue argue the
writing process is to organize the ideas into a simple outline.22 The
writer of our models wrote a sentence that named a topic and told
the main idea. Below the first sentence, he listed the two main ideas
and any other words and phrases from the list that gave more
information about them.
3. Revising
Hall argues revising is correcting any major errors and improving
writing’s form and content.23 Oshima and Hongue state the writer
attacked the bis issues of content and organization.24
4. Editing and Proofreading
Hall said that “editing and proofreading is polishing the writing and
fixing errors in grammar, spelling, and mechanics. They you
develop good proofreading skills, each writing chapter offers a
specific focus. Look at your draft with this suggested topic in mind.”
5. Publishing and Presenting
According to Hall, Publishing and Presenting is sharing your
writing. The writing process gives you an overview of the strategies
and techniques that are available to you as part of the writing
process. Each of the chapters in the writing section will teach you
strategies suited to specific forms of writing.25
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There are also some aspects of writing, they are consists of grammar,
form, mechanic, vocabulary, and style. The following aspect can be
explained as follows:
1. Grammar
Grammar is employment of grammatical form and syntactic pattern.
It means that sentence is another aspect that should be considered.
2. Form (organization)
Form means the organization of the content. We should clarify our
idea and make it clear. So, the reader can deduce some organization
well. Organization means there is a communication between the
reader and the writer.
3. Mechanic
Mechanic is the use of the graphic convention of the language we
have to pay attention the use of the punctuation and applying of the
word of sentence. Function is very determiners whiter the writer can
clear for the reader.
4. Vocabulary
Vocabulary is the most important aspect in teaching a language
mastery vocabulary. It means that, we can explore our idea and
effect it in writing.
5. Style
Style means the choice of structure and lexical items to give a
particular tone to flavor the writing. It should be noted that the
choice of lexical item to be used writing must be accordance with
the readers. by seeing the opinion above, it can be said that there are
five aspects in writing that have to be paid attention in writing in
order to make the writing better and understand by the reader.26
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Writing is the act of producing a first draft. It is the fastest part of
the process, and the most frightening, for it is a commitment. When you
complete a draft you know how much, and how little, you know. And the
writing of this first draft rough, searching, unfinished may take as little as
one percent of the writer's time. Rewriting is reconsideration of subject,
form, and audience. It is researching, rethinking, redesigning, rewriting and
finally, line-by-line editing, the demanding, satisfying process of making
each word right. It may take many times the hours required for a first draft,
perhaps the remaining fourteen percent of the time the writer spends on the
project.27
Some of the implications of teaching process, not product, are for
the composition curriculum.
1. The text of the writing course is the student's own writing. Students
examine their own evolving writing and that of their classmates, so
that they study writing while it is still a matter of choice, word by
word.
2. The student finds his own subject. It is not the job of the teacher to
legislate the student's truth. It is the responsibility of the student to
explore his own world with his own language, to discover his own
meaning. The teacher supports but does not direct this expedition to
the student's own truth.
3. The student uses his own language. Too often, as writer and teacher
Thomas Williams points out, we teach English to our students as if
it were a foreign language. Actually, most of our students have
learned a great deal of language before they come to us, and they are
quite willing to exploit that language if they are allowed to embark
on a serious search for their own truth.
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4. The student should have the opportunity to write all the drafts
necessary for him to discover what he has to say on this particular
subject. Each new draft, of course, is counted as equal to a new
paper. You are not teaching a product, you are teaching a process.
5. The student is encouraged to attempt any form of writing which may
help him discover and communicate what he has to say. The process
which produces "creative" and "functional" writing is the same. You
are not teaching products such as business letters and poetry,
narrative and exposition. You are teaching a product your students
can use now and at the future to produce whatever product his
subject and his audience demand.
6. Mechanics come last. It is important to the writer, once he has
discovered what he has to say, that nothing get between him and his
reader. He must break only those traditions of written
communication which would obscure his meaning.
7. There must be time for the writing process to take place and time for
it to end. The writer must work within the stimulating tension of
unpressured time to think and dream and stare out windows, and
pressured time the deadline to which the writer must deliver.
8. Papers are examined to see what other choices the writer might
make. The primary responsibility for seeing the choices is the
student. He is learning a process. His papers are always unfinished,
evolving, until the end of the marking period. A grade finishes a
paper, the way publication usually does. The student writer is not
graded on drafts any more than a concert pianist is judged on his
practice sessions rather than on his performance. The student writer
is graded on what he has produced at the end of the writing process.
9. The students are individuals who must explore the writing process
in their own way, some fast, some slow, whatever it takes for. them,
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within the limits of the course deadlines, to find their own way to
their own truth.
10. There are no rules, no absolutes, just alternatives. What works one
time may not another. All writing is experimental.28
None of these implications require a special schedule, exotic training,
extensive new materials or gadgetry, new classrooms, or an increase in
federal, state, or local funds. They do not even require a reduced teaching
load. What they do require is a teacher who will respect and respond to his
students, not for what they have done, but for what they may do; not for
what they have produced, but for what they may produce, if they are, given
an opportunity to see writing as a process, not a product.
Writing is one of the most complicated aspects of language. It
encompasses an array of intervening elements, and requires the utilization
of several language tools ranging form mechanics to organization. However,
writing primarily revolves around two main aspects: content and form. On
one hand, the locus of writing involves a given topic to be explored and
tailored in an organized fashion; the writer must not only have an idea (to
recreate meanings presented) about a given topic, but also must have a good
sense on howto present it in an authentic and witty manner.29
C. Descriptive texts
According to Christie and Misson, the term text comes from the
Latin word that means to weave. Text is defined as group of words or
sentences woven together to create a single whole.30 The terms text is not
just for the written text, but the concept of text in systematic functional
linguistic, which is the basis of GBA, it refers to the use of written or spoken
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language (Fairclough; Fairclough and Wodak) as cited by Emilia.31
Therefore, based on the definitions when someone write or speak, they
should write and speak using the systematic structure from the beginning
until the end. If a text (written or spoken) does not have a systematic
structure, then the text will hang and the purpose and meaning is not clear.
There are several types of text (genres) that should be taught to
students, they are descriptive, recount, procedure, narrative, exposition,
discussion, explanation, news, and report text. This study focuses on
teaching writing descriptive text. Garot and Wignell states that descriptive
text is a kind of text with a purpose to give information. The context of this
kind of text is the description of particular thing, animal, person, or others,
for instance: people are well known.32 In addition, descriptive text is a text
that represent or describe peoples, animal, or an object whether it’s shape,
properties, amount, etc.33 Oshima and Hongue state that descriptive writing
appeals to the sense, so it tells how somethings looks, feels, smells, tastes,
and/or sounds. A good description is a word picture; the reader can imagine
the object, place, or person in his or her mind.34 The aims of this text is to
give information about something or someone by represent or describe it.
By writing descriptive text students can create or re present
something from their perspective, which is this kind of activities are very
liked by junior high school students because they can imagine and convey
or describe things from their perspective. According Gerot and Wignell,
There are three considerations in writing a description. They are social
function, generic structure, and language features.
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1. Social Function
The social function of descriptive text is to describe particular
people, animals, and other things.
2. General Structure of Descriptive text.
a. Identification
This section contains of the general statement or introduction
of the object. The writer states something that will be
described. This section is usually at the beginning of the text.
For example, He is Jimin of BTS, Tiger is wild animal that
lives in the wild, or Bunaken National Park is one of the
world heritages locared in North Sulawesi.
The functions of identification section is follows:
1) Introducing the topic.
2) Giving common information about the topic.
3) Showing what is described.
b. Description
This section contains a description of the object by
describing its features, forms, colors, or anything related to
the object. Writer can describe several aspects from the topic.
For example if the writer will describe an animal, the writer
can write the physical condition of the animal, their behavior,
and what kind of food that they can eat. The function of
description section is to giving a complete information about
the topic that is described, which is the information devided
into several parts. This section can be sorted from the most
important or from the most general to the most specific
information.
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3. Language Features of Descriptive text.
An Example of Descriptive Text:
My Beloved Mother
Every people certainly have a mother. It is because people
are born from her. The existence of her among us is definitely
important. That is why I love her so much. I owe great debt to
what she has been doing to me until right now. And here is my
mother.
My mother’s name is Khodijah. She was born 49 years ago.
She is short, but not too short. She is little fat. And she is old.
She has got short white straight hair. She has got brown skin.
She is beautiful. Her hand is so soft, the hand that have taught
me to be kind person. She never stops to support me. She always
tells me to not give up so easily. She always gives me some fine
solutions when I have some problems. The importance of her is
never denied. That is why I never reject her willing.35
Descriptive text also have language features to composed the
text. There are several indicators to composed descriptive
text, as follows:
a. Specific Participants.
It means descriptive text has a certain object, which is
not a common and unique (only one). Such as My
Friends or Bunaken National Park. Based on the text
above, the specific participant is my mother.
b. The use of adjective.
Commonly, descriptive using adjective to clarify the
noun. For example, Jimin is tall or Bunaken has a
beautiful underwater view. For examples, She is short,
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but not too short. She is little fat. And she is old. She has
got short white straight hair. She has got brown skin. She
is beautiful. Her hand is so soft, the hand that have taught
me to be kind person. The underlined word is an
adjective word that is used to described the mother.
c. Using simple present tense or simple past tense.
In writing descriptive text, the sentence pattern is used
simple present or simple past tense to describe the object.
Because descriptive text is a text that tells the fact of the
object. For examples, she never stops to support me, she
always tells me to not give up so easily, and she always
gives me some fine solutions. That sentences using
simple present tense to describe the mother.
d. Using action verb.
Commonly in descriptive text using action verb to show
an activity. For example, it is because people are born
from her. The underlined word is an action verb that is
used in the descriptive text above.