Genre-Based Approach and Second Language Syllabus Design

AbstractThere have been two developments in language description in the recent years that allow for a much more precise account of language of different domains of use, and so provide for a more exact specification of ESP course objectives. One of these is genre analysis (Howatt & Widdowson, 2004). Therefore, attempts have been made to place genre more centrally in the development of language curricula and syllabus design, particularly in English for Specific Purposes (ESP) and English for Academic Purposes (EAP) (Swales, 1990). The purpose of this article is also an attempt to provide an account of genre studies at the present time and discuss its possible applications in language teaching. In so doing, it compares the definitions of the term’genre’, reviews its different types, discusses a model for genre-based pedagogy by Hammond et al. (1992), and points to some of the criticisms directed to the approach