Adapting process-oriented writing approaches to cross-cultural contexts: the case of French university students

International audienceThe process-oriented aspects of Writing for Academic Purposes are well-established within decades of research in applied linguistics, North American rhetoric and composition pedagogy. Various approaches to teaching process writing include increasing students' integral genre awareness (Swales & Feak 1994, 2000; Johns 1997); fostering an appreciation of writing genres as an ongoing, rhetorical process (Elbow & Belanoff 1989a; Freedman & Medway 1994; Hyland & Richards 2003); and an insistance upon dialogue as a means for developing discoursal competence (Harris 1986; Elbow & Belanoff 1989b). However, the approach also relies heavily on the learning and teaching conditions characteristic of Anglo-Saxon communities, raising issues of compatibility when used in cross-cultural contexts. For example, some of the approach's underlying assumptions are based on evaluations of time, perceived social relationships, and human communication as facilitating cooperation. It is argued that such cultural schemas come into direct conflict when the approach is used in other cultures. This paper will assess the process approach to teaching WAP in the French university system. It describes efforts by this researcher, trained in North American process/genre methods, to adapt the approach. After highlighting areas of divergence and identifying shared generalities, it will discuss implications for EAP in general