Genre-Based Instruction: A Powerful Approach For Teaching Writing To MLEs

Most curricula require students to work on developing writing in different types of texts, or genres. However, with multilingual learners of English (MLEs) in our classrooms, we need to be more conscious and constant with teaching the distinct features and structures of these texts. One of the approaches we can use to be more effective and to facilitate our learners’ understanding of writing texts is genre-based instruction.

This approach helps students understand and use different types of texts by emphasizing the purpose, structure, and language features that writers use to communicate effectively. Here I present ways to emphasize genre instruction in the classroom based on the three stages of the model (deconstruction, joint construction, and individual construction), and I share specific activities you can adapt for your own context to expose MLEs to different genres.

Deconstruction: Modeling Genre Features in the Classroom

One of the benefits genre-based instruction offers to MLEs is helping them understand the writing conventions and expectations of a text. Because the way ideas are organized and what vocabulary is used tends to be different across languages, it’s important to teach these things explicitly. When giving a writing assignment, it can help to begin by modelling the genre structure of the text through an analysis of its features. In this stage, utilize culturally relevant examples of texts if they are available.

Example Activity

When deconstructing a short story, ask questions about the text, focusing on identifying the common words used by the author, and the communicative purpose. For instance:

• • • What is the main purpose of the text?
    • What common words can you identify? (E.g., high-frequency words that occur in storytelling, like “said” and “went,” or genre-specific vocabulary, like “spacecraft” and “orbit” in a science fiction piece)
    • What tense is used to describe the events in the story?
    • Where does the story take place?

Joint Construction: Offering Collaborative Writing Tasks

Another benefit the genre-based approach offers to MLEs is promoting critical thinking by encouraging learners to reflect on their writing purposes and the message they want to share with their audience. In the joint construction stage, learners participate in a shared task where the group creates a text within a specific genre. Collaborative writing tasks like this allow learners to share language strategies and provide feedback, which can help them learn from each other. It is important to highlight not only the final product but also the process by going through the writing steps: prewriting, drafting, revising, and editing.

Example Activity

When working on an opinion essay, learners — after deconstructing the model text — work together in small groups to co-construct and write their text. Provide sentence frames as a scaffold, such as:

• • • “I believe that… because...”
    • “One reason is...”

Individual Construction: Incorporating Culturally Relevant Texts

A third benefit genre-based instruction offers is encouraging cultural awareness by promoting learners’ reflection on cultural elements in written texts. In the individual stage, MLEs write their own texts after deconstructing and joint constructing previous texts, which serve as modelling and scaffolding stages in genre-based instruction. Here, learners can incorporate their cultural devices to feel the connection with the writing task.

Example Activity

When writing a travel blog post, learners complete their posts using the feedback they received in the previous stages (deconstruction and joint construction). Encourage them to add recommendations for popular tourist spots or cultural activities they think others might like to read about.

This stage of the model is an opportunity for MLEs to make their writing more engaging, personal, and culturally connected. It is also a chance for learners to revise and edit their final composition.

By highlighting the key features of genres and providing scaffolding, you can support learners’ ability to write and emphasize cultural relevance in the classroom. Providing MLEs with model texts and examples of genres gives them more opportunities to enjoy and advance in their writing skills. Genre-based instruction provides a way to give learners opportunities to express their ideas and cultural background through a student-centered approach to teaching writing.