Exploring EFFECTIVENESS OF PROCESS-

GENRE APPRAOCH AS A TEACHING METHOD

Name: Mamona Firdous

Student ID: F2020084001

Supervisor: Dr Arshad Ali

M.Phil. Applied Linguistics

Department of Language and communication

 Introduction
English is a widely spoken language in the world. Crystal (2012) acclaimed English as

the "most successful language" of all time in his book 'English as a global language,' with over

1500 million native speakers worldwide. It is a language of powerful countries such as America,

Britain, Canada and being used as a communication medium around the world. It has achieved the

position of lingua franca, which implies that it has become the universal language of

communication between people of many languages and cultures. English's prominence as a lingua

franca and a method of worldwide communication necessitates its comprehension and learning

academic writing as a second language (Nguyen, 2019).

Academic writing is an essential component of learning, and it should be prioritised in terms

of preparing students to meet both communicative and academic needs. "Writing is critical

because it is widely used in education and the workplace" (Zoghbor et al. 2020). Therefore, the

term Teaching English Foreign Language (TEFL) or English Language Teaching (ELT) is used to

refer to the process of teaching English. English is taught in educational institutions for academic

purposes. Writing in English is a necessary skill in real-world situations such as correspondence,

messages, notices, reports, and so on, as well as scholastic endeavors such as homework, research

papers, and assessments. As a result, it is necessary for English learners to improve their

command of the English language's writing skills (Haycraft, 1978).

Statement of the Problem

While developing the ability to produce high-quality written content is an integral part of

the writing process, being a good writer is not simple for everyone, and many students face

tremendous and immense difficulties. Grabe and Kaplan (1996) assert that "...writing is a

technology, a collection of skills that must be acquired via experience". Pupils' writing abilities

have been found to be at a low level by numerous local writing studies, such as Mesfin (2016) and

Teshome (2007). In this regard, students at International Islamic University Schools were not

dissimilar to those previously investigated. Students' writing assignments and assessments

indicate that they are performing at a lesser level. As a result of this, the researcher has experience

teaching English at the O level and has noticed firsthand how deeply embedded the problem is.
 One possible explanation for students' poor writing performance is the effectiveness of the

pedagogical approach used in EFL writing classes. As a result, incorporating process-genre

writing instruction into EFL classrooms may aid in the development of students' writing abilities.

The research intends to evaluate the effectiveness of the process-genre approach by comparing its

findings to those of the process approach. The researcher hypothesis that a process-genre

approach will produce superior results and will aid in raising students' awareness of the various

dimensions of writing skills. The IIUI students will receive this process-genre intervention

strategy. Although the impact of process-genre writing approach at O level part one has not yet

been studied. As a result, examining the effect of process-genre instruction on students' writing

skills will determined to be critical.

Objectives of the Study

The current study aims to:

1. Determine the efficacy of a process-genre approach to teach academic writing to O-level

Students.

Literature Review

Many types of research have been conducted recently to see the effectiveness of Process

Genre Approach (PGA) in teaching methods. All the researchers attempt to see the efficacy of

PGA. A brief overview of a few of the recent researches in the context of PGA is given below.

Xu and Li (2018) investigated a process-genre approach to teaching advanced English as a

foreign language (EFL) students academic writing skills. A doctorate English for Academic

Purposes (EAP) curriculum was tested in 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 by conducting a series of

'reading to writing' activities and processes. Peer-review and revision assignments, on-site

researcher notes, and two rounds of interviews with two groups of students were used as data

sources for this action study. As a consequence of reading peer-reviewed journal articles, the

participants gained an understanding of the criteria for evaluating academic texts that are used in

peer-review. A new interest in process writing was sparked, and participants gained a better grasp

of the specialised genre of scholarly writing. The Chinese setting for EAP learning and teaching is

examined for problems and consequences.

 AbdelWahab (2020) studied the influence of the process genre approach on the reflective

writing abilities and genre knowledge of EFL sophomore students. Sixty EFL sophomores from

the Faculty of Specific Education at Zagazig University participated. The research used a quasi-

experimental approach in which two groups, an experimental group (n=30) and a control group

(n=30), were allocated. The researcher created two tools to gather data: a reflective writing skills

exam and a genre awareness scale. On the test of reflective writing abilities and the genre

awareness scale, students in the experimental group scored much higher than those in the control

group. On the basis of these findings, EFL teachers must include the process-genre approach into

the instruction of EFL writing skills.

In the context of Pakistan, Ajmal (2015) performed study on the significance of teaching

and learning English writing using a process-genre approach. He examined the effects of teaching

writing through a process-genre approach on writing performance among English as a second

language (ESL) university foundation course students in Pakistan, as well as students' and

teachers' perceptions and awareness of a relatively novel approach to teaching writing in the

context. The findings of Classroom Action Research suggest that the process-genre approach is

favourable to the improvement of students' writing skills, and both student and teacher interview

answers support the use of the approach.

Furthermore, Researchers Ajmal and Irfan (2020) conducted a quasi-experimental study to

examine the impact of the Process-Genre Approach (PGA) on writing anxiety in Pakistani ESL

intermediate/pre-university students. They used a philosophical framework of PGA that was

predominantly post-positivist and marginally pragmatic. The results shows that average writing

anxiety score decreased from 77.17 to 66.72 percent in the control group and from 73.57 to 50.25

percent in the experimental group. Thematic analysis of large amounts of interview data further

supports the finding that the therapy was successful in reducing writing anxiety.
 Research Questions
By following the aforementioned aims, the current study purposes the following questions.

1. What is the effect of process-genre approach on students writing skills?

Significance of the Study

This research will add to the growing body of knowledge about the current teaching methods
and students learning. It will make readers aware of the changes that are occurring in the
teaching methods. In Pakistan, Language teachers in the institutes rarely apply process-genre
approaches, which makes the current study quite significant in this regard (Abrar Ajmal &
Humaira Irfan, 2020). Teachers and students alike would benefit greatly from the findings of
this study such as Process-Genre approach will enable learners to conduct an analysis of the
target genre. This will help learners to determine the goal and purpose of the writings. This
approach of teaching will help learners to be creative with their own thoughts. Teachers can
use this strategy to assist students better understand the process of composing a piece of
writing, which should result in less stressed and more motivated learners (Abdullah, 2019).
While both the product and genre methods emphasize the importance of students' knowledge
with the context and purpose of their work. This approach demands, students must have a
strong command of the language they will be using in their writings. In order for students to
learn how to write, teachers need to be able to bring out potential by input and get feedback
from them (as in process and genre approach). They can make use of parts of the target
genre's structures and lexical elements. They may gain a stepwise understanding of the
linguistic characteristics of many genres through this approach. Teachers and learners of
English as a second language may find this study's findings valuable in determining whether a
hybrid approach to teaching writing yields the desired results. Teachers of academic writing
outside of Pakistan will also benefit from this research. They can test the efficacy of this
strategy in a variety of settings.
Delimitation
The current study is restricted to English O-level part one students at the International Islamic

University Islamabad Schools (IIUI) Dera Ghazi Khan campus; the genres in which they learn

and write are also constrained to formal letter writing, story writing, expository paragraph writing,

and essay writing. The study lasted eight weeks, with two weeks dedicated to each genre, and the

students' performance was measured and evaluated using pre- and post-tests.

Conceptual Framework of the Research

The current research is quantitative in nature. The research attempts to explore the effectiveness
of Process Genre Approach in learning English writing skills. It is based on the notion of PGA.
Badger and White (2000) created the process-genre joint strategy; it is simply a combination of
two models, the process-based strategy and the genre-based approach, and it seems appropriate
for composing texts in a familiar genre (Kim, 2006). This dual method entails teaching language
appropriateness as well as multiple editing phases throughout the process of producing the final
draught. In this integrated approach, writing is considered from both the reader's and writer's
perspectives. This technique is characterised by a strong connection amongst diverse
stakeholders, including writer, reader, and teacher/instructor outside of class. This technique is
also distinguished by its integration of all communication skills: listening, reading, writing, and
speaking (Abate, 2019). This approach enables students to evaluate the relationship between
"purpose and form" as they engage in prewriting, drafting, revision, and editing.
Methodology

The present study is descriptive research that uses to determine the efficacy of PGA in teaching English to
ESL students. In order to conduct the study, participants will be separated into two parts: an experimental
group and a control group. Participants in both groups will have the same level of academic ability. The
experimental group will be trained in accordance with process genre approach. The experimental group
will benefit from PGA supported learning, while the control group will continue to receive instruction in
the conventional teaching format. They will get no further therapy. Both groups will have a pre-and post-
test. The research will begin with a pre-test. It will be used to compare academic categories. The post-test
will be administered after the conclusion of the trial, following the treatment period. It will be used to
compare the performances of the two groups. The independent sample T-test will be used to compare the
experimental and control groups' post-tests. Data analysis will be used to derive findings and conclusions.
 Research Instruments
Various research tools were designed in order to conduct the present study such as interviews, observation
checklist, field notes and two achievement tests. Details of all the research tools are discussed below.
 A pre-test of 50 marks for the experimental and control group.
 A post-test of 50 marks for the experimental and control group.
Data Collection.
The data will be collected from O-level students through pre-test and post-test.
Data Analysis
Data will be displayed and analyzed with graphs and tables and detailed descriptions of each of the
questions included in pre-test and post-test. The measurements of the performances of the learners
will be carried out by means of mean, mode and median. After that students’ performance in each
question will be analyzed. T-test will be applied to see the difference in the performance of each
group in pre-test and post-test
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