Genre analysis of writing tasks in Japanese university entrance examinations
Tóm tắt
English language writing is important in university entrance examinations in Japan and influences what learners and teachers do in English classes. This is especially noticeable in secondary education in Japan. While much research on university entrance examinations in Japan has been conducted, little attention has been paid to the types of writing required in these examinations. This study draws on the notion of micro-genre developed by researchers of systemic functional linguistics (SFL) to investigate what micro-genres are required in writing tasks in the examinations. Fifty writing tasks appearing in examinations in 2013 were examined. It was found that only four micro-genres occurred in the examinations, namely expositions, personal reflections, discussions, and sequential explanations. Two micro-genres, expositions and personal reflections, amounted to 83.9 % of the examined writing tasks. This tendency was seen even when micro-genres of the writing tasks by faculty type (science vs. humanities and arts) were identified. The limited range of micro-genres prepared for the writing tasks in the examinations may greatly influence the activities of English writing teaching and learning in secondary education in Japan.
Tài liệu tham khảo
Bain, A. (1890). English composition and rhetoric. NewYork: D. Appleton and company.
Bhatia, V. K. (2008). Genre analysis, ESP and professional practice. English for Specific Purposes, 27(2), 161–174.
Brown, H. D. (2004). Language assessment: Principles and classroom practices. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Brown, J. D., & Yamashita, S. O. (1995). English language entrance examinations at Japanese universities: What do we know about them? JALT Journal, 17, 7–30.
Bunch, G. C., & Willett, K. (2013). Writing to mean in middle school: Understanding how second language writers negotiate textually-rich content-area instruction. Journal of Second Language Writing, 22(2), 141–160.
Butt, D., Fahey, R., Feez, S., & Spinks, S. (2012). Using functional grammar: An explorer’s guide (3rd ed.). Sydney: National Centre for English Language Teaching and Research, Macquarie University.
Chen, Y., & Foley, J. (2004). Problems with the metaphorical reconstrual of meaning in Chinese EFL learners’ expositions. In L. Ravelli & R. A. Ellis (Eds.), Analysing academic writing: Contextualized frameworks (pp. 190–209). London: Continuum.
Christie, F. (2013). Genres and genre theory: A response to Michael Rosen. Changing English, 20(1), 11–22.
Christie, F., & Derewianka, B. (2008). School discourse: Learning to write across the years of schooling. New York: Continuum.
de Oliveira, L. C., & Lan, S.-W. (2014). Writing science in an upper elementary classroom: A genre-based approach to teaching English language learners. Journal of Second Language Writing, 25, 23–39.
Derewianka, B. (1990). Exploring how texts work. Rozelle: Primary English Teaching Association.
Doyon, P. (2001). A review of higher education reform in modern Japan. Higher Education, 41(4), 443–470.
Eggins, S. (2004). An introduction to systemic functional linguistics (2nd ed.). London: Pinter.
Educational Testing Service. (2014). Test and score data summary for TOEFL IBT tests. http://www.ets.org/s/toefl/pdf/94227_unlweb.pdf. Accessed October 3, 2015.
Emilia, E., & Hamied, F. A. (2015). Systemic functional linguistic genre pedagogy (SFL GP) in a tertiary EFL writing context in Indonesia. TEFLIN Journal, 26(2), 155–182.
Fleiss, J. L., Levin, B., & Paik, M. C. (2003). Statistical methods for rates and proportions. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons.
Guest, M. (2007). A Response to Yoko Ichige’s “validity of center examinations for assessment of communicative ability”. On Cue, 15(1), 28–32.
Halliday, M. A. K. (1978). Language as social semiotic: The social interpretation of language and meaning. London: Edward- Arnold.
Halliday, M. A. K. (1985). Part A. In M. A. K. Halliday & R. Hassan (Eds.), Language, context, and text: Aspects of language in a social-semiotic perspective (pp. 3–49). Waurn Ponds: Deakin University.
Halliday, M. A. K. (1994). An introduction to functional grammar (2nd ed.). London: Edward- Arnold.
Halliday, M. A. K. (1998). Things and relations: Regrammaticising experience as technical knowledge. In J. R. Martin & R. Veel (Eds.), Reading science: Critical and functional perspectives on discourses of science (pp. 185–236). New York;London: Routledge.
Harman, R. (2013). Literary intertextuality in genre-based pedagogies: Building lexical cohesion in fifth-grade L2 writing. Journal of Second Language Writing, 22(2), 125–140.
Humphrey, S., Droga, L., & Feez, S. (2012). Grammar and meaning. Newtown: PETAA.
Hyland, K. (2009). Academic discourse: English in a global context. New York: Continuum.
Ichige, Y. (2006). Validity of center examinations for assessment of communicative ability. On Cue, 14(2), 13–22.
Ito, H., Kawamura, A., Shimada, Y., Nishihara, M., & Funato, S. (2007). Daigaku shingaku yoteisha wo taishou to shita eigo nouryoku shiken no kokusai hikaku -nihon no daigaku nyuushi to Finland no Matriculation Examination wo taishou ni- [The international comparison of English proficiency tests for university entrances -The National Centre Test in Japan and Matriculation Examination in Finland as subjects-]. Bulletin of Shikoku English language Education Society, 27, 11–26.
JC Educational Institute. (2013). Xam. Chiba: JC Educational Institute.
Kowata, T. (2009). The possibility of washback effects in the context of Japanese university entrance examinations: Focusing on the analysis of writing tests. Language, Area and Culture Studies, 15, 81–93.
Loewen, S., & Plonsky, L. (2015). An A-Z of applied linguistics research methods. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
Maher, J. C., & Yashiro, K. (1995). Multilingual Japan: An introduction. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 16(1–2), 1–17.
Martin, J. R. (1980). Writing project: Paper 2, Exposition: Literacy Criticism. Working Papers in Linguistics, 1, 1–34.
Martin, J. R. (1984). Language, register and genre. In R. M. Bunbury, F. Christie, S. Dawkins, & Deakin University School of Education. Open Campus, P (Eds.), Language studies, children writing (pp. 21–30). Waurn Ponds: Deakin University.
Martin, J. R. (1985). Factual writing: Exploring and challenging social reality. VIC: Deakin University.
Martin, J. R. (1992). English text: System and structure. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
Martin, J. R. (1994). Macro-genres: The ecology of the page. Network, 21, 29–52.
Martin, J. R. (1997). Analysing genre: Functional parameters. In F. Christie & J. R. Martin (Eds.), Genre and institutions: Social processes in the workplace and school (pp. 3–39). New York: Continuum.
Martin, J. R. (2009). Language, register and genre. In C. Coffin, T. Lillis, & K. A. O’Halloran (Eds.), Applied Linguistics Methods: A Reader: Systemic functional linguistics, critical discourse analysis and ethnography (pp. 12–32). London: Routledge.
Martin, J. R. (2009). Genre and language learning: A social semiotic perspective. Linguistics and Education, 20(1), 10–21.
Martin, J. R., & Rose, D. (2005). Designing literacy pedagogy: Scaffolding democracy in the classroom. In R. Hasan, C. M. I. M. Matthiessen, & J. Webster (Eds.), Continuing discourse on language: A functional perspective (pp. 251–280). London: Equinox.
Martin, J. R., & Rose, D. (2008). Genre relations: Mapping culture. Oakville: Equinox Pub.
Martin, J. R., & Rothery, J. (1981). Writing project report No.2. Working Papers in Linguistics.
McMullen, M. G. (2014). The value and attributes of an effective preparatory English program: Perceptions of Saudi university students. English Language Teaching, 7(7), p131.
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology-Japan (MEXT). (1999). Koutougakkou Gakushuusidouyouryou kaisetsu gaikokugo hen eigo hen [the explanation of the course of study for foreign languages and English for high schools]. Tokyo: Kairyudo.
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology-Japan (MEXT). (2013). Monbukagaku toukei youran [a statistical survey of education, culture, sports, science and technology]. http://www.mext.go.jp/b_menu/toukei/002/002b/1337986.htm Accessed 29th December 2013.
Oda, M. (2007). Globalization or the world in English: Is Japan ready to face the waves? International Multilingual Research Journal, 1(2), 119–126.
Paltridge, B. (2014). Genre and second-language academic writing. Language Teaching, 47(3), 303–318.
Park, H., Behrman, J. R., & Choi, J. (2013). Causal effects of single-sex schools on college entrance exams and college attendance: Random assignment in Seoul high schools. Demography, 50(2), 447–469.
Rose, D., & Martin, J. R. (2012). Learning to write, reading to learn: Genre, knowledge and pedagogy in the Sydney school. Sheffield: Equinox.
Rothery, J. (1985). Reading 1: Two varieties of writing: Report and Exposition. In J. Martin. (Ed.), Factual writing: exploring and challenging social reality (pp. 71–82). VIC: Deakin University.
Rothery, J. (1994). Exploring literacy in school English (write it right resources for literacy and learning). Sydney: Metropolitan East Disadvantaged Schools Program.
Shiokawa. (2000). An analysis of students’ performance in writing tests in Japanese university entrance examinations: Focus on Paragraph Writing. The Outline of JACET Convention, 39, 15–16.
Shizuka, T. (1996). A Warning on underestimation of the effect of teacher correction in writing activity: Reflections based on a pilot study. Research Bulletin of Kantokoshinetsu Association of Teachers of English, 10, 25–33.
Tachibana, Y., Matsukawa, R., & Zhong, Q. X. (1996). Attitudes and motivation for learning English: A cross-national comparison of Japanese and Chinese high school students. Psychological reports, 79(2), 691–700.
Taguchi, T., Magid, M., & Papi, M. (2009). The L2 motivational self system among Japanese, Chinese and Iranian learners of English: A comparative study. In Z. Dörnyei & E. Ushioda (Eds.), Motivation, Language Identity and the L2 Self (pp. 66–97). Bristol: Multilingual Matters.
Taylor, G. (1989). The student’s writing guide for the arts and social sciences. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Watanabe, H. (2013). A genre analysis of writing in Japanese university entrance examinations and teaching materials (Unpublished Masters dissertation). Sydney: University of Sydney.
Wang, C. (2013). A study of genre approach in EFL writing. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 3(11), 2128–2135.
Woodward-Kron, R. (2002). Critical analysis versus description? Examining the relationship in successful student writing. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 1(2), 121–143.
Woodward-Kron, R. (2005). The role of genre and embedded genres in tertiary students’ writing. Prospect, 20(3), 24–41.
Yan, J., Zhang, W., Yu, Y., Chang, J., & Ding, G. (2015). Research and practice on college English oral test-a case study of Beijing institute of petrochemical technology. English Language Teaching, 8(3), 121.
Yasuda, S. (2011). Genre-based tasks in foreign language writing: Developing writers’ genre awareness, linguistic knowledge, and writing competence. Journal of Second Language Writing, 20(2), 111–133.
Yoneyama, S. (1999). The Japanese high school: Silence and resistance. London: Routledge.