Recent years have seen increased attention being given to the notion of genre in the area of English
language teaching. This is especially the case in the teaching of English for specific purposes (ESP), the
teaching of English in Australia, and the teaching of composition studies in North America. The main
approaches to the analysis of genres in these areas are the ESP perspective, the work of the Sydney
school, and the composition studies view of genre in what is sometimes called the new rhetoric. There are a number of ways in which each of these perspectives on genre overlap and ways in which they are different from each other. Much of this is due to the different goals of each of these views of genre and the differing theoretical positions and concerns that underlie the various perspectives. This chapter discusses insights that have been gained in each of these areas and what they might mean for English language teaching. It discusses debates and concerns about genre-based approaches to language teaching, and also considers future directions for genre-based language teaching and research. |