Teaching Korean University Writing Class: Balancing the Process and the Genre Approach
Teaching Korean University Writing Class: Balancing the Process and the Genre Approach
Keywords: Teaching English writing, Writing instruction, The process approach, The product approach, The genre approach, Form and function, Scaffolding language and learning, Meaningful feedback and formative assessment
Yanghee Kim,
University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, USA
Jiyoung Kim
University of Illinois, Urbana- Champaign, USA
Bio Data
Yanghee Kim is a doctoral student in Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies at the University of New Mexico, USA. Her primary focus is in teaching English as a foreign and second language and bilingual education. She has a Master’s degree in TESOL from the University of North Carolina, Charlotte, USA. Jiyoung Kim is a doctoral student in Educational Psychology at the University of Illinois, Urbana- Champaign, USA. Her interest is in language assessment for English language learners. She completed her Master’s degree in English Language Education at Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea.
This paper comes out of concerns about teaching English writing to Korean university students. This study points out four problems in university writing classes: first, a heavy emphasis on grammatical form; second, overemphasis on final product; third, lack of genre-specific writing across the curriculum; and fourth, the need for more diverse types of feedback. To solve these problems, it suggests utilizing the balanced instructional and curricular approach of the process and genre-based approach to teaching writing. Based on these two approaches to teaching, this paper provides four principles (guidelines) that can be applied to Korean university level writing classes. The four principles (guidelines) are: balancing form and function, scaffolding language and learning, extending the writing curriculum, and providing meaningful response and formative assessment. It is believed that these four principles demonstrate how university writing teachers can apply them to class effectively.
Category: Main Editions, Volume 7 Issue 2
