Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2010, ED Teaching and Learning (Columbus campus)

Genre theory has greatly influenced ESP/EAP writing instruction, but little is known about the perspectives of the students and how they learn in genre-based writing classrooms. This study investigated the learning of four first year international students enrolled in a two-course sequence of ESP/EAP writing to see how learners respond to genre-based writing instruction. The participants were selected according to their level of study (M.A., PhD) and their disciplines (Science, Education). I was the teacher of both courses. In the classroom, the students were first introduced to a typical version of a genre that was introduced in the textbook; then, in groups, they analyzed how this genre was realized in their own disciplines. The students were then required to write three drafts of this genre individually, using contents from their own disciplines. They met with me for a one-on-one tutorial after submitting the first draft and received a letter grade for the third draft. Written feedback was given for all three drafts. Observation notes from the classroom, audio-recordings of the tutorials, and drafts of the students were analyzed using the interpretive participant observational framework proposed by Erickson (1986). The findings demonstrate that each student needed to travel what I call the interpretive distance, the distance between the model version of the genre to the actual application of it into their own disciplines. By completing each assignment and traveling the interpretive distance repeatedly during the two quarters, each student was able to identify specific roadblocks that inhibited themselves from navigating the interpretive journey independently. These roadblocks were different combinations of (1) an understanding of genre, (2) language proficiency, and (3) knowledge of their disciplinary field. The four cases are illustrative of the interpretive distance because for each participant, one aspect of genre writing was invisible to them, and their draft (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Alan Hirvela (Advisor); Diane Belcher (Committee Member); Leslie Moore (Committee Member); George Newell (Committee Member) Subjects: Composition; Education; Literacy