FOCUS ON THE TEXT
Attention is now being paid to longer and more complex texts as students need to be able to deal with texts that contain blends of different genres/text types. In genre-based approaches, there is an emphasis on the creation of meaning at the level of the whole text. Students need to be able to create and comprehend meaning within the context of a text to engage in effective language learning. How to begin? 1. Program teaching and learning activities that involve a whole range of texts that are both written and spoken 2. Looking at whole texts and how they are spoken and written for different purposes 3. Look at how texts are organised to construct meanings or layers of meaning within the field, tenor and mode 4. Give students time to explore the use of different text types themselves 5. A range of texts and their typical features should be introduced early in a child's schooling alongside narrative and the typical story books. Ewing, R. (1994). What is a functional model of language. Retrieved from http://www.petaa.edu.au/docs/pens-eus-and-petaa-papers-full-text/095f.pdf?sfvrsn=0. |