Promoting Student Participation and Engagement Using Alternative Text Analytical Approaches

Abstract

Many English for academic purposes (EAP) and English for specific purposes (ESP) courses have heavily drawn on the genre approach to the learning and teaching of academic writing. Move analysis, one of its most popular text analytical techniques, has informed not only the design of the course/curriculum, but also the development of the pedagogical materials. Simply performing traditional move analysis to explore the linguistic features and rhetorical structures of academic texts as in-class activities in EAP and ESP classes with students, especially undergraduates who are non-English majors, can be challenging, boring and demotivating. In view of this, while preserving the essence of move analysis, we have designed and experimented with several alternative approaches which aim to increase active student participation and engagement. In this presentation, we will describe and illustrate the different approaches we have experimented with in an ESP course for Information Management students focusing on the writing of an academic research report. Using qualitative and quantitative data, we will discuss student feedback on and perceptions of these alternatives and contrast them with the traditional approach. We will end the presentation with an exploration of the pedagogical implications of text analytical tasks that can promote active learning and participation.