Using a genre-based approach to promote oral communication in the colombian english classroom

Abstract

The genre-based approach (GBA) has been used in different curriculum areas to develop learners’ meaning-making potential. Using thetext as the main unit of communication and pedagogy, this approach conceives of language learning and use as a social, textual, and goalorientedprocess. Thus, it constitutes a promising alternative to the practice –not uncommon in Colombian classrooms– of teaching EFL oralcommunication through memorized dialogues with no realistic purpose. Based on a revision of recent literature and research, I argue that theGBA may foster students’ oral interpersonal communication skills because it 1) involves them in meaning-oriented, text-based, and realisticpractice, 2) assumes an explicit pedagogy that discloses the lexical and grammatical resources needed for successful communication, and3) facilitates learners’ increasing control of oral communication thanks to their appropriation of the necessary metalanguage to talk about theprocess of making meaning in English. I also maintain that this approach gives teachers linguistically-principled tools for planning instructionand assessing learning. Finally, I discuss various curriculum and syllabus implications resulting from the adoption of the GBA for EFL instructionand suggest specific objectives and activities with a sample lesson based on Colombian standards.

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