Bridging the gap between genre theory and genre education

Abstract

From primary education to academic education, genre has been used as a concept that contextualises the teaching of reading and writing skills, and guides the choice of language tasks and classroom activities. This chapter presents a case study of the Dutch secondary literacy education and explores to what extent the genre concept can be used to its full potential. It analyses applications of the genre concept through the perspectives of the intended curriculum (e.g., policy statements and standards) and the implemented curriculum (e.g., teacher preparation and teaching materials). Although the genre notion is implicitly and explicitly present in these two curriculum perspectives, it is hampered by incomplete definitions and ill-informed assumptions about the cognitive and linguistic mechanisms underlying successful use of genres. The authors identify possibilities for strengthening genre education in the Dutch language curriculum. In addition, they explore opportunities to take genre pedagogy beyond the mere teaching of genre conventions, applying the concept to a broader domain of literary teaching. The authors conclude with a research agenda aimed at bridging the gap between genre theory and genre pedagogy in an effort to support students’ development of effective oracy and literacy skills.