Views: 40,124
Arab World English Journal (AWEJ) Volume 16. Number 1, March 2025 Pp.221-234
Faculty of Educational Studies, Universiti Putra Malaysia,
Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
Department of Foreign Languages, Yangjiang Polytechnic,
Yangjiang, Guangdong, China
Faculty of Educational Studies, Universiti Putra Malaysia,
Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
Faculty of Educational Studies, Universiti Putra Malaysia,
Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
This study investigated the effects of the Process-Genre Approach on Chinese polytechnic English as a Second Language learners’ writing performance, focusing on lexical and syntactic complexity, accuracy, and fluency. The research addresses the need for effective writing instruction in polytechnic education. Ninety-two low-intermediate learners from two intact classes participated in a 9-week intervention. The treatment group (n = 46) received a process-genre instruction, while the control group (n = 46) followed a conventional product-oriented instruction. The quantitative analysis measured complexity through lexical density, type-token ratio, lexical sophistication for lexical complexity, as well as sentence length, dependent clauses, coordinate phrases for syntactic complexity. Accuracy was assessed by four error types (syntactic, morphological, preposition, and spelling), and fluency was gauged by total word count and words produced per 30 minutes. Pre-post comparisons showed significant improvements within the treatment group across all dimensions. Between-group analysis revealed superior gains in fluency and complexity for the treatment group over the control group. In contrast, there was no significant difference in accuracy across the two groups. These results suggest the process-genre approach enhances fluency and complexity but may require additional form-focused instruction to improve accuracy. The study contributes to writing pedagogy by demonstrating how the process-genre approach can be optimized to support multidimensional writing development in polytechnic education contexts.
GU, M., Noordin, N., &Ismail, L. (2025).Enhancing Second Language Learners’ Writing through a Process-Genre Approach: A Multidimensional Analysis of Complexity, Accuracy, and Fluency Development. Arab World English Journal, 16(1) 221-234
Ahmadi, P., Samad, A. A., & Noordin, N. (2013). Identity Formation of TEFL Graduate Students through Oral Discourse Socialization. Theory & Practice in Language Studies (TPLS), 3(10), 1764-1769. https://doi.org/10.4304/tpls.3.10.1764-1769
Alghizzi, T. M., & Alshahrani, T. M. (2020). Determining the Effectiveness of the Process Genre Approach in Increasing and Decreasing Saudi EFL University Students’ Complexity, Accuracy, and Fluency in Reaction Essays. International Journal of English Linguistics, 10(1), 424-448. https://doi.org/10.5539/ijel.v10n1p424
Badger, R., & White, G. (2000). A Process Genre Approach to Teaching Writing. ELT Journal, 54(2), 153-160. https://doi.org/10.1093/elt/54.2.153
Barrot, J. (2018). Using Sociocognitive-Transformative Approach in Writing Classrooms: Effects on L2 Learners’ Writing Performance. Reading and Writing Quarterly, 34(2), 187–201. https://doi.org/10.1080/10573569.2017.1387631
Bui, G., & Skehan, P. (2018). Complexity, Accuracy, and Fluency. The TESOL Encyclopedia of English Language Teaching, 1-7. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118784235.eelt0046
Bulté, B., & Housen, A. (2014). Conceptualizing and Measuring Short-term Changes in L2 Writing Complexity. Journal of Second Language Writing, 26, 42–65. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jslw.2014.09.005
Chen, Y. S., & Su, S. W. (2012). A Genre-based Approach to Teaching EFL Summary Writing. ELT Journal, 66(2), 184-192. https://doi.org/10.1093/elt/ccr061
Cohen, J. (1992). A Power Primer. Psychological Bulletin, 112(1), 155–159.
Ellis, R. (2009). The Differential Effects of Three Types of Task Planning on Fluency, Complexity, and Accuracy in L2 Oral Production. Applied Linguistics, 30(4), 474–509. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/amp042
Ellis, R., & Yuan, F. (2004). The Effects of Planning on Fluency, Complexity, and Accuracy in Second Language Narrative Writing. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 26(1), 59–84. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0272263104026130
Fu. X, & Ibrahim, N. M. B. (2023). The Impact of Joint Construction of a Process Genre Approach on EFL Tertiary Level Students’ Argumentative Writing Development. Eurasian Journal of Educational Research, 103, 190-207.
Hartshorn, K. J., Evans, N. W., Merrill, P. F., Sudweeks, R. R., Strong-Krause, D., & Anderson, N. J. (2010). Effects of Dynamic Corrective Feedback on ESL Writing Accuracy. TESOL Quarterly, 44, 84–109. https://doi.org/10.5054/tq.2010.213781
Housen, A., & Kuiken, F. (2009). Complexity, Accuracy, and Fluency in Second Language Acquisition. Applied Linguistics, 30, 461–473. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/amp048.
Huang, Y., & Jun Zhang, L. (2020). Does a Process-Genre Approach Help Improve Students’ Argumentative Writing in English as a Foreign Language? Findings from an Intervention Study. Reading & Writing Quarterly, 36(4), 339-364. https://doi.org/10.1080/10573569.2019.1649223
Kuiken, F., & Vedder, I. (2019). Investigating Teachers’ Perceptions of Syntactic Complexity in L2 Academic Writing. Instructed Second Language Acquisition, 3(2), 228-248. https://doi.org/10.1558/isla.37977
Li, H., & He, L. (2015). A Comparison of EFL Raters’ Essay-Rating Processes across Two Types of Rating Scales. Language Assessment Quarterly, 12(2), 178–212. https://doi.org/10.1080/15434303.2015.1011738
Lu, X. (2010). Automatic Analysis of Syntactic Complexity in Second Language Writing. International Journal of Corpus Linguistics, 15, 474–496. https://doi.org/10.1075/ijcl.15.4.02lu.
Lu, X. (2012). The Relationship of Lexical Richness to the Quality of ESL Learners’ Oral Narratives. The Modern Language Journal, 96(2), 190–208. https://doi.org/10.1111j.1540-4781.2011.01232_1.x.
Mujtaba, S. M., Barrot, J.S., Parkash, R., & Nawaz, M.W. (2023). Combining Sociocognitive-Transformative Approach and Form-Focused Instruction: Effects on L2 Learners’ Complexity, Accuracy and Fluency in Writing. Southeast Asian Journal of English Language Studies, 29(3). https://doi.org/10.17576/3L-2023-2903-13
Norris, J. M., & Ortega, L. (2009). Towards an Organic Approach to Investigating CAF in Instructed SLA: The Case of Complexity. Applied linguistics, 30(4), 555-578. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/amp044
Ortega, L. (2003). Syntactic Complexity Measures and their Relationship to L2 Proficiency: A Research Synthesis of College-level L2 Writing. Applied Linguistics, 24, 492–518. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/24.4.492
Pallotti, G. (2009). CAF: Defining, Refining and Differentiating Constructs. Applied linguistics, 30(4), 590-601. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/amp045
Peng, Y. & Barrot, J. (2023). Post-writing Form-focused Instruction in Process-genre-oriented Writing Classrooms: Effects on Second Language Learners’ Writing Accuracy. Porta Linguarum, 39, 249– 264. https://doi.org/10.30827/portalin.vi39.24276
Rahimi, M. (2024). Effects of Integrating Motivational Instructional Strategies into a Process-genre Writing Instructional Approach on Students’ Engagement and Argumentative Writing. System, 121, 103261. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2024.103261
Skehan, P. (1998). A Cognitive Approach to Language Learning. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
Skehan, P. (2009). Modelling Second Language Performance: Integrating Complexity, Accuracy, Fluency, and Lexis. Applied Linguistics, 30(4), 510–532. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/amp047
Trang, N. H., & Barrot, J. S. (2024). Pre-Writing and Post-Writing Explicit Instruction: Differential Effects on L2 Learners’ Writing Accuracy. RELC Journal, 55(3), 688-704. https://doi.org/10.1177/00336882231184270
Truong, M.H. (2022). Impact of Process-Genre Approach on EFL Sophomore’s Writing Performance, Writing Efficacy, Writing Autonomy. Journal of Language and Education, 8(1 (29)), 181-195. https://doi.org/10.17323/jle.2022.12165
Wolfe-Quintero, K., Inagaki, S., & Kim, H. (1998). Second Language Development in Writing: Measures of Fluency, Accuracy, and Complexity. Honolulu: HI. University of Hawaii Press.
Yasuda, S. (2011). Genre-based Tasks in Foreign Language Writing- Developing Writers’ Genre Awareness, Linguistic Knowledge, and Writing Competence. Journal of Second Language Writing, 20(2), 111–133.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jslw.2011.03.001
Yoon, H. J., & Polio, C. (2017). The Linguistic Development of Students of English as a Second Language in Two Written Genres. TESOL Quarterly, 51(2), 275-301. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.296
Zhang, L. (2016). Reflections on the Pedagogical Imports of Western Practices for Professionalizing ESLEFL Writing and Writing Teacher Education. Australian Review of Applied Linguistics, 39(3), 203–232. https://doi.org/10.1075/aral.39.3.01zha
Zhang, N., Swaran Singh, C. K., Du, J., Wong, W. L. (2024). Scripting Success: a Systematic Literature Review of the Process Genre Approach for Writing in Asian Education. Perspektivy nauki i obrazovania – Perspectives of Science and Education, 67(1), 48-69. https://doi.org/10.32744/pse.2024.1.3
Gu Mingjuan is a PhD candidate in Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) from Universiti Putra Malaysia. She is also a lecturer in Yangjiang Polytechnic College in China. Her main research interests focus on second language writing curriculum and vocabulary acquisition. https://orcid.org/0009-0007-9433-8801.
Nooreen Noordin is an associate professor at the Department of Language and Humanities Education, Her research interests are on language learning technology, content-based instruction and learning styles. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4970-2682.
Lilliati Ismail is an associate professor at the Faculty of Educational Studies, Universiti Putra Malaysia. Her research interests include grammar instruction and task-based language teaching. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7977-7327