Keynote speakers
plin |
Four experts will deliver keynote lectures on genre-related approaches:
Mable Chan (Hong Kong Polytechnic University)
Genre based approaches to the teaching and learning of persuasive business discourse In this keynote speech, I will start by examining literature that utilizes genre-based approaches for analyzing persuasive business discourse, the key contributions and pedagogical implications. I will also present findings from my study, which investigates persuasive messaging in sales correspondence, invitations, and charity appeals through a genre-based framework. By employing Wmatrix, a corpus analysis tool, the research identifies persuasive strategies, namely logos, ethos, and pathos, and assesses their linguistic features across different text sections. The study uncovers unique structural patterns and linguistic characteristics specific to each message type. By analyzing sales letters, invitations, and charity requests, the research provides insights into persuasion mechanics and techniques for achieving it. The findings offer practical applications for educators developing business English materials intended for improving students’ persuasive skills in professional settings. Considering the influence of generative artificial intelligence (AI) on ESP/EAP pedagogy, the speech will conclude by proposing ways to incorporate AI into genre-based pedagogical practices in language classrooms. |
Bethany Gray (Iowa State University)
Introduction to genre and register studies |
Charlene Polio (Michigan State University)
Promoting genre awareness with diverse student groups With an emphasis on genre-based approaches to teaching writing, some instructors aim to teach genre-specific knowledge for academic, non-academic, and multimodal writing. While such an approach can be appropriate and effective, it can be restrictive and challenging with heterogeneous student populations. Using Tardy et. al.’s (2020) framework of genre knowledge, I will suggest prioritizing genre awareness over genre-specific knowledge. I will provide examples from a range of context. First, I will show examples of mini-projects that can be completed by preservice teachers so that they better understand genre and genre-based instruction. Second, I will show activities for raising genre awareness with low-level learners. The third and largest portion of the talk will focus on academic writing and genre awareness. In this section of the talk, I will discuss research on academic writing (including my own, Gao, Pham, & Polio, 2022, 2023, in press) that shows why genre-specific focused instruction can be problematic. I will present activities for raising genre awareness in heterogeneous academic writing classes and in general academic classes that include both first and second language writers. Throughout the talk, I show how rhetorical move, corpus-based, and multimodal analyses, as well as rhetorical genre theory and AI, can be used by students to explore genre. |
Serge Sharoff (University of Leeds)
On automatic genre classification: Why linguists have job security The rise of Large Language Models has led to the perception that many traditional problems in computational linguistics have been solved. However, linguistic knowledge remains crucial for "saying sensible and useful things about any text" (Halliday, 1985). In this talk, I will explore the continued relevance of linguistic analysis in the age of LLMs, focusing on three key aspects: (1) identifying the genres of texts used to train LLMs, (2) detecting the registerial features associated with these genres, and (3) analyzing discourse constructions relevant to them. |