Systemic Text Analysis in the ESL Writing Classroom: Does It Work?

Abstract

■ The Systemic Textual Analysis (STA) is a text-based approach to teaching writing based on a combination of the genre-based theory and systemic functional linguistics. Central to this approach is the teacher-learner collaborative analysis of various text types in terms of structure and texture through the use of genre analysis and systemic functional grammar. The critical question posed in this paper is: To what extent does STA help ESL learners become proficient writers? In other words, how can helping students analyse the macro and micro elements of a text help them improve the overall structure and texture of their own writing? This paper attempts to address this question and compares the pre- and post-instruction pieces of review writing produced by an ESL undergraduate in the English class. Using STA as an instruction method, the paper discusses the extent to which progress has been made in the student’s post-instruction text in terms of structure and texture and also the implications of such an approach for further language teaching and learning directions.