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Since the 1960s, SFL has been widely researched and applied in the field of language development, media discourse and language education, specifically in L1 settings (Fetzer, 2008; Lovejoy, 1998; North, 2005). Afterwards, the SFL approach starts to attract attention in ESL and EFL contexts (Green et al, 2000; Hawes &
Thomas, 1997; Liu & Liu, 2013; Mellos, 2011). The researchers examined TPs and TCs in student writings to locate writing difficulties and characteristics of successful
writings (Hawes & Thomas, 1997; Liu & Liu, 2013; Mellos, 2011; Vande Kopple, 1991; Wang, 2007). Findings of the research literature demonstrated that constant TP
was the most frequently used TP type in incoherent writings while skillful writers diversified TPs, such as linear TP and derived TP, in their essays (Christie & Dreyfus, 2007; Hawes & Thomas, 1997; Vande Kopple, 1991; Wang, 2007).
As for TCs in learner writings, the researchers observed that personal pronouns and simple nominal groups dominated unsuccessful writings (Christie & Dreyfus, 2007; Hawes & Thomas, 1997; Mellos, 2011). On the contrary, there were a wide variety of theme types in essays of high scorers, including various logical connectors in marked themes. There were also abstract nouns and extended nominal structures in
unmarked themes (Cheng, 2008; Green et al., 2000; Hawes & Thomas, 1997; Vande Kopple, 1991). Learners were encouraged to vary TCs and TPs to create coherence in
their writings (Cheng, 2008; Christie & Dreyfus, 2007; Mellos, 2011). Diverse
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thematic structures played a key role in producing coherence.
The results of previous TC and TP analysis sounded promising, and pedagogical recommendations were offered to improve student writings. However, the majority of the research investigating theme theory has focused on college students (Brown &
Marshall, 2012; Chen & Su, 2012; Cheng, 2008; Green et al, 2000). Not until recently has SFL instruction been extensively implemented in L2 settings, and even fewer studies combined the instruction of thematic structure and generic structure, not to mention those that were conducted in high schools. Based on the findings of previous research (Chen & Su, 2012; Cheng, 2008; Liu & Liu, 2013), it seems if learners improve coherence in their writings, their overall writing proficiency will also
increase. Thus, it is reasonable to generalize the positive results of previous studies to senior high schools in EFL setting.
To improve coherence in learner writings, instruction of rhetorical structures has
been proposed (Brown & Marshall, 2012; Christie & Dreyfus, 2007; Henry &
Roseberry, 1998). As Hyland (2004b, p.20) advocated, “[students] should have clear guidelines for how to construct the different kinds of texts they have to write,” but
genre-based instruction, in particular, might not have received the attention it deserves.
Few studies supported the efficacy of the instruction with empirical evidence and provided specific pedagogical implications in language classrooms, especially in L2
55 contexts.
Existing research were mainly set in colleges, but more studies should have been
carried out in senior high schools, in which diverse genres are taught, not just
focusing on academic writing. In particular, the participants in most research were advanced learners in the English for Academic Purposes (EAP) or English for Specific Purposes (ESP) contexts (Brown & Marshall, 2012; Chen & Su, 2012;
Cheng, 2008; Henry & Roseberry, 1998). Researchers of previous studies recognized
the need to enlarge the scope of research by involving more participants (Cheng, 2008;
Liu & Liu, 2013; Mellos, 2011). More students and a larger number of data should be
included in research.
Also, the existing research reported inconclusive results. Henry & Roseberry (1998) argued that explicit instruction of rhetorical moves might enable learners to produce well-textured writings, but there was no significant progress on rhetorical moves after the instruction; similarly, findings of Brown & Marshall (2012) implied that improving rhetorical structure seemed to contribute to better academic essay introductions, but the difference of move scores between pretest and posttest writings did not reach significance. Direct empirical evidence is still necessary to investigate whether genre-based instruction can achieve its potential. Furthermore, only general
theoretical advice was available in most of the previous studies (Christie & Dreyfus,
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2007; Vande Kopple, 1991). Very few studies have developed and provided teaching materials of SFL genre-based theory in writing instruction. Therefore, future studies can contribute to the literature by including complete teaching materials, which might inform language teachers of how to improve coherence in student writings effectively.
To sum up, further research is needed to affirm the effectiveness of the instruction informed by SFL theory, and to provide specific guidance on incorporating
the instruction of rhetorical moves, TPs and TCs into EFL writing pedagogy. With the purpose of investigating how the instruction may benefit EFL writers, the present research implemented the instruction of TPs, TCs, and rhetorical moves of picture writings in a Taiwanese senior high school classroom to help EFL learners enhance coherence in picture writings.
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CHAPTER THREE
Methodology
To help students produce coherent essays on GSAT, teaching materials for a three-week intensive instruction program were developed based on SFL theory.
Pretest and posttest writings were collected to explore the efficacy of the instruction in an EFL senior high school classroom. The present study adopted both quantitative and qualitative approaches to analyze the data and report findings.
The Chapter consists of four sections. Section 3.1, Participants, presents