Introducing genre-based pedagogy to the teaching of literature reviews in an Indonesian EFL context

This thesis reports on a classroom-based action research project, involving the teaching of literature reviews in an Indonesian EFL context. A genre-based curriculum was developed, based on a ‘pedagogical genre’ of literature reviews and the pedagogical approach widely known as the teaching learning cycle as developed in systemic functional linguistics. Evidence from the initial teaching implementation showed that students found the course useful, and a number developed the ability to write literature reviews as taught during the twelve meetings of the program. However, the study also found that the problematic writing practices that had served as motivation for the intervention persisted among the cohort at the end of the curriculum, and the students needed more support in terms of the lexicogrammar and discourse semantics of literature reviews. Therefore, additional analysis focusing on the discursive features of the literature review model texts was conducted in order to inform a more comprehensive framework for the teaching of the linguistic resources needed for literature review writing. This thesis presents the results of the analysis of student and teacher perceptions of academic writing, the development of a pedagogical genre for the teaching of literature reviews, the design and implementation of a curriculum for the teaching of literature reviews in a tertiary Indonesian EFL context, and an analysis of the discursive features of literature reviews. This represents a significant period in an ongoing action research cycle, where language-curriculum development and implementation is informed by research into the target texts of learners.