11.[1 6]effects of process-genre based approach on the written english performance of computer science students in a nigerian polytechnic

Journal of Education and Practice www.iiste.org
ISSN 2222-1735 (Paper) ISSN 2222-288X (Online)
Vol 3, No 6, 2012

Effects of Process-Genre Based Approach on the Written
English Performance of Computer Science Students in a
Nigerian Polytechnic
Babalola, Halira Abeni Litinin
Department of General Studies, The Federal Polytechnic, Ede, P.M.B. 231, Ede
Osun State, Nigeria
E-mail: abenihal2006@yahoo.com
Abstract
Writing is one of the four language skills which learners must acquire in order to be able to
demonstrate competence in the use of English language. It is also considered as the most difficult
because it requires the application of the knowledge of the other three skills. Research has shown that
polytechnic students in Nigeria have difficulties in acquiring writing skills due mainly to the limited
attention being paid to the teaching of writing and the use of out-dated and teacher-centred
methodology. This study therefore aims at investigating the effect of the Process-Genre based approach
(PGBA) on the written English performance of computer science students in the Federal Polytechnic,
Ede. Nigeria. The quasi-experimental pre-test, post-test and control group design was adopted for the
study. Four research questions and three null hypotheses were tested using the Analysis of Covariance
(ANCOVA) at 0.05 level of significance. Results indicate that there is a significant effect of PGBA on
the performance in written English of computer science students involved in the treatment.
Key words: Competence, Process-Genre, performance, Written English

1. Introduction
Students in Nigerian Polytechnics need to be competent in writing for a number of reasons. First is the
fact that they need to acquire the certificates for which they have enrolled in the institution through
written examinations, continuous assessment tests, assignments, and the writing of notes in class. In
addition, the acquisition of written skills is important because even after graduation, students would
require the skill in their work places. Good expression in writing often times determine whether an
applicant gets or does not get employed in a country with a very high employment rate. Applicants
needs all the advantages to move them forward, therefore, acquisition of good writing skills is a must
for polytechnics students.
Research has however shown that students are generally poor in English language in general and
writing in particular (Adesonoye 1976, Adegbile 1985, Aboderin 1992, Iyaba 1993, Awodele 1998,
2003 and Kolawole 1998). Several reasons have been put forward as being responsible for this state of
affairs. These reasons can be grouped into two; teachers and teaching methodology and students’
attitude and motivation.
Teachers of writing are usually overwhelmed by the unusually large class size; they therefore adopted
the easy way out, that is, the lecture method which does not require much from the teacher other than
the presentation of the lecture over one or two hours in class. However, research has shown that for
learners to benefit optimally there has to be practical applications of what is taught. If learners are
taught how to write, they should be made to write. Frequent writing practice however, requires that
teachers would need to grade students scripts and where the classes are large then teachers have
problems. Also, teachers have limited access to new approaches and research findings that have been
proven to be effective in ensuring that learners acquire writing skills. Teachers also have problems
with not only the application of these approaches but also, the performance of classroom research in
their classes (Babalola 2011). All these factors affect the teaching of writing which in turn affects how
students learn. In addition, students of polytechnics in Nigeria see themselves as potential
professionals in various fields and not as language students. They perceive language courses as ‘none
core’ courses that have been included to distract rather than educate them. Students are therefore not
motivated to learn through appropriate class participation.
2. Literature Review
The process-Genre approach to the teaching of writing is a combination of the process models and the
genre theories which came about with the realisation of the limitations of both the process and the
genre approaches in developing learners’ writing skills. In the views of Matsuda (2003) the process
approach was considered to be the most successful approach in the history of pedagogical reforms in

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Vol 3, No 6, 2012

the teaching of writing and it was therefore widely applied by many scholars in their writing classes
(Bazerman 1980, Horowitz 1986, Badger & white 2000, Zeng 2005). Limitations of the process
approach however, led to the development of the genre approach, the essence of which is to teach
learners the conventions of different text types which include the layout and the presentation as well as
the language (Babalola 2011).
The positive effects of the genre approach on the teaching of writing were also acknowledged by many
scholars (Badger & White 2000, Hyland 2003, Paltridge 2004, Kim & Kim 2005, Yan 2005, Zeng
2005, Goa 2007). However, limitations of the approach led to the conclusion that using the genre
approach exclusively might not be capable of making learners competent writers. Badger & White
(2000) therefore, proposed a marriage of the two approaches under discussion, hence the development
of the process-genre based approach to the teaching of writing. The process-genre approach is therefore
according to Frith (2006) and Goa (2007) a hybrid, the combination of two approaches which takes into
consideration the development of the writing skills as well as the conventions, concept of which not
only draws from the genre approaches such as knowledge of context, the purpose of writing and certain
text features but also retains the process philosophy such as writing skills development and learners’
response. The process-genre approach in the views ofr Goa (2007), characterizes not only the learners’
creative thinking and the act of how writers form text, but also the knowledge of linguistic features as
well as specific discourse community where a particular genre performs.
2. Methodology
The design used for this study is the quasi-experimental with pre-test, post-test and control groups.
Three research questions were formulated while three research hypotheses were tested in the study. The
participants for this study were 40 HND1 students of computer science both male and female. The
students are majoring in computer science but by the curriculum have to undergo compulsory language
courses in each of the four semesters. The students were randomly selected from two intact classes and
were divided into two groups of 20 students each (Groups 1&2). Two researcher designed instruments
were used for the study; the process-genre based approach instructional manual (PGBAIM) and the
written English performance test (WEPT).The content of the manual was based on an adaptation of
Lin’s (2006) Curriculum cycle and Kim & Kim’s (2005) four suggested principles of balanced
instruction. All the students were made to write the pre -test which was an essay test. Students in Group
1 were subjected to treatment with the process-genre based approach in essay writing four hours per
week for six weeks. Students in group 2 were taught using the traditional lecture method. The students
were also made to write a post-test after the treatment. The data collected was analysed using Analysis
of Covariance (ANCOVA) at 0.05 level of significance.

3.1 Research questions

1. Will there be any difference in the effect of Process-Genre Based Approach (PGBA) on computer
science students’ performance in written English?
2. Will there be any difference in the effect of PGBA on the students’ performance in the four writing
attributes: organization, Content, Expression and Linguistic Accuracy?
3. Will there be any difference in the effect of PGBA on students’ performance in written English on
the basis of gender?

3.2 Research Hypotheses
Ho1: There will be no significant difference in the effect of PGBA on computer science students’
performance in written English.
Ho2: There will be no significant difference in the effect of PGBA on students’ performance in
written English in each of the four writing attributes: organization, Content, Expression and
Linguistic Accuracy?
Ho3: There will be no significant difference in the effect of PGBA on computer science students’
performance in written English on the basis of gender.

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Vol 3, No 6, 2012

4. Results
The data collected from the study was analysed using analysis of covariance and the results are
presented below.
Ho1: There will be no significant difference in the effect of PGBA on Computer Science
Students performance in written English.
To test this hypothesis, an Analysis of Covariance was performed and the result is presented in table 1
below.

Source Type 111 sum Df Mean Square F Sig
of Squares
Corrected 1304.745a 2 652.373 133.928 .000
model 89.446 1 89.446 18.363 .000
Intercept 149.120 1 149.120 30.613 .000
Pre-total 224.457 1 224.457 46.080 .000*
Treatment 180.230 37 4.871
Error 8481.000 40
Total 1484.975 39
Corrected
Total
*=significantly Different, P<0.05

Table 1: Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) Showing the Effect of PGBA on Students’
Performance in Written English.
The result in table 1 shows that there is a significant effect of PGBA on the performance in written
English of students involved in the experiment with P value of .000. That is, P < 0.05. Therefore,
students in the treatment group benefited significantly and this implies that PGBA if used can help to
improve students’ writing skills.
Ho2. There will be no significant difference in the effect of PGBA on students’ performance in
written English in each of the four writing attributes: organisation, Content, Expression
and Linguistic Accuracy?
below.
Writing Source Type 111 Df Mean F Sig
Attributes sum of Square
Squares
ORG Corrected 11.678 2 5.839 12.400 .000
model 23.727 1 23.727 50.388 .000
Intercept 3.578 1 3.578 7.598 .009
Pre-total 5.337 1 5.337 11.335 .002*
Treatment 17.422 37 .471
CONT Error 354.000 40
Total 29.100 39
Corrected Total

Corrected
EXP model 205.364 2 102.682 110.006 .000
Intercept 37.658 1 37.658 40.344 .000
Pre-total 11.764 1 11.764 12.603 .001
Treatment 61.050 1 61.050 65.405 .000*
Error 34.536 37 .933
MECH Total 1220.000 40
ACC Corrected Total 239.900 39

Corrected 210.866 2 105.433 184.803 .000
model 24.094 1 24.094 42.233 .000

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Vol 3, No 6, 2012

Intercept 12.841 1 12.841 22.508 .000
Pre-total 41.612 1 41.612 72.938 .000*
Treatment 21.109 37 .571
Error 1345.000 40
Total 231.975 39
Corrected Total

Corrected
model 17.218 2 8.609 7.987 .001
Intercept 16.820 1 16.820 15.605 .000
Pre-total .318 1 .318 .295 .590
Treatment 16.820 1 16.820 15.605 .000*
Error 39.882 37 1.078
Total 74.000 40
Corrected Total 57.100 39

*=significantly Different, P<0.05
Performance in Written English in the Four Attributes of writing: Organization, Content,
Expression and mechanical Accuracy.

The results in table 2 show that there is a significant effect of PGBA on students’ performance in all the
four writing attributes: Organization, Content, Expression and mechanical Accuracy with P values of
.000. That is, in each case, the values of P < 0.05 were obtained.
Ho3: There will be no significant difference in the effect of PGBA on computer science
students’ performance in written English on the basis of gender.
below.
Source Type 111 sum Df Mean Square F Sig
of Squares
Corrected 1085.818 2 542.909 .000
model 2.793 1 50.325 .614
Intercept 1065.389 1 2.793.259 .000
Pre-total 5.530 1 1065.389 .479 NS*
Treatment 399.157 37 98.757
Error 8481.000 40 5.530 .513
Total 1484.975 39 10.788
Corrected
Total
*NS = Not significantly Different, P>0.05
Performance in Written English on the basis of Gender.

The result in table 3 shows that there is no significant difference in the effect of PGBA on students’
performance on the basis gender. Both male and female participants in the treatment group benefited
equally from the treatment with P value of .479 which is not significant at P>0.05.
5. Discussion
The findings of this study revealed that Process-Genre Based Approach to the teaching of writing had
significant effect on the students’ written English performance. The post-test scores of the students in
the treatment group were significantly higher than that of the students in the control group which
implied that students in the experimental group benefited significantly from the treatment. The students
improved performance could be attributed to the student-centred, practical and flexible nature of the
process-Genre Approach. The finding is consistent with the results of previous studies (Babalola 2011,
Cheng 2008, Goa 2007, Voon Foo 2007, Frith 2006 and Ming 2006). The approach as stated earlier is a
combination of two approaches (Process and Genre). The teachers were able to provide situations for

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Vol 3, No 6, 2012

learners to identify the purpose, mode, field and tenure of the writing and with adequate support and
motivation, learners were able to develop and use appropriate writing skills. Also corroborating, Kim &
Kim (2005) assert that the Process-Genre approach provides opportunities for learners to develop their
individual creativity and that it helps them to fully understand the features of target genres.
6. Conclusion
Research has shown that polytechnic students lack effective writing skills. Also, these group of learners
need to acquire these skills in order to succeed both academically and professionally. Therefore, the
need for the application of effective approaches to writing instructions in the classroom cannot be over
emphasized. Findings from this study has established that learners’ written English performance
improved significantly as a result of the treatment with the process-genre based approach (PGBA). The
effect was significant in the overall performance as well as for each of the four attributes of writing. If
effectively applied therefore, PGBA is capable of ensuring that learners acquire requisite writing skills.
However, additional effort is required of teachers in the aspects of materials, class control and effective
feedback so that learners would have adequate information on their progress. There should be effective
use of student/student feedback, teacher/student conferencing, and use of portfolio as well as genuine
interest in the students’ development.

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