Applying a genre-based approach to teach personal statement writing: the case of Thai EFL upper secondary students

This research intended to study the application of the approach to suit the unique context of Thai secondary school with an aim to teach writing personal statement for undergraduate university admission. The purposes of this study were to investigate the effects of the genre-based approach on students’ writing abilities and attitudes from both high and low ability groups. The participants of this case study involved eight students from grade 12, four from high ability group and the other four from low ability group. Studying through the developed didactic sequence, the students were asked to do the pre-test, and at the end, the post-test, along with the questionnaire and interview sessions. For the writing ability, the result from the tests revealed that while the overall scores of the whole group were only slightly improved, the improvements of scores among low ability students were more noticeable, whereas the high ability group was found with decreases. The analysis of their works showed interesting improvements judged from different criteria in both groups but varied between the two groups. The attitude results were reported positively from both groups according to the questionnaire, yet some concerns were also discussed. The results of the attitude questionnaire were either supported or questioned by the interviews, open-ended questions, and the literature. This study concludes by presenting benefits, as well as concerns, of applying the genre-based approach to a specific context while asserting its possibility.