Leveraging Genre Theory: A Genre-Based Interactive Model for the Era of the Common Core State Standards.

Abstract: Recent educational standards have refocused the goals of foreign language (FL) instruction on "the purpose of communication" (ACTFL, 2012, p. 1) across the three modes of communication (interpersonal, interpretive, and presentational). To this end, this article considers a linguistically based genre theory as a means of enhancing instruction of presentational (writing) communication that is linked to authentic model texts. The genre theory considers all language as texts (genres) that are realized in contexts (registers) through knowledge and use of a functional grammar for making meaning called Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) (Halliday & Matthiessen, 2004, 2013). Key research from English as a second language (ESL) and FL education in the United States establishes empirical evidence of the effectiveness of instructional approaches based in this genre theory. To articulate a genre-based model of instruction for FL education linked to the National Standards (2006), the genre theory is incorporated into the Interactive Model for Integrating the Three Modes of Communication (Shrum & Glisan, 2010). Finally, implications of genre theory are discussed and recommendations are made for next steps to meet the goals articulated for FL education in the era of the Common Core State Standards (ACTFL, 2012; National Governors Association Center for Best Practices, Council of Chief State School Officers, 2010).Key words: Common Core State Standards, foreign language education, genre-based instruction, National Standards, second language writingIntroductionThe No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 mandated, among other requirements, that states provide evidence that nearly all students were making adequate yearly progress. However, the law, which was intended to promote the alignment of testing, standards, and curriculum, was quickly found to fall short of this mark: Research conducted by Rothman, Slattery, Vranek, and Resnick (2002) on the alignment be- tween state standards and the tests used to measure adequate yearly progress revealed that items that tested students' high-order thinking and critical analysis were under- represented on state tests. Overall, the movement to connect standards- based teaching and testing:may have seemed like a logical way to counter the narrowing of the curricu- lum.... However, efforts to promote more cognitively demanding instruc- tion by building complex skills and knowledge into state or district content standards have been thwarted by the very tests used to assess those stand- ards. (Hamilton, 2010, p. 49)To complicate the testing landscape, many districts and states began to use the same assessment systems for teacher ac- countability, which further compromised the tests' use as a measure of student learn- ing (Koretz & Hamilton, 2006; Shepard, 2003). In order to address the increasingly complicated and numerous state-specific standards and assessments that were created in many states across the country, consensus was building among education experts that the design of an effective system for the assessment of student learning should begin with the design of "a detailed, coherent curriculum that is aligned with rigorous content standards" (Hamilton, 2010, p. 49). The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) Initiative emerged out of this need for a more uniform assessment system that begins with a clearly articulated set of learning goals for each grade level.The CCSS are a single set of education- al standards for English language arts and mathematics for grades K-12. They were created in 2010 by the public policy divi- sion of the National Governors Associa- tion, the Center for Best Practices, as part of a nationwide initiative to build "a better assessment system" (Hamilton, 2010). States volunteer to adopt the standards, which were designed to outline the knowl- edge and skills that students will need to be college- and career-ready. Ultimately, as- sessment systems that are aligned with the CCSS are intended to replace the existing state assessments. …