A descriptive longitudinal investigation of EFL academic discussion writing following systemic functional linguistics–oriented genre-based instruction

Abstract

Abstract Long-term evidence on the durability of genre-based writing instruction in EFL higher education remains limited, because most studies evaluate outcomes immediately after a single course and rarely track whether genre resources are maintained or reshaped across multiple years, evidence that is important for curriculum design and program-level decision-making. This exploratory, descriptive, small-scale longitudinal classroom investigation traces the development of EFL academic discussion writing following Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL)-oriented genre-based approach (GBA) instruction in a Japanese university context. Two cohorts of students who completed the same 15-week SFL–GBA course produced timed discussion essays at Time 1 (pre-course), Time 2 (immediate post-course), and Time 3 (delayed posttest 3–4 years later). To contextualize Time 3 performance under matched task conditions, a third cohort who completed a skill-based writing course completed the same Time 3 task and served as a cross-sectional reference group. Fifty-eight essays were analysed using mixed methods that combine corpus-based lexical indices (text length, lexical richness, and academic vocabulary use) with SFL-informed coding of discussion-genre resources. Across the SFL–GBA learning communities, several lexical and genre-related resources observed at Time 2 were broadly maintained at Time 3, while some interpersonal resources showed mixed trajectories, highlighting areas that may require sustained instructional support beyond the first year.

The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Language Testing in Asia, 2026 · DOI ↗