Mastering the genre of English emails: A linguistic analysis of learner uptake in an on-line learning environment

Abstract Email writing is a core genre in in curricula of English as a second or foreign language (ESFL) at secondary level. curricula. This study investigates which genre-specific linguistic elements lower-secondary learners take up during a short, online, genre-based writing intervention. We analyzed N = 322 Grade-8/9 students in north-western Switzerland who completed three (semi-)formal request-email tasks. Seven genre elements were coded in each text (subject line, salutation, information about writer, matter of concern, task-question coverage, concluding sentence, closing). Uptake occurred across all categories in the course of the intervention, with the largest gains in task completion (addressing all required questions) and formulaic elements (appropriate subject lines, salutations, and closings). For example, learners markedly shifted from informal openings (“Hi/Hello”) to appropriate forms (“Dear Ms …”). By contrast, improvements in freer elements that require flexible language use—succinct self-introduction and clear statement of purpose—were positive but more gradual. Descriptively, progress was non-linear: some students showed temporary backsliding, consistent with dynamic restructuring in L2 development. We conclude that tightly aligned, rubric-guided instruction plus a targeted language framework can produce short-term, measurable gains in both formulaic and interpersonal-pragmatic realizations of the email genre, even without continuous teacher mediation. Findings inform the design of online EFL units and suggest clear targets for automated or AI-supported formative feedback in genre writing.