This chapter introduces Cognitive Discourse Functions (CDFs) as a pedagogical response to the challenges of teaching complex genres to novice ESP learners in EFL settings. Traditional GBI often overlooks students’ varying linguistic and epistemic readiness, demanding a framework that explicitly links content, cognition, and language. CDFs, developed within CLIL research by Dalton-Puffer (2013), are defined as categories of recurring academic speech acts in disciplinary discourse (e.g., DEFINE, EXPLAIN, EVALUATE), which underpin knowledge building. Operating at a meso-level between genre structure and lexicogrammar, they function as manageable discourse units, conceptually similar to Lemke’s “mini-genres.” The framework, operationalised through seven core discourse functions, is intentionally constrained to prevent cognitive overload. The chapter argues that by focusing on CDFs, instruction can proceed “from the inside out,” building Genre Awareness and Rhetorical Flexibility by first enabling students to enact recurring operations. This approach serves as a scaffold, helping students construct coherent, purposeful discourse and make informed rhetorical choices, particularly in open-ended or hybrid academic tasks.