scholarly journals An experimental study on the effect of systemic functional linguistics applied through a genre-pedagogy approach to teaching writing

2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-89 ◽  
Author(s):  
May Olaug Horverak
Keyword(s):  
Systemic Functional Linguistics ◽  
First Language ◽  
Text Structure ◽  
Teaching Writing ◽  
Grammar Instruction ◽  
Making Meaning ◽  
Functional Linguistics ◽  
Approach To Teaching ◽  
Argumentative Essays ◽  
Explicit Grammar Instruction

Abstract In the tradition of teaching English as a second language, there has been an increased interest in how functional language descriptions and understandings of genres may be used as resources for making meaning. The present study investigates what impact writing instruction that draws upon systemic functional linguistics (SFL) applied through a genre-pedagogy approach has on students’ ability to write argumentative essays. This includes explicit grammar instruction inspired by SFL, as well as instruction on text structure. The study uses a mixed-methods approach, with a quasi-experiment followed up by quantitative and qualitative analyses of the collected material. Statistical analyses indicate a significant positive effect on writing performance in the intervention groups, regardless of gender, first language and previous level of writing. As the study lacks control groups, the quantitative analysis was complemented with examples from student texts to illustrate the improvement revealed in the statistical analysis. The findings suggest that SFL applied through a genre-pedagogy approach to teaching writing may help students to improve their writing skills.

scholarly journals Interpersonal Function of Joe Biden’s Victory Speech (Systemic Functional Linguistics View)

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 57
Author(s):  
Hieronimus Canggung Darong
Keyword(s):  
Social Relationships ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Systemic Functional Linguistics ◽  
Function Analysis ◽  
Analysis Data ◽  
Text Structure ◽  
Functional Linguistics ◽  
Linguistic Resources ◽  
Teachers And Students ◽  
Close Distance

Text analysis was mainly concerned with the ideational function and textual function. Besides, macro aspect has been regarded as the most text structure examined in previous studies.  Regardless of those three aspects, this study focused on the interpersonal function analysis of political speech text, by taking an example of Joe Biden’s victory speech. The purposed theory namely Systemic Functional Linguistics theory (SFL) was then applied to analyze the text. The analysis was conducted by modifying the speech text into clauses which were subsequently analyzed in accordance with the goal of the analysis. Data analysis revealed that the speech established an intimate relationship and a close distance with the audience. As such, the speaker enables to gain support and exchange information through the use of linguistics resources namely declarative clause in the mood structure, modality, and pronoun "we". As a conclusion, different use of mood, modality, and personal pronouns might determine the different level of interpersonal function of a text. This study has a great impact on language teaching and learning in terms of maintaining social relationships and exchanging meanings between teachers and students by taking into account the link between linguistic resources and the nature of texts.

scholarly journals Unconventional Opposition in Discourse: From the Perspective of Systemic Functional Linguistics

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 47
Author(s):  
Wenxiu Song
Keyword(s):  
Systemic Functional Linguistics ◽  
Text Structure ◽  
Parallel Structure ◽  
Language Resources ◽  
Current Field ◽  
Specific Context ◽  
Structure Information ◽  
Functional Linguistics ◽  
Textual Meaning ◽  
Discourse Topic

Writers construct two entities or events as opposites in specific context by using language resources realizing semantic opposition, such as antonyms, parallel structure and conjunction for adversity. The construction of such temporary opposites (unconventional opposition) facilitates the presentation of writer’s stance and strengthens the interaction between the writer and readers. From Systemic Functional Linguistics, this study analyzes the ideational, interpersonal and textual meaning of unconventional opposition in discourse. It is found that the insertion of the opposite participants and process types in the current field contributes to demonstrate the ideational meaning of the discourse topic more fully, thus facilitating readers’ understanding; in the respect of interpersonal meaning, the opposite meaning triggered by negation can exclude the readers’ possible expectations while that triggered by attitudinal resources helps to negotiate appraisal meanings with readers, that is, affect, judgment of social behavior or appreciation of product; in the sense of textual meaning, unconventional opposition assigns a reader-friendly text structure, information flow and cohesion mechanism.

scholarly journals The Dative Case for Comprehension-Based Grammar Teaching

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arab World English Journal ◽  
Zeddari Ikbal
Keyword(s):  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
First Language ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Grammar Instruction ◽  
Contrastive Analysis ◽  
Grammar Teaching ◽  
Dative Alternation ◽  
Dative Case ◽  
Linguistic Analyses ◽  
Explicit Grammar Instruction

This paper presents a comprehension-based model for explicit grammar instruction. It is argued that the process of grammar teaching and learning can better be treated as a communicative event with content drawn from pedagogically relevant aspects of contrastive linguistic analyses of the first language (L1) and the the second language (L2). Within a task-based pedagogy, L2 learners can be engaged in concept-forming activities that allow them to develop an understanding of the target grammatical features to facilitate later interlanguage restructuring. This model is illustrated with an exercise in the English dative alternation based on a contrastive analysis of this lexico-syntactic phenomenon in English, the target language and Moroccan Arabic, the students’ L1.

A Comparative Study on Register and Genre of Review Texts in Teen Ink Magazine

2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Qudwatu Nabila Rodhiya
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Study ◽  
Systemic Functional Linguistics ◽  
Text Structure ◽  
Genre Analysis ◽  
Generic Structure ◽  
Functional Linguistics ◽  
Language Style ◽  
Positive Assessment

This research focuses on two review texts published in a teenage magazine called <em>Teen Ink</em>. It is aimed to discover the language style and text structure used by the same text producer. Using Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) approach, this research describes the register and genre employed in the two analyzed texts. The analysis was done by examining and comparing the generic structure and the metafunctions of each text. The description of data led to the interpretation of field, tenor, and mode. From the genre analysis, it can be seen that the text producer follows the same text structure for both texts, though differences were found in the technique used to compose each stage of the text. In terms of register, different dominant transitivity and circumstance types were found in both texts. Meanwhile, the text producer puts all participants surrounding the texts in equal position, and positive assessment is implied in both texts. In addition, as the texts are written in a language style that tends to be spoken, the texts are considered appropriate for the medium, namely the review column of <em>Teen Ink</em> magazine.

scholarly journals Teaching Writing Skills

2020 ◽  
pp. 204-215
Author(s):  
Atherunnisa N Najma
Keyword(s):  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
Writing Skills ◽  
Teaching Writing ◽  
Problem Solution ◽  
Public Speech ◽  
Approach To Teaching ◽  
Micro Level ◽  
Argumentative Essays ◽  
Discourse Organization ◽  
Pattern Functions

This paper is based on my M.Phil research Project “A Discoursal Approach To Teaching Writing.” Seven essays were analyzed using the discourse analysis approach to identify the discourse pattern, functions and relations. The essays were considered in rhetorical terms and they represented different modes of writing - First person Narrative, public speech, personal, descriptive, Biographical and two Argumentative essays. The discourse organization was studied and found important features, common at three levels. (a) Macro level - Patterns situation - problem - solution - evaluation (b) Micro level - functions Elaboration, Evaluation Inference and summing up (c) Micro level- relations condition – consequence, cause – effect, reason – result, contrast, question – answer and claim – counterclaim.             These findings showed that certain discourse features were used in similar ways by writers to structure and organization texts irrespective of what genre they belong to.   On the basis of the findings, two types of tasks were designed at the above mentioned three levels. Tasks that help the student (a) To identify the discourse features (b) To develop their ability to produce coherent writing involving the use of these features. The trying out of selected tasks showed that the tasks were feasible and helpful. Though some of the students had problems initially in comprehending, they could perform the tasks quite successfully once explanations were given and when content was given than otherwise.

scholarly journals Coherence: Implications for teaching writing

2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-30
Author(s):  
Emilija Sarzhoska-Georgievska
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Academic Writing ◽  
English Language ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
First Language ◽  
Teaching Writing ◽  
Written Discourse ◽  
Argumentative Essays ◽  
L1 And L2

The paper presents the results of a study consisting of three text-based analyses of groups of student argumentative essays written on the same topic. The aim was to identify text-based features of coherence in L1 and L2. The analyses were carried out on essays written by first and third year undergraduates at the Department of English Language and Literature, Faculty of Philology "Blazhe Koneski" at the Ss. "Cyril and Methodius" University in Skopje, Republic of Macedonia who wrote in their first language Macedonian, L1, and in English as a foreign language, L2. The goal was to recognise the importance of discourse organisation in academic writing in L1, and to examine factors which may affect second language learners' competence in the organisation of written discourse in English as a foreign language, L2. The paper points out the differences in the rhetorical models in Macedonian and English written discourse and how these differences may have an impact on writing assessment and the teaching of writing at university level.

Changes to teachers’ knowledge base

2019 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 4-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leimin Shi ◽  
Honglin Chen
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Base ◽  
Communicative Competence ◽  
Systemic Functional Linguistics ◽  
Experienced Teachers ◽  
Teaching Writing ◽  
Classroom Observations ◽  
College English ◽  
English Curriculum ◽  
Functional Linguistics ◽  
Teaching Of Writing

Abstract In China, since 2004, developing students’ overall communicative competence has become the central goal of the current College English Curriculum Requirements. However, this goal has yet to be addressed, particularly in regard to the teaching of writing. This paper examines whether and how changes in teachers’ knowledge base related to teaching writing may impact their students’ writing outcomes. Six experienced teachers were introduced to a SFL (Systemic Functional Linguistics)-informed genre approach and subsequently trialled this pedagogy in practice. Through pre- and post- workshop interviews and classroom observations, changes in teachers’ knowledge base were investigated. In each observed class, two writing samples produced by students were collected. The findings of changes in the teachers’ knowledge base were compared with possible changes emerging in their students’ writing products. The results of the comparison reveal that, corresponding to positive changes evidenced in the teachers’ knowledge base, the majority of the students made improvements in their writing products.

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