Why Systemic Functional Linguistics is the theory of choice for

students of language?
Perhaps because he is a language teacher turned linguist, M.A.K. Halliday has been able to maintain a
perspective on language that is grounded in how we actually use language to construe reality
and enact social relationships. which has become the theory of choice (in more ways than
one) for those interested in achieving an appliable description leading to an understanding of the
enabling power of language.
The need for a systemic functional semantics came from three sources: (1) from stylistics, the linguistic
study of literary texts; (2) from sociological linguistics as set out in the work of Basil Bernstein (1971,
1990), and (3) from computational linguistics (See chapter 13)
For Halliday, the underlying quest has always been about description rather than theory. He maintains
that it is not so much new theories but new descriptions that will enable us to engage more
effectively with language.
Description and theory
Description must be grounded in a theory of how language works at the level of grammar. A grammar is
that abstract stratum of coding between meaning and expression; it is a resource for making meaning.
The grammar transforms experience into meaning; the grammar is itself a theory of
experience.
Grammatics is theorizing about a theory of grammar; it is a theory for explaining how the grammar works
and enables one to unconsciously construe experience.

Grammatical metaphor
Grammatical metaphor involves the junction of category meanings, not simply word meanings. Examples
of grammatical metaphor include length, which is a junction of (the quality) long and the category
meaning of a noun, which is entity or thing, and motion, which is a junction of the (the
process) move and the category meaning, again of a noun. With grammatical metaphor, the scientist
can make the world stand still, or turn it into one consisting only of things, or even create new, virtual
realities.
In order to understand better the meaning of whatever discourse we encounter, we need an approach to
studying language which will help us understand how meaning materializes in language, and how
language works to construe experience and enact social relationships.
Language as a systemic resource
Language, like other semiotic systems, is a systemic resource for making and exchanging meaning.
Language is a particular kind of semiotic system which is based on grammar, characterized by both a
stratal organization and functional diversity. Both combine to form what M.A.K. Halliday refers to as a
semiotic of higher-order consciousness, the basis for the human activity of meaning.
A semantic system is a system of meaning which is distinguished from other semiotic systems by the
fact that it is founded on grammar. The semantic system is one of three levels. Between the
semantic system above and the phonological and morphological realization below is the lexicogrammar.
A semantic system is organized into three main functional components, or metafunctions. The three
components are: ideational, including logical and experiential; interpersonal; and textual.
The three metafunctions operate in parallel with the other two. A clause is the complex realization of
options from these three functional-semantic components: ideational, interpersonal and textual.

Clause and text

The point of origin into the system network is the clause. The clause as most basic lexicogrammatical unit
creates and gives meaning to the text of which it is a constituent., it is also the actualization of the
text, inheriting properties from the text-as-model which is itself realized in relation to the context of
situation.
Clauses create text, explains Halliday, because a clause has itself evolved by analogy with the text as
model, and can thus represent the meanings of a text in a rich variety of different ways (1981a: 44).
The difference between a text and a clause is that a text is a semantic entity, i.e. a construct of
meaning, whereas a clause is a lexicogrammatical entity, i.e a construct of wording. A text is an
intersubjective event, in which speaker and listener exchange meaning in a context of situation.
Context of situation is specified with respect to field, tenor and mode. The nature of the activity
field is a determinant in the selection of options from experiential systems, including choices
related to transitivity structure, or process, participant, circumstance. Role relationships tenor
have a hand
in determining the selection of interpersonal options, such as those from the systems of mood and
modality. The symbolic organization of the text mode is involved in the selection of options in textual
systems, which relate to the overall texture of the text, including choices involving cohesion, and
thematic and information structures.
people create meaning by exchanging symbols in shared contexts of situation (Halliday 1984c, 2002
2007 volume 1: 303) By means of my text, I participate in an act of interpersonal exchange,
communicating my sense of my own identity, my world view, my interpretation of experience. The
investigation of the situation focuses on three main dimensions: (a)field what is happening? (b)
tenor who is involved? (c) mode how is it taking place? Likewise when analyzing the text/utterance,
we pose similar questions: what is happening? who is involved? how is it taking place?
Corresponding to each question is a component of meaning or semantic metafunction: ideational,
interpersonal and textual. Systemic-functional grammar (SFG) seeks to identify the language-specific
structures that contribute to the meaning of a text. Analysis along the lines proposed by Halliday is
intended to show how and why a text means what it does.
Texture is what makes a text into a coherent piece of language. One aspect of texture is cohesion, which
deals with how successive sentences are integrated to form a whole. The other aspect of texture has to
do with fit to context, or those choices based on what the speaker wants to say (Theme), and those
choices related to the " flow of information (Given-New).
Halliday and others working within the systemic-functional to Systemic Functional Linguistics framework,
observed that both English and Chinese make use of the initial position in the clause to identify the
Theme.
The distinction between Given and New information is but one consideration on the part of the
speaker when it comes to deciding how best to convey the message in a particular linguistic and
situational context.
The organization of the message to fit the context comprises two aspects: one aspect, what Halliday
refers to as the hearer angle, relates to the organization of the message so that it ties up with the
preceding
text, with that which the hearer has already heard about, i.e. the Given; the second aspect, the
speaker angle, relates to how the message is organized around what the speaker wants to say, or
what Halliday calls Theme.
M.A.K. Hallidays Systemic Functional Theory, with its emphasis on exploring the semogenic (meaningmaking) power of language, provides the handle we need to understand texts as intentional acts of
meaning.
Instead of theorizing about language as an autonomous intellectual game, the goal should be to
describe the grammatical resources available in language for making meaning. Meaning serves as a
function of the description.
James R. Martin, in the chapter on Discourse studies, credits Hallidays modeling of social context
in terms of field, tenor and mode for stimulating subsequent work on register and genre, noting in
particular the development of genre analysis within Australian educational linguistics. Martin identifies the
strength of SFL work on discourse with its relatively well developed descriptions of genre and functional
grammar, and the adaptability of SFL modeling across modalities (to image, music and action for
example).
Language as a semiotic system
SFL locates language, in its turn, as one among a wider class of systems called semiotic systems -systems of meaning. (Halliday, 2005a). Language as system enables the language user to combine

phonemes to form words, words to form phrases, phrases to form sentences, and sentences to form
spoken or written textseach unit following its own rules as well as the rules for combination. Crucial to
understanding language, then, is the idea of systematicity. Language as system, however,is much more
complex than the descriptions of or may lead us to believe.
Language has the further property that it is a semogenic system: a system that creates meaning. Not
all semiotic systems are also semogenic: a system of traffic signals, for example, is a system of meaning,
but its meaning potential is fixed -- it cannot create meanings that are not built into it.
Semiotic systems, of course, have also their material mode of being: language is activated in social
contexts, by the human body and brain, in the form of sound waves travelling through the air.
SFL as problem-oriented theory
A theory is also a semiotic system: it is a system of interrelated meanings, mutually dependent and
mutually defining. a theory is a designed system, and as such it is oriented selectively towards specific
and potentially explicit goals.
Possibly alone among semiotic systems, language is organized metafunctionally. Having evolved
simultaneously as the means of making sense of our experience (construing reality) and of getting
along with each other (enacting our social relationships), language manages these as complementary
modes of meaning (ideational, interpersonal) -- along with a third functional component (the textual)
which maps these on to each other and on to the context in which meanings are being exchanged.
Every text is an instance of some language system.
Grammar and lexis
SFL operates with the general concept of lexicogrammar rather than with a triad of syntax, morphology
and lexicon.
As Halliday (2004d:40) contends:
There is still the view that the mother tongue is what the child is striving to acquire from the outset.
In my view this conception is wide of the mark. What small children are doing is learning how to mean.
Understanding this process of learning how to mean is central within SFL because it both
illustrates and evidences key dimensions of the general theory
Language development: A social process
The SFL account of language development is one that has always stressed the dialogic, interpersonal
nature of the process from birth onwards (Halliday 1991b) and more recently the emotional character
of the process has also been emphasized (Painter 2003a)
In recognising the guiding role of the adult, SF developmental linguistics has made connections with the
Vygotskyan (1986:1867) notion of the zone of proximal development and made use of the related
metaphor of scaffolding put forward by Bruner and colleagues (e.g. Ninio and Bruner 1978) to describe
the provision of adult supports that are gradually dismantled over time as the learner gains mastery
(Painter 1986, 1999a).
As a child learns language, he also learns through language. He interprets text not only as
being specifically relevant to the context of situation but also as being generally relevant to the context
of culture.
Language as discourse: (extract from Understanding Language Teaching-B.Kumaravadivelu)

Language development: Learning through language

While learning cultural and sub-cultural values through language in use is demonstrated in the semantic
variation research discussed above, more strictly developmental work in learning through language has
focussed on the childs building of everyday commonsense knowledge in the early years and the

subsequent linguistic demands of developing discipline based educational knowledge during the
school years (Halliday 1999, Painter 2007).
The distinctive characteristic of human learning is that it is a process of making meaning a semiotic
process; and the prototypical form of human semiotic is language. Hence the ontogenesis of language is
at the same time the ontogenesis of learning. (Halliday 1993b: 93, 20022007 volume 4: 327)
If this is recognised, what are usually referred to as cognitive strategies, such as comparing and
contrasting, classifying, generalising and reasoning can be regarded as strategies for meaning,
simultaneously manifested in language and providing a means to develop the language further.
the way achieving literacy at all levels involves a more conscious focus on language itself,
demonstrating again the relation between learning language, learning through language and learning
about language.
In summary, while there is still much to learn about language ontogenesis, the SFL has particular value in
respect of three broad contributions.
On the one hand it affords insights into the nature of language as a stratified, metafunctional meaning
resource realising higher levels of social meaning in the process of instantiation as text, showing how it
is possible for such a system to emerge from a much simpler kind of semiotic. At the same time, it
demonstrates the fundamentally dialogic nature of its development, which both enables learning of the
mother tongue and ensures that it simultaneously an apprenticeship into the culture. Finally, it provides
a basis for building a general theory of learning interpreted as learning through language [which]
should be grounded in whatever is known about learning language Halliday (1993b: 113, 20022007
volume 4: 351).
Language as Ideology:

CORE FEATURES OF CLIL AS A SYNTHESIS

From Marsh, Mehisto and Frigols
MULTIPLE FOCUS
supporting language learning in content classes
supporting content learning in language classes
integrating several subjects
organizing learning through cross-curricular themes and projects
supporting reflection on the learning process
SAFE AND ENRICHING LEARNING ENVIRONMENT
using routine activities and discourse
displaying language and content throughout the classroom
building student confidence to experiment with language and content
using classroom learning centres
guiding access to authentic learning materials and environments
increasing student language awareness
AUTHENTICITY
letting the students ask for the language help they need
maximizing the accommodation of student interests
making a regular connection between learning and the students' lives
connecting with other speakers of the CLIL language
using current materials from the media and other sources
ACTIVE LEARNING
students communicating more than the teacher
students help set content, language and learning skills outcomes
students evaluate progress in achieving learning outcomes
favouring peer co-operative work
negotiating the meaning of language and content with students
teachers acting as facilitators
SCAFFOLDING
building on a student's existing knowledge, skills, attitudes, interests and experience
repackaging information in user-friendly ways
responding to different learning styles
fostering creative and critical thinking
challenging students to take another step forward and not just coast in comfort
CO-OPERATION
planning courses/lessons/themes in co-operation with CLIL and non-CLlL teachers
involving parents in learning about CLIL and how to support students
involving the local community, authorities and employers
As a synthesis we can refer to what Mehisto, Marsh and Frigols (2008) say about the three CLIL related
goals.

(From Maximizing the Benefits of Project Work in Foreign Language Classrooms)

Blent Alan and Fredricka L. Stoller
T URKEYAND U NITED S TATES
The implementation OF PROJECT WORK differs greatly from one instructional setting to another. In some
settings, fairly non-elaborated tasks, confined to a single class session, are labeled as projects. In other
settings, elaborate sets of tasks establish the process for completing the project and span an entire
instructional unit; in settings like these, the benefits of project work are maximized because students are
actively engaged in information gathering, processing, and reporting over a period of time, and the
outcome is increased content knowledge and language mastery. In addition, students experience
increased motivation, autonomy, engagement, and a more positive attitude toward English. Although
project-based learning presents challenges for teachers and students (Beckett 2002; Eyring 1997), most
project-work proponents assert that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.
recommendations for EFL teachers and materials writers who attempt to integrate project-based
learning into their own curricula:
Devise projects with students immediate and future language needs and content interests in mind,
while at the same time remaining vigilant of institutional expectations and available resources.
Specify language, content, task, skill, and strategy learning objectives in line with students needs and
institutional expectations to maximize the benefits of the project.
Strive to engage students in all stages of the project. Begin by giving students the chance to structure
parts of the project, even if those contributions are small, with the aim of building a sense of student
ownership and pride in project engagement.
Design and sequence tasks with great care. Make sure that (1) skills are integrated to achieve real
communicative purposes, (2) students are obliged to use various strategies for meaningful aims,
(3)critical thinking is required for successful task completion, and (4) students are held accountable for
content learning.
Integrate tasks that require both independent and collaborative work. Help students reach agreement
about different team member responsibilities. Students should view each other as single links in
a chain that unite, through exchanges of information and negotiation of meaning to produce a successful
project outcome.
Be sure to plan an opening activity that promotes students interests, taps background knowledge,
Introduces important vocabulary, and builds up expectations for the final activity.
Provide explicit instruction so that students not only improve their language abilities but also excel in the
information gathering, processing, and reporting stages of the project.
Allow time for feedback at the conclusion of the project and at other critical junctures as well.
the Six-T's Approach
With the Six-T's Approach, as with any curricular approach, it is also assumed that first consideration must
be given to an array of student needs, student goals, institutional expectations, available resources,
teacher abilities, and expected final performance outcomes. When these criteria are specified, informed

decisions can be made about the six curricular components which define the Six-T's Approach: Themes,
Texts,
Topics, Threads, Tasks, and Transitions.
Themes are the central ideas that organize major curricular units; they are chosen to be appropriate to
student needs and interests, institutional expectations, program resources, and teacher abilities and
interests. Normally a class explores more than one theme in a given term or semester.
Texts, defined in a broad sense, are content resources (written and aural) which
drive the basic planning of theme units. Text selection will depend on a number of
criteria: Student interest, relevance, and instructional appropriateness provide a first set
of guidelines for determining text selection; format appeal, length, coherence,
connection to other materials, accessibility, availability, and cost represent secondary
criteria.
Topics are the subunits of content which explore more specific aspects of the
theme. They are selected to complement student interests, content resources, teacher
preferences, and larger curricular objectives. In general, topics should be organized to
generate maximum coherence for the theme unit and to provide opportunities to
explore both content and language. A given theme, unit will evolve differently
depending on the specific topics selected for exploration. For example, a teacher could
choose to develop a theme unit on Native Americans by exploring the Navajo, the
Hopi, and the Apache (each tribe representing a different topic for the theme unit);
conversely, the same theme unit could be developed to examine the tensions that exist
in contemporary Native American communities by means of three different topics: rural
versus urban living, traditional versus contemporary religious practices, and the values
of young and older generations. These examples, as well as those outlined in Figure
6.3, illustrate how theme units can be developed in different ways, depending on the
topics designated (or negotiated) for exploration.
Threads are linkages across themes which create greater curricular coherence.
They arc, in general, not directly tied to the central idea controlling each theme unit.
Rather, they are relatively abstract concepts (e.g., responsibility; ethics, contrasts,
power) that provide natural means for linking themes, for reviewing and recycling 35
important content and language across themes, and for revisiting selected learning
strategies. Threads can bridge themes that appear quite disparate on the surface (e.g.,
American education, demography, and toxic wastes), thereby fostering a more
cohesive curriculum. There can be a number of threads linking thematically different
content, providing opportunities to integrate information and view both language and
content from new perspectives. Figure 6.4 illustrates how one thread could be used to
link five different theme units.
Tasks, the basic units of instruction through which the Six-T's Approach is
realized day-to-day, are the instructional activities and techniques utilized for content,
language, and strategy instruction in language classrooms (e.g., activities for teaching
vocabulary, language structure, discourse organization, communicative Interaction,
study skills, academic language skills). In the Six-T's Approach, tasks are planned in
response to the texts being used. That is, content resources drive task, decisions and
planning. Major tasks, sequenced within and across themes to realize curricular goals,
are recycled with higher levels of complexity as students move from one theme unit to
the next and as students progress through the academic year. Devising a series of
tasks which leads toward a final culminating activity or project-one which incorporates
the learning from various tasks in the theme unit-is particularly effective; culminating
activities whir require the synthesis of content information help students develop the
skills they will need in regular content-area courses, and provide a sense of successful
completion for students as well. Specific examples of tasks are given in the following
section and are discussed at greater length in Brinton, Goodwin, and Ranks (1994);
Brinton, Snow, and Wesche (1989); Chamot and O'Malley (1994); and Mohan (1986).
Transitions are explicitly planned actions which provide coherence across
topics in a theme unit and across tasks within topics. Transitions create links across
topics and provide constructive entrees for new tasks and topics within a theme unit.
Two major types of transitions are particularly effective: topical and task transitions.
The six T's provide the means for developing a coherent content-based
.curriculum. In this approach, the themes become the primary source for curriculum
planning. A variety of relevant and interesting texts leads to topic selection. A coherent
set of topics is expected to stimulate student interest, I create connections that

maintain student involvement, and allow for the completion of a meaningful final
project. Specific tasks are designed to teach the language knowledge and content
information central to the texts for a given .theme unit, thereby meeting student needs
and achieving curricular priorities. Transitions and threads create additional linkages
throughout the curriculum, creating a sense of coherence and seamlessness.
Prezi presentations: a guide for the Project and for oral presentations
http://prezi.com/qf4rymkyejsf/eat-guia-para-el-proyecto-final/#share_email
http://prezi.com/h0exsiqsmykk/copy-of-exposiciones-orales/
WHAT DOES THE CURRICULUM DESIGN FOR HIGH SCHOOL CLAIM ABOUT PROJECT WORK?
TASK :
In Appendix 2 you will find part of Sabrinas project. Analyse it.
a. In what ways did Sabrinas project follow these principles? Identify the six Ts in it.
b. How do we know that she is thinking of communication, cognition, community and context?
c. In what ways does her design follow the prescriptions of the curriculum design? (Use the document to
support your answer).
d. Why is content comprehensively drawn? What types of tasks will she carry out in her classes? Do they
show the features that the curriculum design specifies for the approach? Decide upon the following
checklist as presented by the curricular document:
promueven el aprendizaje de la lengua extranjera en el contexto de contenidos trabajados en otras
materias propias de cada tipo de escuela ?
se centran en el significado y el contenido y no en el aspecto formal de la lengua extranjera?
son realistas y tienen en cuenta los intereses de los alumnos?
pueden evaluar no slo el resultado final sino tambin el proceso de aprendizaje?
permitan a los alumnos hacer una presentacin pblica (un mural, una presentacin PPT, una
presentacin oral, un documento, una grabacin, etc.)?
SYNTHESIS TASK: Draw a mindmap of your own project using Sabrinas example. You are expected to
work in groups/pairs.
Your own context.
According to the process-based instruments that we talked about decide which are the ones you feel are
more useful to you.