This volume offers a comprehensive account of language development from a Systemic Functional Linguistic (SFL) perspective, integrating theory and data from a wide range of research studies. The book begins by taking an in-depth look at SFL theory and its focus on texts, highlighting the metafunctional nature of language and the ways in which individuals’ repertoires of meaning-making resources develop as they interact with the world and with others. Grounded in an SFL approach, the successive chapters consider in turn the key stages of language development, from infancy to school settings to additional, second, and foreign language learning contexts. Each chapter incorporates a range of SFL studies to demonstrate shifts in language development across these stages, but also the discussion of other functional perspectives to examine the ways in which these different approaches inform one another. A concluding chapter considers the implications of these studies for future research as well as for pedagogical practices in literacy teaching. In its consideration of the relationship between SFL theory and its application to language development, this book will be key reading for students and scholars in Systemic Functional Linguistics, language and education, and literacy studies.

This book features a collection of 10 interviews with Christian M.I.M. Matthiessen, who is a key figure in Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) and has collaborated closely with M.A.K. Halliday since the 1980s. As noted by Professor Chang Chenguang, Editor of the M.A.K. Halliday Library Functional Linguistics Series, “this collection of interviews serves as an important reference for scholars and students of SFL. It provides a unique perspective on the theoretical development and future outlooks of SFL, as well as Matthiessen’s own interpretations of the theory. It also enriches our understanding of SFL and is a very useful addition to the series.” Written in an engaging dialogic format, the book paints a vivid picture of SFL thriving among the landscape of general linguistics and of SFL as an important tool now being applied in various areas.

This book describes the discourse of biology from a systemic functional linguistic perspective. It offers a detailed description of resources based on text analysis. The description reveals co-textual patterns of language features, their expressions through grammatical resources, as well as their functions in the disciplinary context. The book also applies the description to analyse student texts in undergraduate biology, revealing characteristics of language and knowledge development. Although the discussion in this book focuses on the discourse of biology, both the language description and the descriptive principle can be used to inform the examination of knowledge in academic discourse in general, making this key reading for students and researchers in systemic functional linguistics, discourse analysis, English for academic purposes, applied linguistics, and science education.

This user-friendly student guide is the essential resource for all those engaged in studying systemic functional linguistics (SFL). Assuming no prior knowledge, this guide is divided into nine chapters which can be read independently of one another and used for purposes of reference. The reading section maps out and mediates the key SFL literature. The application guides show how SFL has been and can be applied to various domains, from translation to healthcare communication. The term guides demystify the core terminology and the vocabulary guides aid readers in dealing with the most commonly used terms in text analysis. Systemic Functional Linguistics is an invaluable guidebook for all those studying functional grammar and SFL within linguistics, applied linguistics and related courses.

This book represents the first collection of studies on Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) which brings together a range of perspectives through which CLIL has been investigated within Applied Linguistics. The book aims to show how the four perspectives of Second Language Acquisition (SLA), Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL), Discourse Analysis, and Sociolinguistics highlight different important aspects of CLIL as a context for second language development. Each of the four sections in the book opens with an overview of one of the perspectives written by a leading scholar in the field, and is then followed by three empirical studies which focus on specific aspects of CLIL seen from this perspective. Topics covered include motivation, the use of tasks, pragmatic development, speech functions in spoken interaction, the use of evaluative language in expressing content knowledge in writing, multimodal interaction, assessment for learning, L1 use in the classroom, English-medium instruction in universities, and CLIL teachers’ professional identities.

This collection explores the relationships between theory and evidences in functional linguistics, bringing together perspectives from both established and emerging scholars. The volume begins by establishing theoretical common ground for functional approaches to language, critically discussing empirical inquiry in functional linguistics and the challenges and opportunities of using new technologies in linguistic investigations. Building on this foundation, the second part of the volume explores the challenges involved in using different data sources as evidence for theorizing language and linguistic processes, drawing on work on lexical cohesion in language variation, neuroimaging and neuropathological data, and keystroke logging and eye-tracking. The final section of the volume examines the ways in which evidences from a wide range of data sources can offer new perspectives toward challenging established theoretical claims, employing empirical evidences from corpus linguistic analysis, keystroke logging, and multimodal communication. This pioneering collection synthesizes perspectives and addresses fundamental questions in the investigation of the relationships between theory and evidences in functional linguistics and will be of particular interest to researchers working in the field, as well as linguists working in experimental and interdisciplinary approaches which seek to bridge this gap.

This book presents a unique range of interdisciplinary work on questions of language development and evolution. It makes visible the significant contribution which meaning-oriented linguistics is making to debates about the origins of language - from the perspective of language evolution in the species as well as language development in the child. As well as linguistics in the systemic functional, or Hallidayan, tradition, the book offers contributions from primatology, psychiatry, sociology and education.

Ideal for methods and foundational courses in world languages education, this book presents a theoretically informed instructional framework for instruction and assessment of world languages. In line with ACTFL and CEFR standards, this volume brings together scholarship on contextualized, task-based performance assessment and instruction with a genre theory and pedagogy to walk through the steps of designing and implementing effective genre-based instruction. Chapters feature step-by-step lesson designs, models of performance assessment, and a wealth of practical and research-based examples on how to make languages explicit to students through a focus on genre. Including sections on Arabic, French, Spanish, Italian, and other major world languages, this book demonstrates how to effectively teach and assess world languages in the classroom.

The teacher’s role is to create opportunities that intrinsically motivate children to externalize their thoughts. Human beings have multiple means of expression: this is powerful when children have the opportunity to have a real voice. The realities of children’s experiences in their local communities are powerful resources for the language curriculum and help to create an understanding of the value the languages and cultures of children and teachers bring from a multicultural perspective. Thus, teachers can help children develop their cultural and linguistic identities to promote multiculturalism, multilingualism, and translingualism so they can thrive in a complex and changing world. The Handbook of Research on Socio-Cultural and Linguistic Perspectives on Language and Literacy Development approaches language and literacy development from a socio-cultural and linguistic perspective. This book offers global perspectives on language and literacy from international experts working with both children and educators. It offers readers a diversity of voices and experiences of professionals in the field that can inform their teaching and research. Covering topics such as critical literacy, emotional engagement, and multilingual resources, this major reference work is an indispensable resource for administrators and educators of both K-12 and higher education, pre-service teachers, teacher educators, biblio-therapists, librarians, researchers, and academicians.

A practical and comprehensive resource, Supporting Multilingual Learners’ Academic Language Development: A Language-Based Approach to Content Instruction introduces an accessible language-based approach to teaching academic language to multilingual learners across the content areas. Luciana C. de Oliveira provides elementary school teachers with everything they need to know to successfully teach grade-level content to multilingual learners. Chapters are organized by subject, addressing the specific language demands of teaching English language arts, social studies, mathematics, and science. Each chapter features examples of implementation in grades K-5, practical strategies, and a wealth of tables, figures, and other resources. The Language-Based Approach to Content Instruction (LACI) in this book provides teachers with a ready-to-use framework of six scaffolding elements that serves as a guide to enable multilingual learners to meet the grade-level standard of their peers without simplification. Aligned with WIDA and CCSS standards, this resource provides the tools and methods teachers need to support multilingual learners’ academic language development in the content area classroom.