Applying Systemic Functional Grammar To Writing Instruction--The Functional Analysis Of Chinese Students' English Argumentative And Narrative Essays

Based on the Hallidayan approach to language study, the present research has examined the main linguistic features of Chinese students' argumentative and narrative discourse, aiming at the application of SFG (systemic functional grammar) to the writing classroom in China.The functional analysis of all 60 compositions yielded the following results: The argument consisted mainly of material, relational, mental process clauses. It was usually written in the present tense with a lot of use of modalities. And textual and interpersonal themes were widely employed to help develop the writer's argument. The narrative, on the other hand, contained much more behavioral and verbal processes, though material, mental, relational processes still dominated. Events were chiefly unfolded in the past tense with fewer modalities involved. And textual and interpersonal themes were less frequently applied.The study shows that SFG is a rather useful tool for analyzing language use and thus offers much pedagogical implications for writing instruction:a. Through the functional analysis, the teacher can easily reveal to students how writing simultaneously involves the construction of meanings and how writers make linguistic choices according to the context of situation.b. SFG helps students better understand the meaning of language and thus help them avoid many errors in their composition and make proper choice of word.c. It also has some practical implication for the evaluation of students' English compositions. It demonstrates that the quality of an essay depends on how well it fits its particular context. Thus, teachers had better construct their rating scales in light of genres.