Oct. 2008, Volume 5, No.10 (Serial No.

58) Sino-US English Teaching, ISSN1539-8072, USA

Systemic Functional Grammar and its pedagogical implications

GUO Ning
(Department of Foreign Languages, Zhejiang Gongshang University, Hangzhou Zhejiang 310018, China)

Abstract: This paper focuses on the application of systemic Functional Grammar (SFG) to language study.
By providing a sample of text analysis from the systemic functional point of view, the paper illustrates how this
approach can be helpful to language teaching.
Key words: Systemic Functional Grammar (SFG); clause; experiential grammar; interpersonal grammar;
textual grammar

1. Introduction

Systemic Functional Grammar (SFG), developed by Michael Halliday and his colleagues, has had a great
impact on language teaching. It is different from all the previous models of grammar in that it interprets language
as interrelated sets of options for making meaning and seeks to provide a clear relationship between functions and
grammatical systems (Halliday, 1994).
Functional linguists analyze a text, spoken or written, from a functional point of view. A text is “a
harmonious collection of meaning appropriate to its context” (Butt, et al., 2000). A full understanding of a text is
often impossible without reference to the context in which it occurs. And context can be considered from two
perspectives: the context of culture and the context of situation. The former refers to the broad sociocultural
environment, which includes ideology, social conventions and institutions; the latter relates to the specific
situations within the sociocultural environment (Droga & Humphrey, 2002). With respect to the context of
situation, all the situational differences between texts can be explained by three aspects of the context, namely,
field, tenor, and mode. Field refers to what is to be talked or written about; tenor is the relationship between the
speaker and listener or the writer and reader; mode refers to the channel of communication (Butt, et al., 2000).
These three aspects reflect the three main functions, or metafunctions, of language. Halliday (1994) describes the
three metafunctions as follows:
(1) The ideational/experiential metafunction: It enables people to use language to represent experience, and is
influenced by field.
(2) The interpersonal metafunction: It enables people to use language to enact social relationships, and is
influenced by tenor.
(3) The textual metafunction: It enables people to use language to construct logical and coherent texts, and is
influenced by mode.
In the systemic functional approach to language study, the three metafunctions exist simultaneously in each
sentence. And in the following text, the metafunctions of each clause will be briefly analyzed to explore their
significance in language teaching. First, the text will be divided into clauses. A clause is the fundamental meaning
structure in linguistic communication (Butt, et al., 2000). Then the three metafunctions of each clause will be

GUO Ning, M. Ed., lecturer of Department of Foreign Languages, Zhejiang Gongshang University; research field: TESOL.

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 Systemic Functional Grammar and its pedagogical implications

analyzed in the box diagrams. When the experiential function of a clause is described, the clause can often be
broken down into three functional constituents: Participant, process and circumstance. A Participant represents the
“thingness” concept that is being talked about, and in the grammar is most likely realized by a nominal group.
Process, the essential ingredient, is about happening, doing, and being, saying and thinking. There are many types
of processes, which are realized by verbal groups. Circumstance, realized by adverbial groups, prepositional
phrases or nominal groups, is the circumstantial information about the process. When it comes to the interpersonal
function, the two grammatical features that carry most interpersonal meanings in a clause are finite and subject.
The finite is the part of a verbal group which encodes primary tense or the speaker’s opinion. Thus the
interpersonal role of the finite can be a sign of time in relation to the speaker, or a modal sign of the speaker’s
opinion. And the subject is the nominal group interacting most closely with the finite. When the textual function is
concerned, what comes first in a clause is theme, which conveys an important meaning and signposts the
development of a text; the rest of the clause is rheme (Butt, et al., 2000).

2. Text analysis

2.1 Making paper from woodchips

(1) Woodchipping is a complex process (2) used to obtain pulp and paper products from forest trees. (3) The
woodchipping process begins (4) when the trees are cut down in a selected area of forest (5) called a coupe. 6.
After that the tops and branches are cut off. (7) The logs are then dragged to a log landing (8) where they are
loaded onto a truck. (9) Next the bark of the log is removed (10) and then the logs are taken to the chipper. (11)
The chipper cuts the logs into small pieces (12) called woodchips. (13) After this, the woodchips are screened (14)
to remove dirt and other impurities. (15) At this stage, the woodchips are either exported or made into pulp. (16)
The pulp is then bleached (17) and the water content removed. (18) Finally it is rolled out (19) to make paper.
Cl. 1
Woodchipping is a complex process
Carrier Process: relational Attribute
Subject Finite: present + predicator Complement
Theme Rheme

Cl. 2
^used to obtain pulp and paper products from forest trees
Process: material Goal Circumstance: location
Predicator Complement Adjunct
Rheme

Cl. 3
The woodchipping process begins
Actor Process: material
Subject Finite: present + predicator
Theme Rheme

Cl. 4
When the trees are cut down in a selected area of forest

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 Systemic Functional Grammar and its pedagogical implications

Goal Process: material Circumstance: location

Subject Finite: present + predicator Adjunct
Textual Topical
Theme Rheme

Cl. 5
^ called a coupe
Process: relational Identifier
Predicator Complement
Rheme

Cl. 6
After that the tops and branches are cut off
Goal Process: material
Subject Finite: present + predicator
Textual Topical
Theme Rheme

Cl. 7
The logs are then dragged to a log landing
Goal Process: material Circumstance: location
Subject Finite: present + predicator Adjunct
Theme Rheme

Cl. 8
Where they are loaded onto a truck
Goal Process: material Circumstance: location
Subject Finite: present + predicator Adjunct
Textual Topical
Theme Rheme

Cl. 9
Next the bark of the log is removed
Goal Process: material
Subject Finite: present + predicator
Textual Topical
Theme Rheme

Cl. 10
And then the logs are taken to the chipper
Goal Process: material Circumstance: location
Subject Finite: present + predicator Adjunct
Textual Topical
Theme Rheme

Cl. 11

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 Systemic Functional Grammar and its pedagogical implications

The chipper cuts the logs into small pieces

Actor Process: material Goal Circumstance: manner
Subject Finite: present + predicator Complement Adjunct
Theme Rheme

Cl. 12
^ called woodchips
Process: relational Identifier
Predicator Complement
Rheme

Cl. 13
After this, the woodchips are screened
Goal Process: material
Subject Finite: present + predicator
Textual Topical
Theme Rheme

Cl. 14
To remove dirt and other impurities
Process: material Goal
Predicator Complement
Rheme

Cl. 15
At this stage, the woodchips are either exported or made into pulp
Goal Process: material
Subject Finite: present + predicator
Textual Topical
Theme Rheme

Cl. 16
The pulp is then bleached
Goal Process: material
Subject Finite: present + predicator
Theme Rheme

Cl. 17
And the water content ^ removed
Goal Process: material
Subject Predicator
Textual Topical
Theme Rheme

Cl. 18

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 Systemic Functional Grammar and its pedagogical implications

Finally it is rolled out

Goal Process: material Circumstance: manner
Subject Finite: present + predicator Adjunct
Textual Topical
Theme Rheme

Cl. 19
To make paper
Process: material Goal
Predicator Complement
Rheme

3. Pedagogical implications

From a functional point of view, language is more than vocabulary and grammar; instead, it is “a process of
making meanings, weaving these meanings together coherently, and shaping them into purposeful wholes, or
texts” (Butt, et al., 2000). The text analysis above only involves one aspect of SFG, the three metafunctions. Then
how is this approach helpful to language teaching? And how could teachers apply this approach?
3.1 Experiential grammar
The analysis of the experiential function of a clause reveals how speakers represent their experience
differently by choosing different clause constituents. With the knowledge of experiential grammar, teachers are
able to explicitly and systematically introduce the range of choices available for expressing human experience in
an English clause. These choices include the different types of processes (e.g. material, mental, relational, verbal,
etc.), the different Participant roles related to process types (e.g. goal, actor, carrier, sayer, sensor, token, etc.), and
the types of Circumstances (e.g. extent, location, manner, quality, means, etc.). Take Text I for example, it mainly
describes the process of making paper from woodchips, so most clauses (16 out of 19) consists of material process,
which answers the question “what does X do” or “what happens”, to construe doing. And accordingly, most
participant roles are Actor (doer of the process) and Goal (thing affected by the process). In Text I, there are 11
passive clauses, and all of them are agentless passives with no Actor. For teachers, it is worthwhile explaining
why the Actor is omitted and making learners aware of this phenomenon in certain text types (Butt, et al., 2000).
What’s more, as the experiential grammar chosen to produce a text is motivated by the purpose to be
achieved by the text, and the field of the immediate situation, teachers can design activities which lead learners to
explore the relationship between experiential grammar, text structure and field (Butt, et al., 2000).
3.2 Interpersonal grammar
The interpersonal function of language makes it possible for people to interact with each other, to exchange
meaning, and to take a stand (Butt, et al., 2000). This function is realized by certain grammatical features, some of
which are revealed in the analysis of the two texts. First, the order of Subject and Finite shows how information is
exchanged. Text I is written to give information, which is normally achieved by making statements. And in such
clauses, the Subject precedes the Finite. On the other hand, when demanding information, speakers tend to ask
questions, in which the Subject may follow or precede the Finite. Second, the interpersonal role of Finite as a sign
of time can be useful in explaining genre. According to Butt, et al. (2000), Text I belongs to explanation, as it
explains how something occurs. In this genre the present tense is frequently used. This awareness is helpful in the
teaching of reading and writing.

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There are some other implications, even though they are not reflected by the above text analysis. One
challenging aspect of language learning is about how to build and maintain social relationships in interactions. As
the interpersonal grammar chosen by speakers in the interaction is motivated by the tenor, learners may explore
how the tenor is expressed in interactions by looking at what the grammar reveals about the relative power and
status of speakers, and the level of personal involvement. Besides, it is necessary for learners to know how to
express their positions and opinions. In this respect, some teaching activities on Modal Finites can be fruitful (Butt,
et al., 2000).
3.3 Textual grammar
Textual meanings weave experiential meanings and interpersonal meanings together into coherent and
comprehensible language. Analyzing textual grammar can enhance language teaching from many aspects. What is
illustrated in this text analysis is the significance of Theme in a clause. Theme is “what the message is concerned
with” (Halliday, 1994, p. 38), for English speakers use the first position in the clause to signal what the message is
about. If ESL/EFL learners are not aware of it, they may encounter huge trouble. Theme is not only a starting
point of a clause, but also a signpost to show where the meanings have come from and where they are going.
Therefore, learners need to be taught to orient listeners or readers “both by introducing what the clause is
concerned with and by making a link back into the context” (Butt, et al., 2000, p. 151). Then, learners must make
their texts logical and coherent by using appropriate textual Themes and topical Themes. All these means that in
language teaching, teachers should include such grammatical features as the topic sentence, sequencing
conjunctions, pronouns and so on (Butt, et al., 2000). In fact, many teachers have been doing this, though some
may have no idea about the so-called “textual grammar”. However, the explicit and systematic knowledge of it
will be undoubtedly beneficial to language teaching.

4. Conclusion

As the above analysis mentioned, the knowledge of systemic functional grammar is of great value to
language teachers. Firstly, describing language in terms of experiential grammar enables teachers to introduce
students explicitly and systematically to the choices available for making meanings about human experience in an
English clause. Secondly, with the help of interpersonal grammar, students may learn about the grammar they can
use to exchange meanings with others. Thirdly, some knowledge of textual grammar, especially how patterns of
Theme and Rheme enable the organization of different types of texts, helps students organize their own writings
more effectively (Butt, et al., 2000).
All these means that in language teaching, teachers should include such grammatical features as the topic
sentence, sequencing conjunctions, pronouns and so on (Butt, et al., 2000). In fact, many teachers have been doing
this, though some may have no idea about the so-called “textual grammar”. However, the explicit and systematic
knowledge of it will be undoubtedly beneficial to language teaching.

References:
Butt, D., Fahey, R., Feeze, S., Spinks, S. & Yallop, C. 2000. Using functional grammar: An explorer’s guide (2nd ed.). Sydney:
Macquarie University.
Droga, L. & Humphrey, S. 2002. Getting started with functional grammar. Berry: Target Texts.
Halliday, M. A. K. 1994. An introduction to functional grammar. London: Arnold.

(Edited by Stella, Sunny and Max)

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