Understanding the “Meaning Potentials” of Three College English Learners in Taiwan: A Functional Approach

• In Event: Poster Session 2
  In Poster Session: Division G Section 3 Poster Session: Social Context of Multiple Languages and Literacies

Abstract

This paper investigates three Taiwanese college students’ functional use of English language in their reflective writing from a small corpus data. Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) offers an analytical tool to examine texts in relation to the situated social and cultural context. This study is theoretically situated in the sociocultural and functional perspective while it analytically employs SFL-based approach for data analysis. Academic writing is challenging for students who learn English as a second language (L2), yet SFL approach allows them to be conscious of what language choices to make. The purpose is to move away from “correct or wrong” grammatical judgment of language choices to “appropriate or inappropriate” functional judgment of choices to a particular context.

Author

• Pei-Yu Shih, The University of Texas - Austin