Hallidayan systemic functional descriptions of language, mainly focussed on verbal grammar, with the social semiotic descriptions of the meaning-making resources of images described in a grammar of visual design proposed by Kress and van Leeuwen. However, current research indicates that articulating discrete visual and verbal grammars is not sufficient to account for meanings made at the intersection of language and image. This paper adopts a systemic functional semiotic perspective in outlining a range of different types of such meanings in different kinds of texts, suggesting the significance of such meanings in comprehending and composing contemporary multimodal texts, and the importance of developing an appropriate metalanguage to enable explicit discussion of these meaning-making resources by teachers and students
The article explores the changes in digital technology over the years and considers how these changes have impacted on the meaning making resources of multimodal ensembles.
A comparison of texts through the decades looking at how multimodal tools for textual analysis can explain changes from a social, pedagogic and semiotic perspective.
Creese criticizes the approach to CBLT in western countries. It has been claimed that the UK approach cannot be considered content-based language teaching. Creese’s study supports this, by arguing that:
•the EAL teacher does most of the language work while the subject teachers focus on the curriculum work
•when teachers focus on the referential (as opposed to metalinguistic) function of language they concentrate mainly on introducing new vocabulary.
Interest: private speech
When we communicate socially, we appropriate patterns and meanings of this speech and utilise it inwardly to mediate our mental activity, this is what is meant by private speech. Private speech need not be fully syntactic in its form, utterances are not intended to be interpreted by others; they are addressed by the learner to himself - links to the idea that each psychological function appears twice - once interpersonally and then again intra-personally; this intrapersonal processing is private speech. Private speech is a way of internalising linguistic features available in the speaker's environment, often achieved through imitation. we do this when we learn anything new???
This paper looks at how scaffolding can be applied in bilingual EFL contexts. Three features of scaffolding which are discussed at length are priming, prompting and dialoguing
This article defines the original concept of scaffolding as defined by Bruner, related to the notion of ZPD in Vygotsky. The study gives examples of the role talk can play in scaffolding students' learning. Maybin et al caution the reader that many factors need to be considered when undertaking an analysis of scaffolding.
This article describes how scaffolding can be successful and goes into conclude that there are 6 key ingredients for scaffolding learning: recruitment, reduction in the degree of freedom, direct maintenance, marking for critical features, frustration control, demonstration
In this article Halliday, questions the approach of language acquisition (syntax)with construction/semantics. He highlights that language is learnt through meaningful interaction with other people and making sense of the world in which we live is achieved through language. They key goal of interaction/making meaning is functional and communicative.
A practical strategy for improving students' reading comprehension skills. Appears relevant to my own context because of the difficulties experienced by learners. This is a simple yet effective strategy which could be incorporated easily into all lessons - I can see its relevance in CBLT and other reading education settings.
This article uses a high school science class to see how language was used to connect theory and practice. It draws on classroom data analysed from a functional linguistic perspective, exploring the nature of science as a socially constructed practice.
Martin and Rose make reference to how genre based approaches have been hugely successful in Australian schools. They recognise that introducing a genre based approach causes problems in English language programs: how can knowledge and skills be effectively learnt and to teach this knowledge an skills. Advocating a top down approach in contrast to a traditional bottom up approach to language teaching, Martin and Rose discuss Rothery's model of deconstruction, joint construction and independent construction to illustrate how talk and dialogue can be used to successfully allow learners to become independent in reading and writing themselves.
C. Coffin. NALDIC Quarterly, 3 (3):
13--26(2006)<b>Copyright</b><br></br>Copyright for individual contributions remains vested in the authors to whom applications for rights toreproduce should be made. NALDIC Quarterly should always be acknowledged as the original source ofpublication.NALDIC retains the right to republish any of the contributions in this issue in future NALDIC publicationsor to make them available in electronic form for the benefit of its members. For further information contactpublications@naldic.org.uk.