Importance Of Systemic Functional Grammar In Teaching English As A Foreign Language

In a world where globalization becomes daily more imminent, the study of languages is becoming increasingly important as well, being English one of the most studied languages around the world, this is evident in all types of mass media. Over time many theories for the analysis and teaching of languages have been realized, and one of the most relevant theories is the systemic functional grammardeveloped by Halliday. This model could be considered very important in the study of English as a foreign language and relevant for others educational fields.
Systemic Functional Grammar has its origin in the structural-functional tradition in Europe, which was later developed by Michael Halliday. The name "systemic" derives from the term SYSTEM, in its technical sense as defined by Firth (1957).This model considers the language as a system of available options, in which every phrase is a set of resultant options (structure). This theory views language as a social semiotic a resource people use to accomplish their purposes by expressing meanings in context. "The value of a theory," Halliday wrote, "lies in the use that can be made of it, and I have always considered a theory of languageto be essentially consumer oriented" (1985a, p. 7).
Systemic Functional Grammar is a functional in three different senses though closely related: in its interpretation of the texts, systemic, and elements of linguistic structures. Moreover, it is functional theory because it is designed to study how language is used. It is important to consider the context, because people should know when to bepolite, how to speak to a friend, to an authority, in a classroom or in a church.
The Systemic Functional Grammar is characterized by the assumption that the phonological, grammar and semantics structure of the language is determined by the functions it performs in society. Special importance has the social function of the language for this linguistic theory, that is, the analysis of a text isalways contextual due to the fact that there is a relationship between text and social context. This analysis helps to understand the relationship between language and society, making this model ideal for language learning, since it gives great importance to the use and context of it.
Regarding to the idea that all language works in context, in 1975, Halliday brings us over a functional proposal forgrammar, suggesting that to understand the linguistic meaning we must appreciate the function of elements in a structure, i.e., forms in which language is used for different purposes, in different situations. As in any functionalist approach, the social and cultural aspects are explanatory part of the theory: Ideational component; context of situation, consisting of the field variables(experiential an logical), Interpersonal component (relationship between the participants) and Textual (the role of language in communication).
Analyzing grammar only from a structural perspective may cause lack of understanding and compression of the language; hence what is matter in this model is the pattern in which word must be placed. Structuralism is a model who that has been applied in languageteaching in many countries worldwide including Venezuela, where the experience has said that this model is not completely appropriate because of the resulted acquire.
Systemic Functional Grammar explains some internal features of the language taking into account their functional diversity. This model provides a theoretical and analytical framework to explore and to explain how any text is built andexpresses meaning. This theoretical model includes in one hand the abstract levels (ideology) and in the other hand the most concrete involved in the text (words, structures, etc.). Thus allowing a better view of language analyzed, which is ideal to study a foreign language, as it is the study of English in Venezuela.
Systemic Functional Grammar can be widely used in education because it is an...