Abstract
This article discusses the importance of functional grammar and demonstrates its application to the teaching of reading among graded college students. Functional grammar holds that a discourse is composed of two levels: the interior level and the exterior level. Therefore, reading activities involve both linguistic elements and contexts. Implications of functional-grammatical view of reading are discussed, with techniques suggested for teaching of reading to English learners in the beginning and advanced proficiency levels.
Highlights
Teaching of reading in college English has been inclined to decompose discourses into units like glossary, phrases, sentence structures and grammar, demonstrate their usage and guide students to practice, which has detached the discourses from their context, whether it is context of situation or context of culture, and regarded reading activities as carriers of language input
It is practical and feasible to apply the two-leveled analyses in the teaching of reading, and hereinafter, based on the discourse theory in Functional Grammar, we will endeavor to design a much more desirable pedagogy for reading courses in graded teaching of college English
When decomposing the context of situation of a particular passage, teachers should help students be acquainted with the field, tenor and mode of the passage in the following aspects: Field: What is the main topic of the passage? What elements are the major verbs of sentences related to?
Summary
Teaching of reading in college English has been inclined to decompose discourses into units like glossary, phrases, sentence structures and grammar, demonstrate their usage and guide students to practice, which has detached the discourses from their context, whether it is context of situation or context of culture, and regarded reading activities as carriers of language input. This inclination, keeps in shadow the demonstrating functions of reading activities, and underestimates the meaning modes and contextual features of discourses.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
