Pedagogical complementation of functional-cognitive interface

Abstract

This commentary contributes to the understanding of integrating functional-based teaching and cognitive pedagogy by offering a mutually complementary account. Systemic functional linguistics (SFL) attaches importance to sociological aspects of language and proposes that language as a meaning-making process is simultaneously shaped by context and culture (Thompson et al., 2019). Cognitive linguistics (CL), based on the second generation of cognitive science and experiential philosophy, was born based upon the rejection of transformational-generative grammar, arguing that the creation, learning, and use of language must be explained basically through human cognition as the basis of knowledge constitution (Goldberg, 2011). Surrounded by the dialogue of these two linguistic schools, the paper is guided by two overarching questions: (1) What is the theoretical compatibility between SFL and CL? (2) How can SFL and CL complement each other or produce a synergetic effect that benefits second language (L2) pedagogy? It is demonstrated that SFL and CL are theoretically compatible as they agree upon the embodied experiential and sociocultural nature of language (Littlemore, 2009; Thibault, 2004), the categorial continuum of phonology-lexicogrammar-semantics (Meng, 2009), and corpus-based positivist epistemology (Feng, 2006). To complement one another in L2 pedagogy due to their compatibility, functional pedagogy can optimize cognitive pedagogy by facilitating learners to be aware and recognize communicative intention and socio-contextual cues, especially in the context of acquiring metonymic constructions. Cultural immersion and acculturation are keys to functional pedagogy that fill the gap of CL pedagogy lacking systematic training in cultural literacy and appreciation. Cognitive pedagogy, in turn, can complement functional pedagogy by applying image schemata in teaching to present how to select collocated verbs that can be assigned to diverse types of constructions.