Systemics Functional Grammar and Teaching English as a Foreign Language: an analysis of three styles of the recipe genre and a reflection on pedagogical applications

Abstract

Systemics Functional Grammar (SFG) has been used to address issues of Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) in extensive research, however the aim of this article is to analyze how instances of a specific genre, the recipe, may present different functional features, as well as discuss how TEFL may use the genre in their work with learners. The paper presents a summary of the relevant theoretical aspects on the three Meta Functions in SFG by Halliday, examining the features of the texts in the light of these concepts; the result is a reflection on how these functional features may be used in TEFL.