The development of discourse competence in learner academic writing

In previous research on advertising discourse, not much attention was given to the significance of the linguistic choices used by endorsers to show their power of identity. This study aims to analyze the linguistic choices made in three ads of Children Cancer Hospital Egypt 57357 (57357 CCHE) to show the power of identity of political and social authority. Only the parts in which the authorities give their unfiltered verbal feedback on their visit to 57357 CCHE are chosen to be investigated. The uniqueness of the event in which a social authority appears as a political authority (conscript) in 57357 CCHE advertisements urged the need to explore the discourse of such ads to consider the power of identity. The first advertisement is that of the political authority (Egyptian Armed Forces representative) visit to 57357 CCHE. The second advertisement is that in which Egyptian celebrity Mohamed Ramadan as a conscript (a political authority) gives his verbal feedback on the visit to 57357 CCHE. In the third ad, Mohamed Ramadan as a social authority visits 57357 CCHE. A Critical Discourse analysis is applied through Holliday’s Systemic Functional linguistic (SFL) approach. Based on the ideational, interpersonal and textual analysis, it is concluded that each of the authorities derives his power of identity from the authority he embodies. The power of identity affected the linguistic choices, the logical sequence of discourse and the use of language by the endorsers to relate to audience.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the scripts entitled ‘‘Sports’’ in terms of processes used and text type based on (Halliday, 1994) Systemic Functional Linguistic approach. Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) is looking into the syntactic structure of a clause based on six processes including material, mental and relational process (major category) and verbal, behavioral, and existential processes (minor category). Forty (40) students of the subject ‘Dynamics of Leadership’ at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia were assigned to write essays about ‘Sports’ in between 300—400 words within thirty (30) minutes and sixteen (16) essays were selected for the analysis. Researchers used mixed-method in order to analyze both quantitative (numerical) and qualitative (descriptive) data. All the collected essays were analyzed and then the percentage of all the six processes has been shown in descriptive statistics and interpreted in tabulations and bar graphs. The findings indicate that the dominant process used in all the scripts was material—doing and happening— and subsequently relational. Focusing more on nominalization, the analyzed manuscripts were found to be wordy.

Background: Systemic Functional (LSF) in speech discourse analysis LSF is a linguistic approach that focuses on the use of language in social contexts and the contexts in which it is used. linguistic approach that focuses on the use of language in social contexts and their social context and its functions that enable the disclosure of important meanings to the speech comprehensively, including ideational, interpersonal, and textual meanings. including ideational, interpersonal, and textual meanings. Purpose: This study analyzed Nadiem Makarim’s speech on the cancellation of the Single Tuition Fee (UKT) increase in 2024 using the Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) approach. Method: This research used a descriptive qualitative method. The data source was the video text of Nadiem Makarim’s speech in 2024. The data collection procedure was listening and note-taking. The data analysis techniques were reduction, presentation, interpretation using the SFL approach, and drawing conclusions. Results and Discussion: The results showed that Nadiem’s speech was dominated by material and mental processes that reflected the concrete actions of the government and its beliefs in overcoming the issue of rising tuition fees. The sentence modes used were mostly declarative, aiming to provide information and attract the audience’s sympathy. The dominant modalities were those of belief and certainty, which illustrated Nadiem’s optimism towards the policies taken. Conclusions and Implications: The conclusion of this study shows that the LSF approach can be applied in learning text analysis to help students understand the context, structure, and meaning of texts more deeply. in more depth. This research makes a practical contribution to the method of teaching methods of text analysis in educational settings, opens up opportunities for further research, and enriches the literature on policy speech analysis. and enriches the literature on policy speech analysis in education.

Although Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) approach is commonly applied to West Germanic languages, there is limited study has been conducted to apply this approach to Austronesian languages, especially Sundanese language. In this study, the present writer figures out the Sundanese verbs, as one of the Austronesian languages, in mental processes and their clause constructions based on clause as representation and clause as exchange. This study employs verbs as the central of the processes to investigate the mental process in Sundanese clauses. The study shows that the selected Sundanese verbs could be found in mental processes and the four sub-types of process of sensing in mental processes do occur in Sundanese clauses.

In translation courses, students are asked to practice translation skills by translating a source text (ST) in a specific field. While teachers usually select texts based on topic and language accuracy, some such texts do not provide rich textual features that help students practice and improve their translation skills. This study aimed to analyze the cohesive features in business texts collected from “Investopedia” to investigate their suitability for use as STs to practice translation skills in the field of finance and administration. It was framed by Halliday’s (1978) systemic functional linguistics (SFL) approach to language and Halliday and Hassan’s (1976) cohesion analysis scheme. The findings demonstrated that the most prominent type used was lexical cohesion, followed by reference and conjunctions. Ellipses and substitution were rarely used. The findings indicated that the intensive use of lexical cohesion and the various subcategories used in these texts can help enrich the background knowledge of financial terminology and provide a communicative understanding of the ST while practicing various elements of textual features. The study provided a demonstration of the significance of SFL in providing coherent and cohesive STs that facilitate the needs of translation instructors and students in the field of finance and administration. Other SFL tools can be employed to provide a better understanding of these texts.

This research was aimed at identifying register used in the colloquial commerce conversations among sellers and buyers. The research was conducted in Bukittinggi (Pasa Ateh-Pasa Bawah) and Padang (Pasar Raya Padang). The data were any register utterances of sellers and buyers in the colloquial commerce conversation. The observational method of note-taking, recording, and interviewing was used to collect data. The analysis was done by Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) approach applied to examine the linguistic features viewed from the aspect of field, tenor, and mode of discourse proposed by Halliday. Findings show that in the field of discourse, registers release the experiential domain of nouns, verbs, idiomatic expression, and word blending. The goal orientation appears to have both short and long-term while the social activity results in exchanges among participants. Furthermore, in the field of tenor, participants have an equal agentive role as they have the same social function. The social role is non-hierarchic, and the social distance is minimal. Finally, in the mode of discourse, both constitutive and ancillary language role formed in present simple, past simple, and future simple. The channel is phonic, and the medium is spoken with visual contact as it is characterized by the use of back-channel signs. The SFL approach employed in this research could be used as the parameter for educators in teaching Sociolinguistics especially in conducting discourse analysis in various colloquial discourse contexts.

This qualitative research study sought to understand the affordances and limitations of a systemic functional linguistics (SFL) approach to teaching composition at the community college level. The study took place over the course of a semester in two developmental college composition classes using the language of SFL to teach writing through multimodal assignments. The study was developed in response to the increasing diversity in writing skills and educational goals of students in the community college composition class. The increase in diversity is a result of legislation in California that restructures developmental class offerings and affects placement in the transfer-level composition class. The findings of the study support that the sociocultural focus of SFL can empower students while also providing tangible instructional benefits for instructors. SFL supports equality in curriculum and fosters authentic, student-centered writing that prepares students for future writing situations. SFL also supports instruction by providing structured writing support, challenging students to expand writing skills, and preparing students to write for different disciplines in higher education. SFL as a framework for instruction has the potential to narrow the gap in writing skills among students, establish a shared language to discuss texts, and support 21st writing demands. More research into the applications of SFL in higher education contexts is needed to support the inclusion of SFL in curriculum.

Empirical research studies of finance students’ language use have investigated students’ performance in finance courses and the effect of class attendance on students’ performance.Similarly, research on accounting students’ texts has been directed at readability of accounting narratives and lexical choices. Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) based research in multimodal communication and representation has been confined to school and workplace contexts. Whereas multimodal communication investigations in tertiary contexts has been conducted across the fields of mathematics, science and computing, and nursing, business courses have not been explored. The purpose of this paper is to report on a case study designed to investigate the key multimodal academic literacy and numeracy practices of ten international Master of Commerce Accounting students enrolled at an Australian university. Specifically, it aims to provide an account of the salient textual and the logical patterns through the analysis of cohesive devices in a key topic in the Principles of Finance course, namely capital budgeting techniques and management reports. This study is pertinent as most international ESL/EFL students’ enrolments in Australia and elsewhere is in business programs. This study is underpinned by Halliday’s (1985) Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) approach to language and Halliday and Hasan’s (1976) cohesion analysis scheme. The study employs a Systemic Functional Multimodal Discourse Analysis (SF-MDA) for the analysis of cohesive devices in the participants’ multimodal texts. Lexical cohesion formed the largest percentage of use, and in particular repetition of the same lexical items, followed by reference.The findings contribute to the description of the meaning-making processes in these multimodal artefacts. They provide a potential research tool for similar investigations across a broad range of educational settings. Implications of the findings for finance students and educators are finally presented.

This study investigates the key multimodal academic literacy and numeracy practices of five international postgraduate students enrolled at an Australian university. Specifically, it aims to provide an account of the salient textual and the logical patterns through the analysis of cohesive devices in a key topic in the Management Accounting course, namely budgeting schedules. The research study employs a Systemic Functional Multimodal Discourse Analysis (SF-MDA) of texts (Alyousef, 2013, 2015; Alyousef & Mickan, forthcoming). This approach is framed by Halliday‟s (1985) Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) approach and Halliday & Hasan‟s (1976) cohesion analysis schemes. SFL provides powerful analytical tools for foregrounding the processes through which students construct disciplinary specific knowledge in a community through academic literacies. Lexical cohesion formed the largest percentage of use, and in particular repetition of the same lexical items, followed by reference.The findings contribute to the description of the meaning-making processes in these multimodal artefacts. They provide a potential research tool for similar multimodal investigations across a broad range of educational settings. Implications of the findings are finally presented.

This study investigates the key multimodal academic literacy and numeracy practices of five international postgraduate students enrolled at an Australian university. Specifically, it aims to provide an account of the salient textual and the logical patterns through the analysis of cohesive devices in a key topic in the Management Accounting course, namely budgeting schedules. The research study employs a Systemic Functional Multimodal Discourse Analysis (SF-MDA) of texts (Alyousef, 2013, 2015; Alyousef & Mickan, forthcoming). This approach is framed by Halliday’s (1985) Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) approach and Halliday & Hasan’s (1976) cohesion analysis schemes. SFL provides powerful analytical tools for foregrounding the processes through which students construct disciplinary specific knowledge in a community through academic literacies. Lexical cohesion formed the largest percentage of use, and in particular repetition of the same lexical items, followed by reference.The findings contribute to the description of the meaning-making processes in these multimodal artifacts. They provide a potential research tool for similar multimodal investigations across a broad range of educational settings. Implications of the findings are finally presented.

The Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) approach, specifically the textual metafunction, has been tried to be applied in teaching writing to English as a Foreign Language. SFL is chosen as an alternative application in language teaching since linguistics is the study of language that seeks how language works. Traditionally textual metafunction has often been neglected in language teaching, where sentences have been created, manipulated, and assessed in isolation. In EFL writing classroom, we find that learners often write paragraphs that consist of sentences which do not seem to connect together into cohesive devices. Thinking of this, I started to seek an alternative approach to help the students improve their writings, that is how to develop ideas so that the texts the students produce will run “smoothly†and “hang together†logically. It means that the sentences in their writings are well organized and developed coherently. Besides, the ideas will not jump from one idea to other ideas. This paper attempts to depict how to apply textual metafunction in EFL writing and how thematic patterns, which involves the relationship between clauses based on the information contained in themes and rhemes, can achieve cohesion in EFL learners’ text. It is assumed that the thematic patterns specify its usefulness as a discourse tool for adding students in writing their paragraph into cohesive text. The result shows that thematic patterns is one way of achieving cohesion in text since it involves connecting sentences together in a way which moves the text from the Given to the New. In short, the thematic pattern of texts is needed to analyze their own text to check for thematic flow in order to get a good cohesive text. Keyword: Cohesive text, EFL, SFL, Thematic Patterns

The settlement of divorce cases for Muslims in Indonesia is carried out through syari’ah courts. This study aims to investigate the schematic structures of the talaq divorce case examination and their linguistic realizations in the syari’ah courtroom. A descriptive qualitative design was applied in this study. The data were collected through observation, interviews, and text analysis with a forensic linguistic approach using Halliday’s Systemic Functional Linguistic (SFL) theory. All participants involved in interviews provided informed consent, and participation was entirely voluntary. Measures were taken to ensure confidentiality by anonymizing participants’ identities and securely storing all collected data. A purposive sampling technique was used to select five talaq divorce case proceedings from different syari’ah courts across Indonesia, representing diverse regional backgrounds and linguistic nuances. This sample size was considered sufficient for in-depth qualitative analysis, allowing the identification of recurring schematic patterns and linguistic features. Methodologically, linguistic categorization was carried out by coding courtroom discourse into ideational, interpersonal, and textual metafunctions as proposed by SFL. Each clause was analyzed for its transitivity patterns, mood structures, and thematic progression to uncover the rhetorical and social dynamics of courtroom interaction. The findings of the study revealed that there are four types of schematic structures in talaq divorce case proceedings at the courtroom, namely T-1, T-2, T-3, and T-4 schematic structures. The findings are justified by SFL theories. However, in the context of an SFL-based study, a new finding was obtained such as the varieties of language typically used in syari’ah court.

This article aims to reveal the learning of patterns and cultural influences of perceptive mental processes in Angkola language with a Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) approach. This is because learning research tends to offer research related to language learning models and language learning media from various perspectives. Meanwhile, the content of the learning is still limited to be analyzed in certain grammar. This research offers perceptive mental process learning based on one of the regional languages in Indonesia, namely Angkola language which needs to be raised considering that this language still includes native speakers. Thus, the Angkola language must be included in the list of documentation of languages and oral traditions that should be preserved in order to maintain the wealth of the archipelago. The method used is descriptive qualitative with transitivity analysis. The results of the analysis show that the Angkola community in expressing perceptive mental processes produces two patterns, one sequential pattern and one non-sequential pattern. However, for non-sequential patterns, after the process is not followed by sensing but is followed by a phenomenon then sensing afterwards. The uniqueness and symptoms of this strangeness are found in the study of perceptive mental processes in the Angkola language. Therefore, according to the presentation of the analysis, it can be proven the consistency, prevalence and acceptance of this pattern in transitivity in the Angkola language.
 Keywords: Angkola Language, Mental Process Language, Systemic Functional Linguistics

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Christian M. I. M. Matthiessen elaborates on the Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) approach to register in this contribution to the inaugural issue ofRegister Studies.He is Chair Professor of the Department of English at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, where he pursues a scholarly agenda that includes developing the theory of Systemic Functional Linguistics and applying it to text and discourse analysis, functional grammar, issues related to language evolution and typology, and comprehensive descriptive models of register. Throughout his career, Matthiessen has made major contributions to SFL theories and methods. Among his major works isLexicogrammatical Cartography: English Systems(1995, International Language Sciences Publishers). More than any other scholar, Matthiessen has expounded on Halliday’s early ideas on register and applied SFL theory to describing models of register variation. He remains an active researcher in the area of register studies which includes his registerial cartography – the comprehensive and systematic description of the registers in a language. Matthiessen’s work has left an indelible mark on the theory and systematic study of patterns of register in language use.