Abstracts

Abstract: International Systemic Functional Linguistics Congress

A Systemic-Functional Approach To Learning Academic Writing: A Multi-Media Resource

Elizabeth Thomson & Robyn Woodward-Kron, University of Wollongong

In this session the authors wish to present "Academic Writing: a language based approach," which is an interactive CD-ROM to teach students about aspects of tertiary writing. A significant feature of the CD-ROM is the incorporation of many annotated student texts from a range of disciplines and genres. Systemic functional grammar has informed the section on writing paragraphs and academic language. For examples, in "The Middle Ground: writing paragraphs", students learn about Theme and thematic development, while in "Up Close: what is academic language?" students are introduced to the differences between spoken and written language, the nominal group and nominalisation, cohesive writing, and expressing opinion and attitude. All sections of the CD-ROM include interactive tasks.

While this session will be mainly used to 'show and tell', there will also be discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of this medium to learn about language from a functional perspective, as well as some of the highs and lows in developing functional language explanations and tasks for a multi-media environment.

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Related Abstract: International Systemic Functional Linguistics Congress

Learning Disciplinary Discourses, Learning Grammar; Exploring Academic Discourses Using Systemic-Functional Grammar with Undergraduates

Elizabeth Thomson, Robyn Woodward-Kron, Sally Humphrey, Louise Droga, and Shooshi Dreyfus, University of Wollongong

The degree to which students are oriented to the linguistic demands of the academy is considered to differ according to social and cultural backgrounds. One institutional response to the literacy requirements of a diverse student population is the establishment of an English Language Studies major at the University of Wollongong. One of the major's aims is to assist students to learn the discursive practices of their chosen disciplines. The principal pedagogy to achieve this aim is the use of text analysis using systemic functional linguistics. However the validity of developing students' meta-linguistic knowledge as a tool to learn disciplinary discourse has been criticised as unnecessary and prescriptive, implying a static concept of genre and discourse, and insufficient engagement with context. In this paper the authors address these criticisms by discussing the anticipated outcomes of a writing pedagogy which systematically investigates the context of culture and context of situation as realised in the lexico-grammar of selected academic disciplines.

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Abstract: Language and Academic Skills Conference

A Systemic-Functional Approach To Learning Academic Writing: A Multi-Media Resource

Elizabeth Thomson & Robyn Woodward-Kron, University of Wollongong

In this session the authors wish to present "Academic Writing: a language based approach," which is an interactive CD-ROM to teach students about aspects of tertiary writing. A significant feature of the CD-ROM is the incorporation of many annotated student texts from a range of disciplines and genres. Systemic functional grammar has informed the section on writing paragraphs and academic language. For examples, in "The Middle Ground: writing paragraphs", students learn about Theme and thematic development, while in "Up Close: what is academic language?" students are introduced to the differences between spoken and written language, the nominal group and nominalisaton, cohesive writing, and expressing opinion and attitude. All sections of the CD-ROM include interactive tasks.

While this session will be mainly used to 'show and tell', there will also be discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of this medium to learn about language from a functional perspective, as well as some of the highs and lows in developing functional language explanations and tasks for a multi-media environment.