Rich feature analysis as an enabling tool for composition teaching

Abstract

Exploring the usage of language in light of its functions in specific pragmatic contexts, Systematic Functional Grammar (SFG) can be a promising tool for language teaching. Relying on this tool, teachers can promote learners’ linguistic awareness from the level of passive rule-following to that of explicit understanding, a level where they can see linguistic expression’s functional significance as explanation of their effectiveness. This paper is intended as a demonstration of such an explanatory procedure. Employing a SFG-based Rich Feature Analysis to examine students’ composition, it aims to show how we can efficiently and convincingly identify and explain some problematic constructions in their writing.