A Functional Analysis of a Fable for the EFL Classroom

There are strong claims for the practical applicability of Systemic Functional Grammar to the learning of a second language, and its advantages for second language learners in providing linguistic foundations more adaptable to their authentic communication needs. However, research devoted to its pedagogical application to the EFL contexts has been relatively scarce, resulting in insufficient suggestions as to how to integrate the functional grammar approach to the foreign language classroom. This study proposes an integrated instruction approach where students notice and explore functional differences created by a set of alternative grammatical forms, through working with authentic English texts. As a step forward to this, a functional analysis of two authentic versions of an Aesop’s fable, ‘The Sun and the North Wind’ is carried out in terms of their realization of the ideational metafunction. The functional analysis of these two different versions of the same story reveals that the grammatical choices made in the two texts noticeably influences the way the story is construed and interpreted by the reader. An illustrative lesson plan also shows how explicit guidance on grammatical functions may be integrated into traditional formal grammar teaching through an activatingnoticing- exploring-formulating cycle of tasks.