Towards a functional literacy approach to teach the language of science in the Singapore classroom
Jonathon Adams | English Language Institute of Singapore, Ministry of Education
Fei Victor Lim | English Language and Literature Academic Group, National Institute of Education
This paper describes a pilot study exploring how an approach drawing on systemic functional linguistics can inform science
teaching. This study is an exploratory effort between researchers from a linguistics background and secondary school science teachers in the
Singapore science classroom. The teachers designed activities in the joint construction of texts to support students’ negotiation of
meanings and clarification of conceptual understandings. With this, the teachers applied strategies to draw attention to the
language of science in their lessons. The study points to the value of the functional literacy approach in science teaching and presents
implications on teacher professional learning as well as the role of linguistics in developing disciplinary literacy in students.
Keywords: disciplinary literacy, functional literacy, genre pedagogy, science teaching, classroom discourse, writing, joint construction
Published online: 23 March 2020
https://doi.org/10.1075/pl.19008.ada
https://doi.org/10.1075/pl.19008.ada
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