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Mary J. Schleppegrell. (2004). The Language of Schooling: A Functional Linguistics Perspective. Mahwah: New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum. 190 pages. ISBN: 0-8058-4676-X (hardcover).
If asked to comment on the structure of the expository essay, most high school English teachers would point out its macrostructure, its basic narrative parts, and thesis-evidence structure, but not its microstructure, its particular set of linguistic moves that distinguish it from other forms of writing. In her book, Mary J. Schleppegrell shows how the expository essay and other forms of advanced school writing realize themselves through particular sets of language choices. She argues that an "active pedagogy" that makes visible the grammatical choices that construe advanced school texts will enhance students' command of those texts. Her argument, engaging but too narrowly based on textual evidence, fails to address the specific challenges of using systemic functional linguistics as both an instructional discourse and pedagogical tool.
The contexts of home and school, Schleppegrell writes, make different demands on language users. Home language, typically verbal, informal, and interactive, has "features that help create a context of everyday meanings, familiarity, and negotiation" (p. 74). In contrast, school language use is more formal and specialized, its value determined by the effectiveness of its display of ideas and knowledge, particularly through writing. School literacies become increasingly specialized as students pass through secondary school where students encounter what Schleppegrell calls advanced literacies (English, scientific, and historical text) that display knowledge authoritatively in highly structured contexts.
Schleppegrell uses systemic functional linguistics as a conceptual framework to demonstrate...