Teaching of Systemic Functional Linguistics:
South America

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ARGENTINA

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Buenos Aires University, Argentina

Ann Montemayor-Borsinger (borsinga@cab.cnea.gov.ar)

I teach SFG and SFL on the MA in Discourse Analysis at Buenos Aires University. The course 'Perspectivas actuales de la gramática funcional y análisis del discurso' has been given since 2002, with Geoff Thompson giving a special module in 2004. In 2007-2008, there was a module focusing on corpus analysis of Spanish texts 'Análisis del discurso desde la perspectiva sistémico-funcional: trabajos de corpus'. I’ve also given a couple of courses that focused on the textual metafunction and the University of Buenos Aires Press is publishing the book "Tema: una perspectiva funcional de la organización del discurso" (Colección Enciclopedia Semiológica Eudeba) partly based on these courses. This year, 2009, Eija Ventola and I are giving together the course 'El análisis multidimensional de la Lingüística Sistémico-Funcional: de texto a contexto y de sistema a estructura'.

Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, Mendoza, Argentina

English Department

Cristina Boccia
Ana Hansen
Samiah Hassan
Laura Hlavacka
Liliana Poj
Victor M. Castel

Some SFL teaching in the dpartment. 

He is available for supervision of students at doctoral level.

Universidad Nacional de General Sarmiento (UNGS)

EIM: I'm conducting a research in genre based literacy at UNGS and I've prepared some teaching materials which have been published in a manual for our students at a course for entering to the university. So, part of the program of this course is teaching based on SFL, particularly on genre and register theory since 2002. The course is named Taller de Lecto-Escritura and is part of the Curso de Aprestamiento Universitario. It's goal is that students develop literacy oriented to academic activities.

During 2005 my collegues (Elena Valente, Lucía Natale y Oscar Amaya) and I (conducting the proposal and the activities of the project) are teaching a course for secondary teachers of Spanish, on SFL and genre based literacy in Spanish as mother tongue: "Mejoramiento de los procesos de enseñanza y aprendizaje en el área de Lengua". At the same time, we are working with librarians and science secondary teachers on literacy in science as a tool for develop concepts in differents subjects: "Lengua como contenido transversal" as a groupe of activities in a major project: "La biblioteca escolar: espacio especial de aprendizaje y de promoción de la lectura."

Finally, the University approved a project I've submited last year about writing across the curriculum based on SFL ("Desarrollo de habilidades de lectura y escritura académica a lo largo de la carrera universitaria"), which is starting on the second part of 2005.

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BRAZIL

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Catholic University of Sao Paulo, Brazil

We've been doing SFG in the Post-Graduate Programme in Applied Linguistics, for four years now. So this is very much a beginning, and a promising one too. Our work is fundamentally geared towards application of sfg to description of language in professional (business) contexts, although I've been giving some help to MA and PhD researchers who deal with other contexts. A good team of MA and PhD researchers (about 10), doing description in various contexts within business communication.

Contacts:

Heloisa Collins (hcollins@uol.com.br) or Tony Berber Sardinha (tony4@uol.com.br)

PUCSP, LAEL
Catholic University of Sao Paulo
Rua Monte Alegre 984
05014-000 Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil
fax: +55-11-3670-8503

Universidade Estadual do Sudoeste da Bahia

Dr Manoel Soares Sarmento dchl@uesb.br

I teach Linguistics and my PhD was awarded due to systemic-functional research on nominal ellipsis in the Portuguese language. I use this model in my classes (undergraduation and postgraduation).

Universidade Paulista Julio Mesquita,

Campus de Araraquara, Araraquara, Sao Paulo, Brasil

COLOMBIA

Languages Department
Gillian Moss
Alexandra García

We are teaching SFL-oriented courses in “Language as Discourse” and “Critical Discourse Analysis” in our postgraduate teacher education programmes: Postgraduate Diploma in Teaching English and Master in Education, with emphasis on English Teaching. We have also been experimenting recently with introducing some SFL concepts into our English courses for the BA in International Relations. Results so far are very encouraging with some undergraduate students taking to CDA and PDA like ducks to water. The teachers on the postgraduate courses, thoroughly trained in structural approaches, find it harder.