1.6 Conclusion

Advanced literacy — the ability to proficiently and critically engage with complex academic and disciplinary texts — should be a major goal of English education at the postsecondary level. This ability is best developed in content-rich contexts where students explore issues or questions that are dear and near to them or significant to their discipline. This development work requires a focus on grammar, not of the traditional kind, but of a functional variety. An SFL-based functional grammar with its accompanying metalanguage promotes a deeper understanding of how language shapes meaning in a variety of contexts. Embedding functional grammar instruction within content-rich contexts can stimulate greater student participation, support meaningful explorations of language use, and deepen literacy learning. With a nuanced understanding of how grammatical choices present information, structure text, infuse ideology, and develop argument, students will develop as more critical readers, more powerful writers, and ultimately more proficient language users. The next chapter describes key principles and concepts of functional grammar as they relate to literacy teaching and learning.(https://www.daowen.com)