FUNCTIONS AND PARADIGMS OF LANGUAGE
What are the functions of language?
The functions of language are crucial in understanding language and how it is used in society (Halliday, 1975). Halliday (1975), a believer of the social cultural view on learning, divided the functions of language into seven categories, later condensed into three categories. These categories are labeled ideational, interpersonal and textual. The ideational function caters for people to express and share ideas, the interpersonal function is for the communication and expression of feelings and emotions, and the textual function is for interactions that occur within a text (Emmit et. al. 2012). For effective learning to occur, students require an environment which includes and involves all of the functions in order to understand language and develop their thinking.
Paradigms
In order to accurately cover literacy, there is a requirement to engage in all three paradigms of language. Freebody (2013) discusses the three paradigms as the responsive, the developmental, and the heritage paradigms. These paradigms cover a range of contexts and requirements for students to confidently, correctly and precisely use and engage in the English language.
The responsive paradigm focuses on preparing students to be able to confidently react with the skills to read and write, the correct use of language in context and the ability to critically read and write when texts may be misleading or oppressing. The developmental paradigm provides students with the opportunity to explore their own ideas and philosophies, through a range of guided experiences with language and texts. In conjunction, the heritage paradigm is the most traditional, as the encounters are with valued literacy that has been used throughout language practices for an extended period of time.
The functions of language are crucial in understanding language and how it is used in society (Halliday, 1975). Halliday (1975), a believer of the social cultural view on learning, divided the functions of language into seven categories, later condensed into three categories. These categories are labeled ideational, interpersonal and textual. The ideational function caters for people to express and share ideas, the interpersonal function is for the communication and expression of feelings and emotions, and the textual function is for interactions that occur within a text (Emmit et. al. 2012). For effective learning to occur, students require an environment which includes and involves all of the functions in order to understand language and develop their thinking.
Paradigms
In order to accurately cover literacy, there is a requirement to engage in all three paradigms of language. Freebody (2013) discusses the three paradigms as the responsive, the developmental, and the heritage paradigms. These paradigms cover a range of contexts and requirements for students to confidently, correctly and precisely use and engage in the English language.
The responsive paradigm focuses on preparing students to be able to confidently react with the skills to read and write, the correct use of language in context and the ability to critically read and write when texts may be misleading or oppressing. The developmental paradigm provides students with the opportunity to explore their own ideas and philosophies, through a range of guided experiences with language and texts. In conjunction, the heritage paradigm is the most traditional, as the encounters are with valued literacy that has been used throughout language practices for an extended period of time.
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