Looking at the “mental picture of reality” of an efl teacher: a systemic functional analysis

Abstract

In this study, I analyze an interview conducted with a Brazilian EFL teacher. Through the analysis of transitivity, I aim at understanding how he2 encodes his teaching xperience and professional roles. The study highlights some of the potentialities of systemic functional linguistics (SFL) (Halliday, 1994) as a theoretical framework to be used to categorize teachers’ discourse, making both the discussion and interpretation of data more systematic. Analysis of the research participant’s discourse reveals, on the one hand, his concerns with the quality and development of his teaching practice, as well as with his learners’ needs. The analysis also shows, on the other hand, that he does not seem to share his professional responsibilities collaboratively with his colleagues and students. These findings may be helpful to debates in language teacher education for the benefit of both prospective and practicing teachers.