[pt] Dois são os objetivos fundamentais da presente pesquisa: 1) gerar inteligibilidades sobre como as experiências de um grupo de alunos-professores-profissionais da educação com a violência na escola são reconstruídas em discurso; 2) entender como esse fenômeno é articulado discursivamente com a dimensão da (con-)vivência interpessoal que, mesmo inscrita no tecido institucional da escola, o transcende, humanizando as relações intersubjetivas constritas pela racionalidade do Estado (WEBER, 1994) - sendo tal âmbito da vida humana denominado aqui de afetividade. Com tal ambição em mente, inicio a jornada investigativa ora sintetizada com dois expedientes: a demarcação do alicerce epistemológico-metodológico a dar sustento à investigação pretendida e a apresentação do contexto social e biográfico de florescimento da pesquisa. Segue-se a proposição de um modelo teórico que intenta reconstituir conceitualmente o problema da violência escolar em sua natureza multifacetada, desde suas causas mais amplas, externas aos muros da escola, até suas distintas conformações assumidas a partir da sua integração a esse espaço (AQUINO, 1996). Adiante, articulo tal teorização à supramencionada noção de afetividade, a qual é forjada a partir de um diálogo entre uma concepção de afeto assentada na totalidade subjetiva da experiência (VYGOTSKY, 1994; ZAPOROZHETS, 1977; MERLEAU-PONTY, 1994) e um quadro explicativo acerca da inter-relação de controle e racionalização entre o Estado, em sua acepção moderna, e a sociedade por ele tutelada (WEBER, 1994; FOUCAULT, 2004). Tendo construído uma visão holística do objeto de interesse do estudo aqui sumarizado, passo ao esforço de sediá-lo em um arcabouço teórico que lhe envolva em uma compreensão de linguagem-discurso coerente com os objetivos fundadores do trabalho. Julgo encontrar tal suprimento em uma zona de interseção entre a Linguística Aplicada (MOITA LOPES, 2013; FABRÍCIO, 2018) e a Linguística Sistêmico-Funcional (HALLIDAY, 1994), cunhada a partir de uma explicitação dos pontos de convergência e complementariedade entre ambas. Ancorado na rede de articulações teórico-metodológicas que dá estofo à primeira parte da tese, dedico os três capítulos seguintes à construção do empreendimento analítico que Dois são os objetivos fundamentais da presente pesquisa: 1) gerar inteligibilidades sobre como as experiências de um grupo de alunos-professores-profissionais da educação com a violência na escola são reconstruídas em discurso; 2) entender como esse fenômeno é articulado discursivamente com a dimensão da (con-)vivência interpessoal que, mesmo inscrita no tecido institucional da escola, o transcende, humanizando as relações intersubjetivas constritas pela racionalidade do Estado (WEBER, 1994) - sendo tal âmbito da vida humana denominado aqui de afetividade. Com tal ambição em mente, inicio a jornada investigativa ora sintetizada com dois expedientes: a demarcação do alicerce epistemológico-metodológico a dar sustento à investigação pretendida e a apresentação do contexto social e biográfico de florescimento da pesquisa. Segue-se a proposição de um modelo teórico que intenta reconstituir conceitualmente o problema da violência escolar em sua natureza multifacetada, desde suas causas mais amplas, externas aos muros da escola, até suas distintas conformações assumidas a partir da sua integração a esse espaço (AQUINO, 1996). Adiante, articulo tal teorização à supramencionada noção de afetividade, a qual é forjada a partir de um diálogo entre uma concepção de afeto assentada na totalidade subjetiva da experiência (VYGOTSKY, 1994; ZAPOROZHETS, 1977; MERLEAU-PONTY, 1994) e um quadro explicativo acerca da inter-relação de controle e racionalização entre o Estado, em sua acepção moderna, e a sociedade por ele tutelada (WEBER, 1994; FOUCAULT, 2004). Tendo construído uma visão holística do objeto de interesse do estudo aqui sumarizado, passo ao esforço de sediá-lo em um arcabouço teórico que lhe envolva em uma compreensão de linguagem-discurso coerente com os objetivos fundadores do trabalho. Julgo encontrar tal suprimento em uma zona de interseção entre a Linguística Aplicada (MOITA LOPES, 2013; FABRÍCIO, 2018) e a Linguística Sistêmico-Funcional (HALLIDAY, 1994), cunhada a partir de uma explicitação dos pontos de convergência e complementariedade entre ambas. Ancorado na rede de articulações teórico-metodológicas que dá estofo à primeira parte da tese, dedico os três capítulos seguintes à construção do empreendimento analítico que lhe dá substância. Assim, na primeira etapa da empresa analítica em questão, apresento o conjunto de procedimentos e arranjos realizados ao longo do processo de geração e delimitação do corpus a ser aqui examinado. Além de tais decisões metodológicas, introduzo e justifico no mesmo capítulo o ferramental analítico organizado com o fim de mediar meu encontro com os dados produzidos. As duas seções posteriores são dedicadas ao diálogo com os dados, momento em que recortes de minhas conversas com os quatro coconstrutores deste estudo – Michelle, Gisele, Adriano e Gustavo – são interpelados à luz do arcabouço de instrumentos de geração de saberes supramencionado. As análises flagram no devir das conversas uma pluralidade de movimentos de reconstrução discursiva de vivências em meio a episódios de violência na escola. A diversidade de experiências materializadas em palavras, vis-à-vis à variedade de expedientes linguístico-interacionais empregados na constituição de tais quadros narrativos, converge com o posicionamento de Vygotsky (1994) em defesa da plasticidade de cada um de nossos viveres no mundo, capazes de refratar qualquer evento objetivamente vislumbrado com um conjunto incomensurável de ângulos e colorações subjetivas. Ademais, ganha relevo ao longo do percurso analítico o papel de destaque desempenhado pela inter-relação entre axiologia e ideologia na reconstituição discursiva das experiências derramadas em palavras pelos participantes. Por fim, a tensão entre racionalidade e afetividade emerge em algumas histórias como um dos eixos de reedificação discursiva das vivências com a violência na escola, sendo atribuída centralidade ao segundo elemento desse binômio na determinação da natureza das relações interpessoais travadas no espaço da sala de aula. / [en] This study has two main objectives. The first one is to generate intelligibilities regarding how the experiences of a group of students-teacher-educations workers are reconstructed in discourse. The second one is to understand how this phenomenon is discursively articulated with the dimension of interpersonal relationship among people getting along in the school environment. Although still inscribed in the institutionality of school bureaucracy, this interpersonal contact transcends it, humanizing the intersubjective relationships constricted by State s dehumanizing rationality (WEBER, 1994). This realm of school social life here is denominated affectivity. With this end in mind, this investigative journey starts with the outlining of the theoretical-methodological foundation sustaining this inquiry as well as its social and biographic context of development. Next, there is the proposition of a theoretical model that aims to reconstruct conceptually the problem of school violence in its multifaceted nature, integrating its external factors to the set of different fashions this phenomenon assumes inside of the school environment (AQUINO, 1996). Further, this theoretical background is articulated to the notion of affectivity. This idea is forged through a dialogue between two elements. The first one is an understanding of affect grounded in the subjective wholeness of experience (VYGOTSKY, 1994; ZAPOROZHETS, 1977; MERLEAU-PONTY, 1994); the second one is an explanatory framework regarding the inter-relationship of control and rationalization between the State, in its modern definition, and the society ruled by it (WEBER, 1994; FOUCAULT, 2004). After the construction of a holistic view of our research object, it will be grounded on a theoretical framework of a discursive-linguistic model convergent with the general goals of this study. This terrain of support if found in an intersection zone between Applied Linguistics (MOITA LOPES, 2013; FABRÍCIO, 2018) and Systemic-Functional Linguistics (HALLIDAY, 1994), coined through making their points of convergence and complementarity explicit. Anchored on this network of theoretical-methodological threads, the three following chapters are dedicated to the construction of the core analytical work of this research. In the first step of this analytical enterprise, the set of procedures and arrangements developed during the process of generation and outlining of this study s corpus is presented. Besides those methodological decisions, the analytical toolkit mediating my encounter with the data is presented and justified in the same chapter. The following sections cover the dialogue with the data, in which my conversations with the four participants in this research – Michelle, Gisele, Adriano and Gustavo – are interpellated in light of the analytical framework previously mentioned. The analyses find among the interactions a plurality of movements of discursive reconstructions of experiences amid school violence episodes. The diversity of experiences materialized in words dialogues with the variety of linguistic-interactional elements employed in the constitution of those narrative frameworks. This network of elements converges with the emphatic stance taken by Vygotsky (1994) in defense of the plasticity of each of our living moments in the world, in their capacity of refracting objective situations with an unlimited array of subjective colors and angles. Furthermore, throughout the analytical course, the key role played by axiology and ideology in the discursive reconstitution of the experiences, transformed in words, by the participants also becomes relevant. Finally, the tension between rationality and affectivity emerges as a discursive rebuilding axis of the school violence experiences, being ascribed centrality to the second element of this binomial in the determination of the nature of the interpersonal relationships established in the classroom environment.

This thesis investigates the use of metalanguage and its relation to learning outcome in group discussions. Metalanguage is defined as a language about language, a way to talk about the features of a language using a specific vocabulary with great precision. It is suggested that metalanguage is necessary in order to develop the pupils' awareness when text analyses are carried out in school. The purpose of the study is to understand how pupils take on the task presented by the teacher, how they reach consensus, if and how they make use of some kind of metalanguage, and to what degree their discussions can be regarded as learning conversations. Twelve conversations in groups were recorded on video. The pupils were in the first or the final year of upper secondary school and they all attended either Natural Science Programme or Technology Programme. The conversations took place without the teacher being present. In three groups the conversation was observed by the researcher. The task was to talk about a phishing mail using questions provided by the teacher. The three observed conversations were transcribed following principles from Conversation Analysis, CA. The rest of the conversations were transcribed following a key close to written language in order to simplify the reading. Two analyses were carried out. First, the conversations were analysed regarding how to take on the task, interaction and use of metalanguage. Secondly, the structures of the conversations were analysed using concepts from systemic functional grammar. The results show that the conversations are symmetrical and co-operative and that the pupils are focused on solving the task. No metalanguage is used by the students; the discussions are performed using colloquial speech and dramatizations and referring to experiences. The absence of metalanguage is contrasted in effectiveness by the using of terms from the field of information technology. Using experiences from texts outside school proves to be a way of dealing with the task. However, experiences and results are not abstracted into scientific terms and no learning concerning language and text seems to take place. The using of concepts from systemic functional grammar shows that the pupils are mainly concerned with interpersonal aspects of the text, somewhat concerned with ideational aspects – especially logical – and to a less degree concerned with textual aspects. It is suggested that the lower degree of textual focus is related to the absence of metalanguage. It is also shown that the pupils discuss features of the text focusing on various strata of language. Although the pupils' frequent use of experiences from text encounters should be regarded as a great potential from a pedagogical point of view, the results indicate the need of a metalanguage to achieve precision and effectiveness in discussions about texts. Also, the need of instructions guiding the pupils to make use of metalanguage is indicated. The possibility of using concepts from systemic functional grammar is pointed out and further research is suggested.

This dissertation attempts to answer two questions. First, what is the social function of the letter of James? Second, how does James design the structure of the text to align with its communicative goal? This study presumes the letter of James as a member of ancient wisdom literature. Contrary to common (mis)understandings, ancient wisdom literature shows a general tendency in its composition. A legitimate sage collects and evokes old sayings and proverbs. Then, the wisdom is reinterpreted and contemporized for the current situation. Through this process, the sage helps his readers develop a sense of right and wrong, develop moral reasoning skills, and cultivate virtues. I will argue that this pattern, moral formation, is present in the unfolding of James’s letter to his diasporic readers. Regarding the structure of the letter of James, after Dibelius, many attempts have been made to present the letter as a cohesive text with a literary structure, which is unified by a single global theme. In this framework, most of what have been proposed as a structure of the letter is more or less topic (or theme)-based. Unfortunately, however, neither a rigorous definition of topic nor a method for determining it has been clearly stated. The limits of the topic-based approach become problematic when applied to the structure of James whereby diverse topics are scattered here and there throughout the text. Attempts to draw intricate lines between these units through topical or thematic similarities make the structure of James very complicated (e.g., inclusio or chiasm). This study attempts to break this methodological impasse by employing Ruqaiya Hasan’s genre theory developed in a systemic functional framework. James’s letter is delimited in terms of function, not topic or theme. In search for the function of each segment, I explore textual (semantic chain and cohesive harmony), ideational (transitivity, verbal aspect, and voice), and interpersonal meanings (grammatical person and speech functions).

In this dissertation, I explore to address the problem of the identity of Paul’s interlocutor(s) in Rom 1–3 and the subsequent issue of whether Paul only includes non-Jewish Gentiles as recipients of his gospel teaching. In order to deal with the research question in a linguistically informed manner, I draw from Systemic Functional Linguistics and use two related notions of cohesive chains and grammatical metaphor (nominalization). By applying both methods to the text, I identify twenty-three active cohesive chains and five most important instances of nominalization in the text. Based on the linguistic data elicited solely by examining the interaction patterns among the chains and by explicating the various textual effects that nominalization brings about, I conclude that the linguistic evidence points to the possibility that the interlocutor is an ethnically Jewish man and Paul thus does not exclude his fellow Jews from his presentation of the gospel in Rom 1–3.

This study investigates the diachronic shift of revised card texts in the tabletop collectible card game ‘Magic: The Gathering’.  The lexicogrammatical patterns found are compared to theories on comprehension and learning, and to the development of the game. To answer how the texts have changed, a sample of twenty cards with old and revised texts has been analysed according to systemic functional linguistics. The metafunctions used for the SFL analysis are interpersonal, ideational and textual. Additionally, a descriptive analysis has been conducted to answer how the changes in the linguistic metafunctions relate to comprehension and development. The analysis shows that there are general patterns within all the investigated metafunctions, which correspond to research on learning, language development and notions on text cohesion. Furthermore, the findings correlate to the game development and functions in the gameplay. While the sample size is limited in comparison to all available cards in the game, the diachronic shifts are distributed over a variety of card types matching the available cards overall, and with the initial interconnections found it is assumed that the patterns are generalisable. Further research could explore the findings in relation to general games development, games as a source of learning or genre and discourses.

The purpose of this study is to examine how three volunteer organizations present volunteer projects on their websites to identify who is constructed as central in the description of the project and which role is created for the reader. This study uses Multimodal Critical Discourse Analysis (MCDA), Systemic Functional Grammar (SFG) and Post-colonial theory as a theoretical framework to analyze visual and textual elements from three project descriptions. The findings indicate that the project descriptions of two of the organizations highlight the volunteer worker, while at the same time using a tourism discourse in creating the reader’s role. The findings also show that the third organization highlights the beneficiaries of the volunteer work, while creating the reader role of a friend. Additionally, the findings indicate the existence of underlying collective beliefs that can be connected to post-colonial structures in two of the project descriptions but not in the third. The conclusion is that who is highlighted, and the role created for the reader, differ between the three organizations. Two of the organizations focus more on the volunteer worker, and this coincides with the occurrence of Othering. The third organization focus more on the beneficiaries, with no occurrence of Othering.

This exploratory case study research was conducted with a view to exploring how teachers teaching emergent bilingual students in ESL programs can enact the principles of culturally sustaining systematic functional linguistics (CS SFL), such as critical centering, historicizing, curricularizing, teaching and learning cycle (TLC), and semantic waving in their classrooms. Two middle school teachers participated in the study and used CS SFL principles to teach their emergent bilingual students. I gathered data for the study through non-participatory observations, semi-structured interviews, informal talks with the teachers, usually right after their classes, and artifacts from teachers and students. The thematic analysis of the data demonstrated that teachers could recognize their students' ways of knowing and being by (a) translanguaging between English and Spanish seamlessly in their classrooms; (b) centering their students' lifeways, prior knowledge, and lived experiences by making them the parts of their curricula; (c) using TLC for creating dialogic interactions between teachers and students and among students; (d) positioning their students through strength perspectives; and (e) using multimodal and multi-semiotic means of communication so that their students can understand their content area knowledge and express their ideas even if their English language is emerging. The teachers faced tensions about whether to reject or perpetuate the monolingual and monocultural ideologies expressed through English language requirements that emergent bilingual students should meet in order to succeed academically. Similarly, they reported that they had challenges in preparing students for high-stakes testing and offering their support for the students sent to in-school suspension (ISS).

This study investigates how six writing-instructions aimed at third-year students in upper secondary school, resulting in high student performance, are designed. The aim was to identify common patterns of speech acts and text activities in the writing-instructions and to examine how clearly these communicate what is expected of students. To address this, a qualitative analysis of the six writing-instructions was conducted using tools from systemic-functional grammar: speech act and the concept of text activity. The analysis results show that the writinginstructions primarily communicate through the speech acts of statement and command. The speech act statement is used to provide information about the requirements and expectations of the task, while the speech act command structures the instructional part. The congruent use of speech acts demonstrates that all writing-instructions clearly convey their message. The framing text activity of explanation is used in all writing-instructions, providing a clear guidance, and writing frameworks, and is clarified and reinforced by the embedded text activity of description. The study results suggest that writing-instructions that clearly communicate expected content, structure, and writing frameworks correlate with higher student performance. Further research could expand this study with either a larger sample or in combination with an interview study.

In this thesis, we leverage Edgar Schein’s (1992) organizational culture framework alongside multimodal discourse analysis to identify textual and visual cues that reveal CEOs’ organizational culture mindsets. We analyze 72 LinkedIn posts from Swedish unicorn startup CEOs in 2022-2023 to explore whether the scholarly assumptions about organizational culture mindsets of successful startup leaders will be reflected in our analysis. Our findings indicate that our developed novel analytical framework effectively identifies how CEOs’ LinkedIn communication reveals their innovation, growth-oriented, visionary, equality, hierarchical and appreciation mindsets. We also discover inconsistencies between text and image communication in our data. By making the process of how CEOs implement various textual and visual tools to construct their posts explicit, we help CEOs and their stakeholders gain a better understanding of the effects of these choices and the implicit meanings that are created in this process. Finally, we open the door for further research on organizational culture mindsets that are revealed through CEO communication, contributing a new dimension to research on CEO communication on social media.

[pt] A maioria das unidades escolares públicas brasileiras adota a estrutura de organização seriada, que permite a retenção do aluno na mesma série no término do ano letivo. Na escola onde esta pesquisa foi realizada, como professora de Língua Inglesa, tenho lecionado para um grupo de alunos que permanece no 6. ano há três, quatro, ou até mesmo cinco anos. Com base neste fato, minha motivação em conduzir o presente estudo se dá pelo interesse em investigar: (1) de que maneira os alunos avaliam o contexto escolar no qual se encontram? e (2) que identidades são construídas durante a interação entre alunos/participantes e professora/pesquisadora?. A abordagem sociossemiótica de linguagem da Linguística Sistêmico Funcional fundamenta o trabalho, alinhada a pressupostos socioconstrucionistas de identidade que a concebem como um fenômeno fluído, emergente, interacional e sociocultural. A coconstrução das identidades é observada, principalmente, em pequenas histórias surgidas espontaneamente em Grupos de Discussão. Duas perspectivas direcionam a análise das avaliações nas narrativas: o ferramental de análise textual do Sistema de Avaliatividade e os construtos teóricos seminais e contemporâneos que propõem o estudo das avaliações no discurso narrativo. Seguindo a metodologia qualitativa de pesquisa, dez alunos do Ensino Fundamental e da EJA (Educação de Jovens e Adultos) foram entrevistados pela pesquisadora/professora acerca de sua visão da prática escolar. Histórias contadas pelos participantes retratam situações do cotidiano da escola que sugerem relações de conflito entre alunos, professores, coordenadores e diretores. A coconstrução das pequenas histórias sinaliza fortes atitudes de identidades coletivas, por meio das quais os participantes engajam-se em um processo discursivo de culpabilização do outro, construindo-se como vítimas de um ambiente escolar que não propicia a qualidade de vida necessária à efetivação do processo de ensino-aprendizagem. / [en] The majority of Brazilian public schools adopt a system which keeps students who fail at the end of the school year in the same grade. As an English language teacher in the school where this study was guided, I have been teaching a group of students who have remained in the sixth grade for three, four, or even five years. Based on this fact, my motivation to conduct this research derived from an interest in investigating: (1) how do students evaluate the context in which they find themselves? (2) which identities are constructed during the interaction among students/participants and teacher/researcher? The study is based on the sociosemiotic approach of language, as proposed by Systemic Functional Linguistics, aligned with socioconstructionist paradigms of identity which conceive it as a fluid, emerging, interactional and sociocultural phenomena. The construction of identities is observed in small stories spontaneously told during Discussion Groups carried out with the participants. Two perspectives lead the analysis of evaluative moments in the narratives: the analytical tools of the Appraisal Theory and the seminal and contemporary theoretical concepts related to narratives, which emphasize the study of evaluation in narrative discourse. Following a qualitative methodology, ten students from secondary school and EJA ( Educação de Jovens e Adultos ) were interviewed by the researcher/teacher about how they see their school practice. Stories told by the participants portray situations of everyday school life which suggest relationships of conflict among students, teachers, coordinators and principals. The coconstruction of small stories indicates strong attitudes of collective identities through which participants blame the other, constructing themselves as victims of a school environment that does not provide the necessary quality of life for an effective learning process.