ANGELO P.

GAON

KING MICHAEL Y. MANGUBAT

BSED E1

T-TH 11:00AM-12:00AM

Halliday’s Language Functions Activities and Guidelines

Instrumental Activity: Giving Directions

Guidelines:
1. Choose a familiar location or create a mock setting within the
classroom.
2. Divide the class into pairs, with one student acting as the
"guide" and the other as the "explorer."
3. The guide is given a set of instructions to navigate the
explorer from one point to another within the chosen
location.
4. The guide must use instrumental language functions to
provide clear and concise directions, including specific
landmarks, distances, and turns.
5. The explorer follows the instructions and tries to reach the
destination correctly.
6. After pairs have completed the activity, encourage them to
switch roles and repeat the process.
Explanation:
 This activity allows students to practice instrumental
language functions by giving and following directions. It
helps them develop their communication skills, spatial
awareness, and ability to provide clear and accurate
instructions. It also promotes collaboration and problem-
solving as students navigate through a given space.
Regulatory Activity: Group Project Planning

Guidelines:
1. Divide the class into small groups and assign each group a
project topic or task.
2. Instruct the groups to plan and organize their project using
regulatory language functions, such as assigning roles, setting
deadlines, and creating a timeline.
 3. Encourage students to use appropriate language to regulate
the group's activities, such as giving instructions, making
suggestions, and providing feedback.
4. Have each group present their project plan, explaining how
they used regulatory language to coordinate their work.

Explanation:
 This activity allows students to practice regulatory language
functions by engaging in collaborative project planning. It
helps them develop their ability to give and follow
instructions, negotiate tasks, and regulate group activities. It
also fosters teamwork, time management, and effective
communication skills.
Activity: Group Discussions
Interactional
Guidelines:
1. Divide the class into small groups of 4-6 students.
2. Provide each group with a discussion topic related to a
specific language function, such as expressing opinions or
negotiating.
3. Set a time limit for the discussion, such as 10-15 minutes.
4. Encourage students to actively engage in the discussion,
using the target language function appropriately.
5. After the discussion, have each group present a summary of
their key points or conclusions to the class.
Explanation:
This activity promotes interactional language use by providing
students with a structured opportunity to engage in meaningful
discussions. It allows them to practice expressing their ideas,
negotiating with others, and actively listening to different
perspectives.
Activity: Journal Writing
Personal
Guidelines:
1. Assign students a regular journal writing task, such as writing
a reflection on a specific topic or documenting their daily
experiences.
2. Encourage students to use personal language functions to
express their thoughts, emotions, and reflections in their
journal entries.
3. Provide prompts or guiding questions to help students reflect
on personal experiences and express themselves.
4. Allocate time for students to write in their journals regularly,
either during class or as part of homework.
5. Optionally, students can share excerpts from their journals
with a partner or in small groups for further discussion.
 Explanation:
 Journal writing allows students to practice personal language
functions by expressing their thoughts, feelings, and
experiences in a personal and reflective manner. It helps
students develop their writing skills, self-awareness, and
ability to communicate their personal perspectives. It also
encourages introspection and self-expression.
Activity: Debate or Discussion
Heuristic
Guidelines:
1. Choose a debatable topic or issue relevant to the curriculum
or students' interests.
2. Divide the class into small groups and assign each group a
stance or perspective on the topic.
3. Instruct the groups to engage in a debate or discussion, using
heuristic language functions to support their arguments,
analyze evidence, and explore different viewpoints.
4. Encourage students to ask probing questions, challenge
assumptions, and use critical thinking skills to present their
ideas.
5. After the debate or discussion, facilitate a class reflection on
the heuristic language functions used and the effectiveness of
the arguments presented.
Explanation:
 Debates and discussions provide opportunities for heuristic
language functions by encouraging students to explore
different perspectives, analyze information, and critically
evaluate arguments. It helps students develop their critical
thinking, reasoning, and persuasive communication skills. It
also fosters respectful dialogue and understanding of diverse
viewpoints.
Imaginative Activity: Picture Prompts

Guidelines:
1. Provide each student or pair of students with a picture prompt
that portrays a unique setting or scene.
2. Ask the students to create a story based on the picture
prompt, using their imagination.
3. Encourage the students to include characters, a plot, and
descriptive details in their stories.
4. After they have completed their stories, ask volunteers to
share their imaginative creations with the class.
5. Optionally, you can have a class discussion about the
different approaches and imaginative language techniques
used in the stories.
Explanation:

Representational
 Picture prompts stimulate students' imagination and offer a
visual stimulus for creative storytelling. This activity allows
students to practice using imaginative language functions by
crafting narratives, describing settings, and developing
characters. It also provides an opportunity for students to
showcase their individual creativity and storytelling
capabilities.
Activity: Picture Description

Guidelines:
1. Provide each student or pair of students with a picture.
2. Instruct the students to describe the picture using
representational language, focusing on specific details,
colors, shapes, and patterns.
3. Encourage students to use precise vocabulary and descriptive
language to convey their observations.
4. Allow time for students to share their descriptions with a
partner or in small groups.
5. Optionally, have students present their descriptions to the
whole class, allowing for discussion and comparisons.
Explanation:
 This activity enhances representational language use by
engaging students in the observation and description of visual
stimuli. It helps students develop their descriptive skills,
expand their vocabulary, and use precise language to
represent visual elements accurately. It also encourages active
listening and comprehension as students listen to and
interpret descriptions provided by their peers.

REFERENCES:

Michon, P. E., & Denis, M. (2001). When and why are visual landmarks used in giving directions?
In Spatial Information Theory: Foundations of Geographic Information Science International
Conference, COSIT 2001 Morro Bay, CA, USA, September 19–23, 2001 Proceedings 5 (pp. 292-
305). Springer Berlin Heidelberg.

Rettig, M., & Simons, G. (1993). A project planning and development process for small
teams. Communications of the ACM, 36(10), 45-55.

Hennink, M. M. (2013). Focus group discussions. Oxford University Press.

Hiemstra, R. (2001). Uses and benefits of journal writing. New directions for adult and continuing
education, 2001(90), 19.

Tumposky, N. R. (2004). The debate debate. The Clearing House: A Journal of Educational
Strategies, Issues and Ideas, 78(2), 52-56.

Boers, F. (2018). Picture prompts and some of their uses. Language Teaching Research, 22(4), 375-
378.

Shaw, A. C. (1969). A formal picture description scheme as a basis for picture processing
systems. Information and Control, 14(1), 9-52.