Document Type : Research Paper

Author

• Mojtaba Ebrahimi

Assistant Professor, Islamic Language and Education Center, Al-Mustafa International University, Qom, Iran

Abstract

The main goal of language teaching is the ability to communicate effectively with others, which is currently being pursued more in educational content with a communicative approach. Examining Halliday's function theory and using it in language educational content with this approach has a significant impact. In this study, two educational books titled "Let's Learn Persian" (Volumes 1, 2, and 3) and "Parsa Reading" (First, Second, and Third Semesters) were analyzed and compared by the content analysis in terms of the use of Halliday's seven functions. The results showed that, except the interactive function, the use of other functions in the book titled "Parsa Reading" is (significantly) more than in "Let's Learn Persian". The total number of functions in "Let's Learn Persian" is 622 and in "Parsa Reading" is 2005, which is three times higher than another one. The number of functions in "Let's Learn Persian", separately, is: instrumental function, 35; supervisory function, 41; interactive function, 212; personal function, 34; exploratory function, 130; imaginative function, 170; and informative function, 57 cases; Also in the book titled "Parsa Reading", their number is as follows: instrumental function, 631; supervisory function, 79; interactive function, 19; personal function, 57; exploratory function, 895; imaginative function, 7; and informative function, 317 cases. These differences indicate that the book titled "Parsa Reading" focuses more on the use of Halliday's seven functions.

Keywords

• Persian language teaching
• communicative approach
• functionalist linguistics
• seven functions of language
• Let's Learn Persian
• Parsa Reading

Main Subjects

• Criticism and analysis of books and resources available in Persian language education