Abstract
This chapter explores interpersonal meanings realized in the mood and modality resources of a Vietnamese middle school science textbook—Sinh học 8 (Biology 8)—the current biology textbook used for students in Grade 8. The data for analysis is ten texts selected randomly from the textbook. The theoretical framework adopted for analysis is Systemic Functional Linguistics. The findings show that there is a very high frequency of declarative clauses, a small number of imperative and interrogative clauses, a very high proportion of non-interactant Subjects, and virtually no modals employed in the texts. The interpersonal features of the texts indicate that Vietnamese school science textbook writers tend to construct knowledge as acknowledged facts, forcing students to accept science as a product rather than a process, and thus separating them from the possibility of critical engagement with the knowledge and process of science as a human activity (Halliday, 2005a; Moss, 2000). It is recommended that school science textbooks should be written in a way that can offer both general truth and be open to student inquiry.
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Hoang, V.V. (2019). An Interpersonal Analysis of a Vietnamese Middle School Science Textbook. In: Rajandran, K., Abdul Manan, S. (eds) Discourses of Southeast Asia. The M.A.K. Halliday Library Functional Linguistics Series. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-9883-4_7
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