In this chapter, we will briefly comment on the theoretical framework underlying our research. We will offer some basic notions on SFL as originally theorised by Halliday (1978, 1994), Halliday & Matthiessen (2013), Martin (1992), Martin & Rose (2007) and Eggins (2004) –the linguistic theoretical core we adhere to–, Genre Theory and Pedagogy, as proposed in Martin & Rothery (1991), Martin (1999) and Martin & Rose (2008) –the chosen basis for text-type analysis and teaching– and Multimodal Discourse Analysis (MDA), as explored in Kress (2010), Kress & van Leeuwen (2006) and Painter, Martin & Unsworth (2013) –the fundamentals of visual grammar. Later on, we will provide a definition for macro meaning, a concept developed in our analysis of picture books that will inform and organise the content of the rest of the book. Finally, we will go over the generic structure of narratives, specifying the stages within this text-type and their functions. We hope these initial remarks serve to build a shared ground for the analysis and discussion of picture books that we propose in the rest of the book.

1.1. Theoretical framework

SFL describes language as inherently functional and its main function as that of making meaning. These meanings are organised in sets of connected options which relate them to concrete linguistic resources. Each choice within a system gains meaning when contrasted to the ones that were not made. For example, if we choose to call somebody by their nickname (Tom), it reflects a particular type of relationship between the interactants. This contrasts with alternative options of addressing someone, such as using a first name (Thomas), surname (Smith) or adding a title (Mr./Dr./Professor Smith). It is not only what we choose but what we decide to leave out that makes meaning within a particular context.

According to Halliday & Matthiessen (2013, p. 84-85), these systems of choices correspond to three broader realms of meaning –metafunctions– that we make simultaneously every time we use language, orally or in written form: ideational meanings, interpersonal meanings and textual meanings. Ideational meanings represent experience: they make meanings about the world, people, happenings, actions and circumstances. In texts, they build the subject matter that such texts are about. Interpersonal meanings refer to social relationships and roles between the interactants as well as to the expression of feelings and attitudes. In texts, different choices, particularly vocatives and types of sentences that interactants can resort to (imperatives, questions, requests), reflect the relationship between them in terms of power, frequency of contact and degree of affection (Poynton, 1990, p. 41). Finally, textual meanings organise the experiential and interpersonal meanings to render the text a coherent whole. The textual role is reflected in a text’s cohesion and coherence.

For example, in the following exchange between a boss and his employee, we can identify the three metafunctions working together:

• Tom, please make sure to have the report ready by Wednesday.
• Would it be possible to push the deadline until Friday, Mr. Madden? On Wednesday we have the meeting with the Sales Department.

Experientially, the brief conversation is clearly about the deadline for a report; in other words, Tom and Mr. Madden are deciding on the deadline of the report. Interpersonally, the choices these men make as regards vocatives and mood reveal an unequal relationship. While the boss calls his employee by his first name and can give a direct command using the imperative mood, Tom refers to his boss with a title plus surname and makes an indirect request via a question. Textually, the exchange is a coherent whole because the lexical choices form a logical chain: ideas mentioned by the boss are taken up by the employee, for example, “the deadline.” Also, some of the sentences alter the expected syntactic structure to highlight certain meanings by starting, for instance, with a circumstance (“on Wednesday”) instead of the subject of the clause. As this example illustrates, even very short texts display meanings belonging to the three metafunctions, just as SFL proposes.

SFL, then, is our selected theoretical framework for the analysis of verbal language in picture books. However, as we said before, picture story books are special because of their combination of text and images. Thus, the MDA approach becomes crucial to describe the visual resources in these narratives.

Since most communication is multimodal in nature, that is, achieved through language, gesture, images, layout, sound, among others, we typically decode a variety of modalities simultaneously. In recent years, the demands on our abilities to make sense of multimodal texts, particularly those that combine language with images, have considerably increased. This explains the large number of studies within Applied Linguistics, more specifically within SFL, that study multimodality to delve into the new forms of literacy necessary to understand multimodal messages. Multiliteracy, then, becomes essential in the classroom in order to hone students’ skills when it comes to interpreting multimodal texts in depth (Christie, 2005, p. 124).

Within the SFL tradition, MDA studies texts that combine language with different ‘modalities’ or semiotic modes to make meanings (Painter et al., 2013, p.2). In other words, MDA

involves developing theoretical and practical approaches for analysing written, printed and electronic texts, three-dimensional sites and other realms of activity where semiotic resources (e. g. spoken and written language, visual imagery, mathematical symbolism, sculpture, architecture, gesture and other physiological modes) combine to make meaning. (O’Halloran, 2008, p. 444)

Kress and van Leeuwen (2006) propose a vast visual grammar made up of systems that capture experiential, interpersonal and textual meanings in images. They mainly focus on the analysis of charts, ads and images included in textbooks for the teaching of social sciences. Painter, Martin and Unsworth (2013) continue to theorise on visual semiotics in the context of picture books, drawing upon Kress & van Leeuwen’s grammar. Painter et al. define the picture book as a “bimodal form of text in which the visual modality plays just as important a role as the verbal one in creating meaning and shaping readers” (2013, p. 2).

These authors organise the multiplicity of meanings made in images and their realisations into different systems. They classify these systems following Halliday’s distinction into three metafunctions. As we said before, in SFL, Halliday claims that every text makes experiential, interpersonal and textual meanings at the same time –which are alternatively called representational, interactive and compositional for images. In picture books, the experiential (representational) metafunction construes the story world: characters, events, setting; the actions characters are depicted doing and the context in which they carry them out. The interpersonal (interactive) construes the social relations between author and reader, among characters and the relationship between characters and reader. And the textual (compositional) is concerned with the composition of the image and how the text and the image are placed on the page.

1.2. Macro meanings in picture story books

In this book we present sets of visual resources drawn from a number of systems proposed within MDA. As stated above, Kress & van Leeuwen and Painter et al. organise systems according to the three metafunctions –experiential, interpersonal, textual. This classification is useful in theoretical-descriptive terms, yet it may prove too technical for teachers unfamiliar with SFL to use productively in class. Thus, for applied purposes, we have reorganised these visual resources around specific functions that are fulfilled in narratives, such as creating characters and constructing plot. We have called these groups of resources macro meanings.

Macro meanings are high order meanings associated with central functions that are realised in a genre. These meanings can be encoded by resources belonging to the same or different metafunctions. The resources work together with a specific purpose. In combining these resources in particular ways, authors seek to communicate their message and to have an impact on their audience. Macro meanings permeate the text; they have a bearing on it as a whole, affecting it throughout. We have developed the term in the context of our analysis of picture story books but anticipate that this notion applies to other types of texts.

Macro meanings offer a more intuitive way of organising resources and a more practical, effective way of using them in the EFL classroom. Teaching through macro meanings implies a more concrete and transparent functional approach to comprehending and producing visual narratives. We consider that this approach can make the analysis of images in picture books more meaningful, and thus, more memorable for students. This would allow them to better understand what happens in picture story books and use those resources more effectively when producing their own narratives.

1.3. Structure of narratives

Different authors within SFL have studied the structure of narratives, establishing a series of stages that make up the text, together with the language used to fulfil each stage. The model we have decided to adopt is that put forth by Hasan (1996), who proposes a generic structure for nursery tales. In her model, she suggests nursery tales unfold along the following stages:

Placement ^ Initiating Event ^ Sequent event(s) ^ Final event ^ (Finale) ^ (Moral)^[1]

The Placement includes the setting in time and place, the introduction of main characters (their attributes and habits) and the presentation of an even tenor of existence, i.e., a stable, habitual situation. This stage can be realised discretely as a separate stage at the beginning of the story to present the situation and characters before the action starts. Another option is for the story to start mid-action and gradually include this information as the events unfold. This is more common in narratives for older children, adolescents and adults, who are able to retrieve this information with no difficulty as they read what happens in the story.

The Initiating event introduces a change in the rather stable and habitual state of affairs described in the Placement. In other words, in this stage the author presents a conflict that interrupts the normalcy established so far and creates tension. This conflict has to be faced by the main character(s).

After introducing a break in the stable situation, the author presents a series of events that further complicate things for the characters. This stage is called Sequent events. The events, then, have the function of increasing tension in the plot. The Final event provides culmination or resolution to the complication. It shows how the problem the character confronts is resolved, whether it is with a positive or a negative outcome.

The Finale depicts a return to what Hasan calls an “altered rest.” This means that a new stable situation is established. Things go back to normal, but something has changed for the character –be it his/her abilities, knowledge, relationships or status. This stage is optional.

The Moral expresses or highlights the ethical lesson of the story. This stage is also optional and more typical of narratives for young children. Older readers are able to infer the moral teaching by themselves.

Within her description of the structure of narratives, Hasan also proposes an internal structure for events. She states that within each event, there is a local setting that contextualises the action, called frame. This is followed by the main act, that is, what happens in the event, the action itself. Finally, the sequel presents an outcome of the event, whether it is a decision taken by the characters or their emotional reaction.

This further distinction of phases within each event makes Hasan’s model an excellent tool for aiding our students not only to comprehend how events work in a story, but also to produce their own narratives. Sometimes it is hard for teachers to help students realise that every event they include in a story needs to have a consequence that somehow moves the plot forward, making the situation for the character more and more complicated. In this way, students are more likely to include events that strategically contribute to the rising tension in the story.

1.4. Coda

Bringing together this understanding of how stories are built stage by stage with the notion of macro meaning provides very effective functional tools for the EFL classroom. Acquiring greater familiarity with these concepts ensures that students interact with picture story books more productively both as readers and as potential writers.

In the following chapters, we aim at, first, empowering teachers with the necessary conceptual tools, that is, knowledge of the visual grammar and the structure of visual narratives, including the typical use of resources that correspond to each stage. After approaching these theoretical concerns, we will be ready to share activities on how to implement all this know-how in the EFL classroom.