Meaning-making in English-medium instruction science classroom interaction: from the systemic functional linguistics perspective

Teaching science in English is increasingly common worldwide. This study explores the role of language in science meaning-making during classroom interactions by drawing on video-recorded classroom observations of four biology lessons in secondary English medium instruction (EMI) settings in Hong Kong. Informed by systemic functional linguistics (SFL), we integrate classroom interaction analysis with Lemke’s approach to thematic analysis. The results reveal similar interactional patterns across full- and partial-EMI science classrooms, characterised by a lack of interactivity and authoritative teacher behaviour in selecting student responses to engage with. During extended initiation–response–feedback exchanges, teachers’ feedback on students’ responses appears to underscore the importance of teachers’ modified input – specifically input emphasising semantic relations within the field of biology – in developing students’ content knowledge and language skills. The implications of the findings for applying SFL pedagogies in EMI science classrooms to improve teacher–student interaction are discussed.