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This paper looks at literacy in the context of second language learning, expanding the scope of the notion of 'literacy' to include not only written but also spoken language, and redefining the concept of 'proficiency' in an attempt to unveil the reasons underlying failure to master a second language. A systemic-functional stance is taken to identify the point at which stagnation tends to happen and to explain how successful second language teaching paves the way for the development of literacy in the target language. Systemic-Functional Linguistics sees language as a meaning resource where choices in the resources provided by the lexicogrammar are directly motivated by extralinguistic factors at the level of the context of situation. Whereas native speakers make those choices in an intentional -yet unconscious- way, learners make their selections intentionally and non-automatically (i.e. consciously). Following up on this, I contend that proficiency is achieved through the automatization of choices in the lexicogrammatical resources, which in turn accounts for the ability to function effectively in a given context of situation within a particular context of culture; i.e. being literate in the language of that culture. It is, therefore, claimed in this paper that effective teaching should focus on developing the strategies to negotiate discourse practices in a context of situation through the appropriate, and progressively more unconscious, use of the resources in the lexicogrammar. This kind of teaching in which the linguistic relates to the extralinguistic fosters the development of empathy with the target culture, thus ironing out the bumpy road to literacy.
