This paper is an account of an attempt to raise awareness of the experiential function of grammar amongst first year students at a highly reputed British university, and to promote an approach that highlights meaning in grammar rather than form.  An explanation is offered of the Hallidayan meta-functions ‘experiential’, ‘interpersonal’ and ‘textual’ in general, and of the components (processes, participants, circumstances) of the ‘experiential’ in particular.  The study is couched in pedagogical terms as a report of the success of an actual programme.  Success is shown by an analysis of student scores in a task of process analysis, which indicates in general terms that the content of the programme appealed to a large group of students with mixed A level backgrounds and mixed academic ambitions.