This work provides a collection of readings that illustrate both the variation in research on language and literacy and the common underlying themes. It covers four themes: talk and the process of teaching and learning; literacy and education; discourse and identity; and multimodal communication.

This reader provides an accessible collection of readings which illustrate both the current variation in research on language and literacy and the common underlying themes. It is made up of twenty chapters, of which eight have been specially commissioned. Together they illustrate some of the ways in which researchers are grappling with key questions about language, literacy and education.