The Australian Journal of Language and Literacy

Abstract This article presents a critical thematic literature review examining how contemporary Western research conceptualises the intersections of oracy, embodiment, power relations, oral literacies, and critical thinking in primary literacy education. Analysing peer-reviewed studies published between 2010 and 2025, and informed by longstanding Australian and international scholarship, the revi…

Phonics instruction has been re-emphasised in contemporary literacy policy as the foundation of early reading, reinforced through major reports and curriculum reforms. Grounded in the alphabetic principle, phonics teaches grapheme-phoneme correspondences to support decoding. Yet despite its prominence, limited attention has been paid to assumptions about spoken English that shape how phonics is t…

Abstract The increasingly culturally and linguistically diverse nature of the educational landscape in Australia requires teachers to implement classroom practice that responds to the changes, demands and challenges of a diverse and highly technologised world. In this study, it is suggested that implementing multiliteracies classroom practice is a relational and situated process in which English …

Abstract This paper reports on one teacher’s adoption and adaption of pre-packaged teaching plans when teaching early years literacy. We hone in on Ms Jordan’s (pseudonym) work as an adaptive professional who personalises curriculum enactment for her highly diverse student cohort through continual changes to resource selection, pedagogy and assessment. Qualitative case study data consist of trans…

Abstract Cognitive-informed reading education research utilises models that are underpinned by the notion that reading is a mental process of word recognition multiplied by language comprehension. Examples of these models include the Simple View of Reading, the Cognitive Foundations Framework, the Reading Rope and the Active Model of Reading. These models are grounded in a Science of Reading–info…

Abstract This New Zealand-based inquiry investigates modelling as an instructional component of writing pedagogy in upper primary schools. As part of a large mixed methods study of writing instruction by a group of exemplary teachers ( N = 9 ), we inquired into the occurrence, operationalisation and relative benefits of teachers using each of the recognised modes of modelling ( co-constructing te…

Abstract Narrative authors use their imaginations to generate and select content for their writing. Narrative imagination is central to young writers’ agency over their choices. However, writing pedagogies have become more formulaic, allowing little room for personal agency, while efforts to teach imagination have fallen by the wayside, regarded as vague, fanciful, and lacking in clear writing st…

Abstract It is widely accepted that diversity in the literature read by and with children is of great importance, both for ensuring all children see themselves in the stories they share and in ensuring children are aware of lives and experiences outside their own. There is a growing body of international literature critically exploring the diversity present in English-language children’s literatu…

Abstract The development of the narrative production skill is one of the most essential goals set for young children’s literacy. Different practices, such as story reading, direct instruction, and playful learning, are proposed for fostering young children’s meaning-related skills, among which is narrative production. Considering the above, the purpose of the present study is to examine the effec…

Abstract This paper discusses the challenges of defining coherence in the context of oral language assessment literacy and proposes that better understanding of the construct can be achieved through a systemic-functional linguistic lens. Coherence is taken to be a foundational quality of written and spoken discourse and is a standard feature in the assessment rubrics of most large-scale English-l…

Abstract Drama has the potential to enrich and enliven established approaches to literacy learning, engaging students and expanding their possibilities for meaning-making. Drama-rich pedagogy is well-established as an effective tool in supporting language and literacy development. However, research to date has not explored the possibilities of using drama to enrich established genre-based approac…

Abstract This study examined the piloting of a literacy, arts and wellbeing (LAB) project in a rural school in Queensland, Australia. The research involved a Year 1 class ( n = 24) participating in co-designed lessons with their classroom teacher and two visiting researchers from a regional university. These lessons were developed with literacy learning outcomes, arts-based approaches and positiv…

Abstract A recent issue of the Australian Journal of Language and Literacy included an article reporting on a systematic narrative review of the research literature that indicated that there was insufficient evidence to conclude whether genre theory and systemic functional linguistics either ‘worked’ or ‘did not work’. The criteria used to evaluate these studies excluded any study that did not co…

Abstract This article examines the transformation of Australian EAL/D (English as an additional language/dialect) classrooms, transitioning from a monolingual focus on Standard Australian English (SAE) to embracing plurilingual and intercultural approaches in English language and literacy teaching and learning. Employing hermeneutic phenomenological and narrative analyses, the study reflects on t…

Abstract This article provides an account of a yarn between a First Nations Australian researcher and an Anglo-Celtic Australian researcher about the future of writing curriculum in subject English education, if school in its current settler-colonial form were to be abolished and completely re-imagined. Yarning is an Indigenous research method evolving from Indigenous cultures and ways of knowing…

Abstract Multimodal texts are an integral part of children’s lives. Rapid advancements in media and mobile technologies have increasingly expanded children’s capability to view, share, design, and produce multimodal texts. However, Australia’s updated English curriculum falls short of offering teachers a metalanguage to help children understand the complex ways linguistic, visual, audio, gestural…

Abstract Digital technology has long been ubiquitous in many communities within Australia and internationally, thereby requiring suitable digital proficiencies. While a majority of Australian children experience digital literacies as part of their everyday lives, limitations in access disadvantage others. In educational settings, there is a clear need for teachers to incorporate the digital liter…

Abstract This paper reports a systematic narrative synthesis review conducted on the educational effectiveness of genre theory/systemic functional linguistics pedagogies for improving reading and writing outcomes in K-10 education within mainstream classrooms in Australia, the UK, the USA, New Zealand, and Canada. This framework has significant influence on reading and writing curriculum, teacher…