Learning to Write, Reading to Learn ─ Genre, Knowledge and Pedagogy in the Sydney School

Learning to Write, Reading to Learn presents the research of the 'Sydney School' in language and literacy pedagogy. Widely known as genre-based pedagogy, this research is cutting-edge, but is built on 30 years of developments in the field, in a unique collaboration between functional linguists and literacy educators. Through large-scale, long-term action research, this collaboration has transformed linguistic and pedagogic theory into a powerful, comprehensive methodology for embedding literacy teaching in educational practice, that is being taken up all over the world, in primary through secondary to academic study, second language learning and vocational education.

The book covers three phases of Sydney School research: the genre-based writing pedagogy, genres across the school curriculum, and the pedagogy for learning through reading. Also presented is the pedagogic metalanguage developed in the research, which provides tools for analysing, planning and teaching language that are directly applicable in the classroom. The book is written to be useful for practitioners, researchers and students, building up pedagogic, linguistic and social theory in steps, contextualised within teaching practice. On one hand this volume offers educators an unparalleled set of strategies for transforming educational outcomes; on the other it offers researchers powerful tools for investigating and redesigning educational practice.

David Rose is an Honorary Associate of the University of Sydney, and Director of the Reading to Learn programme.
J.R. Martin is Professor of Linguistics at the University of Sydney.