Language Education Throughout the School Years: A Functional Perspective

In this volume Frances Christie describes a trajectory of language development in schooling from age 6 to age 18. She draws on systemic functional linguistics to trace changes in the language resources successful children and adolescents use to make meanings in new discourse patterns as they engage in the curricular tasks of science, history, and language arts. At the same time she leads the reader into a deep understanding of the approach as she describes how content, interpersonal relationships, and textual structure simultaneously evolve over four stages of children′s and adolescents′ development. Christie offers not only new theoretical insights but also practical awareness of the multifunctionality of language and become more conscious about the choices available to them in making meaning.

Series Editor′s Foreward Acknowledgements Chapter 1: A Language Theory for Educational Practice Chapter 2: Early Childhood: The Initial Challenges of School Learning Chapter 3: Late Childhood to Early Adolescence: Some Transitional Years Chapter 4: The Years of Midadolescence: Dealing with Abstract Knowledge Chapter 5: Late Adolescence to Adulthood: Engaging with Theoretical Knowledge Chapter 6: The Overall Trajectory in Language Learning in School References Index

Frances Christie is Emeritus Professor of Language and Literacy Education at the University of Melbourne and Honorary Professor of Education and Linguistics at the University of Sydney. She began her work in education as a secondary teacher of English and history in Australia and the UK and has taught language and literacy education at several universities in Australia. Her major research interests are in English language and literacy. She uses the systemic functional grammar to explore writing development, the relationship of talk and writing, teaching about language, and development of pedagogic grammar.

“The “Summaries of Matters Discussed in This Section” that appear intermittently throughout the book help to keep readers on task in developing a deep understanding of the functionality of language.  Summing Up: Recommended.  Graduate, research, and professional collections.”  ( Choice , 1 November 2012)