ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the consumption and production of text in a multiliterate world as designing, and the similarities between the processes of designing as producer and consumer of text. Nevertheless, the functional approach provides a framework for investigating a range of genres in context and therefore contributes to a multiliterate approach to the teaching of reading and a multiliterate pedagogy. It also provided a metalanguage around text structure that is particularly useful for informing a multiliterate approach to reading and a multiliterate pedagogy. A multiliterate person needs to: be flexible and able to deal with change – be an analytical and reflective problem solver, creative and critical thinker who can engage with new texts in a variety of contexts and audiences. The chapter suggests that teachers need to be provided with the opportunity to add to the body of research by conducting action research on reading in their own classrooms to evaluate the implications of the research for classroom practice.
