ABSTRACT
What exactly is a ‘text’? We have used the term several times already in previous chapters, and if you are a mature entrant to teacher training – and possibly even if you are not – it may not be a term that you remember from your school days. The word ‘text’ in this book is being used to refer to complete and coherent passages of spoken or written language that come about because people live in social groups or communities and language is essential to them in living their lives. Each time someone, or a group of people, sets out with the intention of carrying out a job of work that involves making or sharing verbal meaning in some way, they are creating a text. This might include:
writing a report on a visit;
describing how to make a pancake;
gossiping with friends about the day’s events.
