ABSTRACT
In this chapter, language and literacy are described as being anchored in identity. Readers are offered the opportunity to reflect on their own language and literacy autobiographies to consider how these experiences might inflect their work as language and literacy teachers. Framing the exploration of identity in relation to language and literacy education is Michael Halliday’s idea of the context of situation. Language and literacy engagements, seen from this perspective, are driven by who is involved, the functions of the engagements and the texts and places of the engagements. Examples are presented demonstrating how identity and the multimodal features of a text can effect different readings of that text. An outline is presented for the remainder of the book.
