What is LLEN?
The Language and Literacy in Education Network (LLEN) is a community of educators and researchers who share a commitment to strengthening teachers’ and students’ understanding of how language works to make meaning and, in the process, improving the literacy and learning outcomes for all students.
What we do
Research
We undertake and collate research that investigates the teaching and learning of language in education from a functional perspective, and we make it accessible to educators.
Community
We aim to create a vibrant network of teachers, researchers, school leaders and international colleagues committed to learning from one another through high quality professional learning.
Resources
We provide trustworthy information, lesson plans, case studies and classroom tools to support teachers in integrating language into their teaching. The power of language in education
The theory
Our approach is grounded in a robust, comprehensive and practical theory of language that describes how language functions in our lives, It foregrounds language as a meaning-making system, a system of choices which vary according to the context.
The pedagogy
For decades, a functional approach has promoted the explicit teaching about language in the context of authentic curriculum tasks. A fundamental pillar of this approach is a teaching-learning cycle that provides the necessary scaffolding for students to gain control over the resources needed for success.
The evidence
We draw on a multitude of studies over the years documenting the effective implementation of a functional approach to language in classrooms and other contexts both in Australia and internationally.Latest News
Latest blog articles
Blog
A number of Networks are emerging internationally. LLENs in North America, Latin America, Scandinavia, Europe and the Middle East are in the early stages of getting established and talks are under way in Asia and the Pacific.
Get involved
Are you interested in joining LLEN’s important work? We’d love to hear from you.