The evidence

Over the past five decades, a substantial body of international research has established the effectiveness of Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) in educational settings.

Drawing on a robust theoretical foundation, this work has informed language development research from early childhood to tertiary education, and shaped pedagogies that improve students’ literacy in many countries.

The research shows that SFL theory and practice:

• improves literacy outcomes: Large-scale and long-term studies confirm that SFL-informed teaching improves literacy outcomes across languages, disciplines, and levels of schooling.

• promotes gains in academic language: Even smaller-scale projects, including Indigenous and EALD classrooms, show strong gains in students’ academic language skills when teachers use SFL strategies to scaffold learning.

• works in diverse and complex settings, not just ideal conditions.

Systemic Functional Linguistics and associated teaching approaches demonstrate not only improved outcomes but also meaningful theory-practice integration. The evidence shows that SFL-based pedagogy is both theoretically sound and practically effective—offering educators a powerful framework for understanding and improving students’ literacy across all learning areas.

Download the summary below for a sampling of studies drawing on genre theory and systemic functional linguistics as evidence of the capacity of language-informed approaches to equip teachers with tools to make language and literacy demands visible and teachable.