This book examines the place of talk in learning and the role of such talk in literacy education. It builds on a strong tradition of research into the role of talk in constructing curriculum knowledge, the relationship between talking and thinking, and the significance of extended, in-depth dialogic interaction in classroom talk. However, it differs from tradition with its emphasis on the need to make the role of language in learning more visible and more explicit. This book places particular emphasis on the relationship between dialogic pedagogy and language-based approaches to learning. Contributions range from discussions on educational linguistics and dialogic pedagogy as complementary perspectives to needs of students for whom English is an additional language or dialect. This volume was originally published as a special issue of Research Papers in Education .