Post-textual or Sub textual Relations conceptualizes the notion that all texts are parts of chains of meaning and that they have realm of influence. Upon taking up a text, readers interpret, infer, acquiesce, resist, ignore, or appropriate the culture
and ideology presented. They enter a larger world of discourse in which they encounter familiar and foreign notions to which they may respond in thought or action.
An encounter with the historical romance Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell is not simply the reading of an old-fashioned love story in which the reader gets caught up in the love story between Bret and Scarlet. Instead, the text offers several ideologies,
incidents and characters to which a reader can respond, such as the historical backdrop of slavery and the Civil War, the gender roles assumed by the characters, or the voice and opinions of the author. In addition, readings by people of different cultures
may shed new light on the different issues presented in the story. The text itself portrays a picture of the world which may be vastly different from our modern society, but which may also present familiar issues. Learners become part of a community and sub
community based on their interaction with text.
Explicit and implicit instruction to English Learners in the relationship revealed in these textual relationships revealed in these textual relationships promote genuine, worthwhile learning and literacy. While an overt, excessive focus on discrete skills
and grammatical minutiae ignores the imbedded ness of social and cultural factors involved in human learning, critical approaches to literacy promote the ownership of English Learner's own literate lives.
