ASSIGNMENT 2 ESSAY

1
ASSIGNMENT 2 ESSAY

• This Subject sees language as social practice
  which is learned as part of the
• wider socio-cultural activities in which we are
  engaged as we become members of our families and
  communities. That is, we learn to do literacy
  as we learn how to behave and belong in our
  families and communities (Breen et al. 1994).
• EED112
• Bonnie Green
• 11306883

2
DISCOURSE COMMUNITIES

• DEFINITION
• EXAMPLES
• HOW DO WE BECOME MEMBERS?

3
DISCOURSE COMMUNITIES

• There are many different types of discourses
  these include primary and secondary discourses.
• Definition A discourse community is a group that
  is made up of members who understand and share
  the same beliefs, values, language and thinking.
• Primary discourses acquired through
  socio-cultural backgrounds (your family). This is
  your first discourse community and the most
  natural.
• Secondary discourses any discourse beyond your
  family (socio-cultural background).
• Examples being an Australian, being a man or a
  woman, being a student, being a member of a
  basketball club.
• How do we become members? By developing a
  knowledge and understanding through a combination
  of acquiring and learning the concepts involved
  and used by the discourse community.

4
SOCIOCULTURAL APPROACHES TO LANGUAGE AND LEARNING

• Contexts - Cultural
• - Socio-cultural
• - Situational
• Types of learning
• Social Purposes
• Text types or Genres
• Text structure and language choices

5
SCHOOLING

• Teaching Learning Cycle
• Zone of Proximal Development
• Scaffolding

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CONCLUSION

• In conclusion, it is evident that language is a
  social practice which is learned through both our
  socio-cultural activities together with
  schooling, using methods such as the Zone of
  Proximal Development and the learning/teaching
  cycle. We are members of many discourse
  communities. Language is vital to our everyday
  activities and using socio-cultural approaches
  such as context, social purposes different text
  types and the structure of these text types
  enables us to further our development and use
  language more effectively.

7
LIST OF REFERENCES

• Droga, l and Humphrey, 2003, Grammar and Meaning
  An Introduction for Primary Teachers. Target
  Texts, Berry, NSW.
• Gee, J 1991, What is Literacy? In Mitchell, C and
  Weiler, K 1991, Rewriting Literacy. New York,
  Beigin and Garvey.
• Gibbons, P 2002, Scaffolding Language,
  Scaffolding Learning Teaching Second Language
  Learners in the Mainstream Classroom. Elanor
  Curtain Publishing, South Yarra, Vic.
• Knobel, M 1999, Everyday Literacies Students,
  Discourse and Social Practice. Peter Lang, New
  York.
• Love, K, Pigdon, K and Baker, G, with Hamston, J,
  2002, BUILT Building Understandings in Literacy
  and Teaching. 2nd edn. CD-ROM. University of
  Melbourne, Melbourne.
• Vygotsky, L 1978 Mind in society The Development
  of Higher Psychology Processes. In Gibbons, P
  2002.