Assessment Of Discourse And Its Effects On Language And Literacy Learning

Language is very individual, not everyone will think the same, this is the same for children, from the moment we are born we are exposed to the world of language, this isn’t just verbally, we use written language also. Language is something we do in our everyday life’s, it is something we learn from the world we socialise in and in our culture, children will mimic those around them and, learn language themselves by interpreting the world around them. We use language every day to express our thoughts, feelings, create and maintain social relationships. “All language written, spoken and visual-arises from cultural and social contexts and is understood by people in terms of their social and cultural backgrounds” (Campbell, R & Green, D. (2006). pg 2). This is where children in classrooms are influenced by social and culture backgrounds. How children learn in the classroom will depend greatly on their exposures they have had in life, does their culture practice of language and literacy compliment or conflict the practices that is expected at school. There is no right or wrong answer, it is very much expected that not all children will practice at home what is expected at schools, This is why as teachers, we need to be aware that not all children are the same, as we are not, they may use language differently , so “ Teachers are therefore faced with the task of observing children, locating their interests and needs as well as their uses of language” (Campbell, R & Green, D. (2006). Pg 6). Children want to feel they are in an insider regardless of their past learning, all schools should be able to assist children transition into learning at school. When it comes to teaching literacy and language, “All children are from differing language and cultural backgrounds, children with

In his essay “The Concept of Discourse Community,” John Swales, an educator and researcher, establish the definition of a discourse community. He argues that there is a difference between a speech community and a discourse community. According to John Swales, there are six defining characteristics for a group to be a discourse community. He then gives an example and discusses further issues regarding the concept of a discourse community. While the purpose of this essay is to acknowledge the readers about the characteristics of the discourse community with some explaination about each characteristics. He also establishes a formal tone to the readers. This work is significant because it provides some usefull information about discourse community so that the readers can know which discourse community they belongs to.

Nature and nurture both play a significant role in language development. Language development refers to how children understand, organise, speak and use words in order to communicate at an effective, age-appropriate level (Karen Kearns, 2013, P.105). For centuries, theorists have been debating the roles of nature versus nurture. Although, each child’s language will develop at their own pace and there will be many individual differences based on culture, ethnicity, health and ability. As well as physical, social, emotional and cognitive development in which will contribute to a child’s language development.

Formal standardized tests or screens that are used for children whose mother tongue is not English are often not very helpful for the following reasons

According to Porter, “A ‘discourse community’ is a group of individuals bound by a common interest who communicate through approved channels and whose discourse is regulated. A discourse community shares assumptions about what objects are appropriate for examination and discussion, what constitutes ‘evidence’ and ‘validity’ and what formal conventions are followed (38-39).” These five texts collectively constitute a community of discourse through their application of common language norms, characteristics, patterns and rhetorical strategies. All of the authors are writing about corresponding ideas and discussing their identical goals; the prevalence of gender inequality in the legal profession and the unjust consequences derived from it. Similarly, all five sources intentions are to oppose the standard viewpoint that gender inequality has diminished and provide evidence to support this claim. Their ideas of remedying gender inequality in the legal profession overlap as well as contradict one another.

Specific language disorders, or SLI, affect approximately 7-8% of children in kindergarten. SLI are diagnosed in children, mostly, age 3 and older. The relatively late diagnosis is done to distinguish the children that have SLI from those who are simply “late talkers”. Some of the characteristics of SLI involve problem in only one area and some with problems in all areas of language. The children who are diagnosed with SLI may have a delayed vocabulary growth, disinterest in engagement in social interactions relevant to their age, difficulty in comprehension and/or production in any of the following: morphology, semantics, phonology, syntax, and pragmatics. For example, a 4.8 year old child that does not engage in social interactions

According to John Swales (1990), there are six characteristics that are adequate and important for recognizing a discourse community. Firstly, a discourse community has standard public objectives that they strive to achieve. Members of a discourse community all share the same common goals they are anticipating to attain, and they do not have individuals with separate goals. For instance, the Salvation Army public goals are “to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and to meet human needs in His name without discrimination.” They offer spiritual, physical, and emotional service to the public, as well as the opportunity to donate. Secondly, a discourse community has various techniques of communication for members to correspond with each other. For

All great minds think alike, a common cliche we have all heard at some point or another, but is this true? Well yes, some minds do think alike and, when they organize, we may call them a discourse community. A discourse community is a specific collective that compares and converses. It is a thought-provoking group that promotes common ideas and benefits its members. Any true discourse community can be identified by six necessary characteristics, as described by Swales. First, “a discourse community has a broadly agreed set of common public goals.” Second, “a discourse community has mechanisms of intercommunication among its members.” Third, “a discourse community uses its participatory mechanisms primarily to provide information and feedback.” Fourth, “a discourse community utilizes and hence possesses one or more genres in the communicative furtherance of its aims.” Fifth, “a discourse community has acquired some specific lexis.” And finally, “a discourse community has a threshold level of members with a suitable degree of relevant content and discoursal expertise.”

​A discourse community is a group of individuals who share objectives, customs, and experiences. Arguably, an individual may have several discourse communities. For example, the said person could belong to a running community, food’s enthusiast community, a family, and a student community, which is also a discourse community. In some cases, these discourse communities may overlap as they share commonalities. More specifically, is the English class as the discourse community where students share perceptions of the course workload and how these perceptions influence their grades.

A discourse community is a group of people who share the same beliefs, who conversate, or have a discussion over a topic of the groups choice. Football teams, school clubs, and activist movements are examples of different types of discourse communities. Religion is a very interesting discourse community. Judaism, Amish, being Catholic are just a few out of the many types of religions. All religions believe in God(s), which makes them a discourse community; which also is one of the requirements that they share a belief.

The Discourse community that I selected to present is my high school AP English three course. Although a substantial amount of knowledge was obtained in this class, the growing problem of a lack of dedication was harming it.

There is an abundant amount of communities in the world we live in. Whether they’re jobs, hobbies, or even school. Everything is part of it’s own particular community. When associated with a community, disregarding the type, they all tend to have different discourses. Discourses according to Gee “are ways of being in the world; they are forms of life which integrate words, acts, values, beliefs, attitudes, and social identities as well as gestures, glances, body positions and clothes.” (Gee 5) He compares it to an “identity kit” because we act a certain way according to the particular environment we are in so others can recognize who we are and what we are addressing. Furthermore, he explains how we acquire discourses. “Discourses are not mastered by overt instruction...but by enculturation into social practices through scaffolded and supported interaction with people who have already mastered the Discourse.” (Gee 7) This is how we acquire most our “home-based discourse” (Gee 7) We learn what is acceptable and what isn’t acceptable by socializing within the community. Social practice plays a big role when obtaining a Discourse in a community.

Should the language competence of children from low-SES backgrounds be considered deficient or different? Evaluate the evidence for and against each claim.

From a baby 's first word to their first complete sentence, there 's a lot to debate with their language development. The average child has a vocabulary of up to six-thousand words by the time they turn five years old (Brighthubcom, 2016). Language development is one of the most critical roles for an educator in both early childhood and primary settings. It is this ability of language development that is particularly interesting in the nature vs nurture debate. In order for educators to provide effective communication, it is important that they have the knowledge and understanding of the four key concepts of language, such as phonological, syntactic, semantic and pragmatic development and the underlying theoretical perspectives that explain the processes of language acquisition and development.

When children experience early speech difficulties they tend to be at risk later on. By being susceptible to language skills early on allows the child (ren) to be more proficiency and react in a way that contributes to them being able to express themselves in a way that causes them to use a variety of different phonemes and at the same time mix and maneuver other language and literacy skills. Numerous studies have found that there is a strong link between language problems, reading and overall academic achievement (Konza, 2006, Snow Burns and Griffin, 1998, Justice and Ezell, 2000).