Discourse Communities

According to Johns and Swales (1990) a discourse community is “composed of a minimum number of expert members and a frequently larger number of apprentice members who operate on the basis of implicit and explicit public goals.” They also add   that “their members develop and use systems of speech and writing that are sometimes quite specific to a particular community’s needs and goals” (as cited in Pintos, & Crimi, 2010, p.12).

Hoffman-Keep, Artiles and Lopez-Torres (2003), Kelly-Kleese (2001) and Wenzlaff and Wieseman (2004) refer to a discourse community as a group of scholars who use the same type of words, share their pronunciation as well as the topics they deal with. That is to say, they form a professional community.

Wenzlaf (2004) suggests teacher learning in a cohort based master’s degree program in curriculum and pedagogy is an example of a discourse community.   He considers   that being immersed in collaborative culture lead teachers to feel a high degree of commitment and establish a rapport with each other both personally and professionally.  Therefore, he establishes a connection between cohort structure and one of the characteristics Johns and  Swales (1990) state for  discourse communities to be considered as such: “develop and use systems of speech and writing that are sometimes quite specific” (p. 135).

            According to the researchers above mentioned, it is essential to redefine as well as to delineate the limits on discourse communities,  since their boundaries are flexible. Communicative competence is crucial as far as the nature of discourse communities is concerned. In all of these types of communities language has been given a particular meaning and it is the use of a distinct kind of language that characterizes them.

References

Hoffman-Kipp, P., Artiles, A. J., & Lopez Torres, L. (2003). Beyond reflection: teacher learning as praxis. Theory into Practice. Retrieved October 2007, from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0NQM/is_3_42/ai_108442653

Kelly-Kleese, C. (2001). Editor’s Choice: An Open Memo to Community College Faculty and Administrators. Community College Review. Retrieved October 2007, from

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0HCZ/is_1_29/ai_77481463

Kelly-Kleese, C. (2004). UCLA community college review: community college scholarship and discourse. Community College Review. Retrieved October 2007, from

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0HCZ/is_1_32/ai_n6361541

Pintos, V., & Crimi, Y. (2010). Unit 2: Personal narratives in teaching. Retrieved September 2010, retrieved from http://caece.campusuniversidad.com.ar/mod/resource/view.php?id=7214

Wenzlaff, T. L., & Wieseman, K. C. (2004). Teachers Need Teachers To Grow. Teacher Education Quarterly. Retrieved October 2007, from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3960/is_200404/ai_n9349405