Discourse communities and peripheral participation in academic writing

Some notions of discourse communities and peripheral participation

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 and 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 and Crimi, p.12).
It is important to mention that when referring to a discourse community the peripheral participation should be considered a relevant element of it. As Flowerdew (2000) once stated, the sort of knowledge that is required in order to be accepted by the discourse community in scholarly writing is not usually acquired in the formal setting of a classroom. What is more, new members generally hold a peripheral position because they “are not central but on the margins of the activity in question” (as cited in Pintos and Crimi, p. 14).
When considering this perspective, discourse communities and peripheral participation are highly interconnected. This is because the fact that any member who wants to belong to a specific discourse community has not only to know about the specific language practices, needs and goals that community has, but also to take part in those practices responding, reflecting and participating in order to know what the target audience wants to read.
Whenever a student takes up a course of studies, one seems to hold a peripheral position and thus impeding being a member of a specific discourse community. As time goes by one tries to get involved in those practices, sharing values, implicit and explicit goals, giving up the informal writing styles we bring with us and thus becoming in active members of a discourse community.



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

Working with book critiques

A royal duty

It is undoubted that Diana, the Prince of Wales, was one of the most known figures in the modern world. In his non-fiction book, A royal duty, Burrell (2003), Diana´s ex-butler and most intimate confidant, seems to be the only person able to separate the myth from the truth of Diana years. Not only does he reveal different important facts about Princess Diana but also presents a faithful account of her thoughts.
Burrell (2003) describes as well as explains the highs and lows of life at Buckingham Palace and also, refers to the lives of Prince Diana and Prince Charles before, during and after their marriage. What is more, he confesses his marital problems and of the famous trial in which he was accused of the theft of the Princess´s positions.
From the very first moment, Burrell (2003) started an incredible and strong relationship with Diana. This connection can be seen in the way Diana referred to him and which is present in the book. For example, on the last page of the book he included his last note from her which expresses “What a secret!” and then, on down he writes “What is the secret? Sorry. That is between the butler and the Princess!” (as cited in Burrell, p. 403). He was also mentioned by the Princess of Wales as “my rock” or “the only man I can trust” (as cited in Burrell, 2003, p. 124) since he was the man in whom she confided on big and small matters.
A royal duty is an interpretative biography based on a set of private conversations, personal recollections, diaries, letters and photographs. It is mostly written in first person and also includes many direct quotes. It also has an unusual writing style since it combines flashbacks and forwards. Thus, Burrell (2003) can retell his extraordinary account of Diana´s life and be as explicit as possible with the story.
To sum up, I would urge to read Burrell´s book because it captures readers´ attention and makes one reflects on some of the most important aspects of Princess Diana. However, taking into consideration the Prince´s frequent exposure to the media, it would have been suitable if Burrell (2003) had not provided such detailed information about her private affairs. As Burrell (2003) once states “I have made this book as true to her spirit as possible-as inspiring, as loving, as fun. He continues,
“I decided reluctantly to tell what I know to be the truth because I firmly believe that someone has to stand in the Princess´ corner and fight for her now that she cannot do so.”























References

Burrell, P. (2003). A Royal Duty. United Kingdom: Penguin Books LTD.

Reflecting and analyzing discourse communities...

A deep analysis of discourse communities

Throughout the years, there exist many scholars who continue discussing and reflecting on the notion of 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...their members develop and use systems of speech and writing that are sometimes quite specific to a particular´s community´s needs and goals (as cited in Pintos and Crimi, 2010, p. 12).
Swales (1990) also establishes that a discourse community should be considered as such if it meets some basic criteria. In other words, it should have certain characteristics or requirements. For instance, it should have common goals, participatory mechanisms, information exchange, community- specific genres, highly specialized terminology and high level of expertise.
Bizell (1992) also supports the idea that discourse communities should have common goals and specific interests. She emphasizes that developing a common discourse community involves shared knowledge, common relationships, similar attitudes and values, a common flow of discourse with a particular structure and style as well as sharing understandings on how to communicate their knowledge.
Another important requirement to be met by discourse communities is that they should have participatory mechanisms in order to provide information and feedback.
All human activities are culturally mediated and entail the use and transformation of artifacts. From this perspective, culture itself mediates human actions in the sense that it is a system of shared meanings or social inheritances embodied in the artifacts of a given social structure.” (Hoffman- Kipp- Artiles & Lopez-Torres, 2007, p. 5).
The level of expertise is an important characteristic that must also be included in this analysis. Kelly- Kleese (2004) emphasized that “the communicative competence implies that individuals and groups with greater skill in using (and manipulating) the language system will exercise power in naming and thus controlling how others will view social reality.”
It is worth mentioning that information exchange is a crucial aspect of discourse communities. Wenzlaff (2004) argues this idea of exchange in teachers learning on the basis of a cohort since he believes that when educators work as a discourse community they not only grow personally and professionally but they also see and appreciate the perspectives of other teachers/ peers, making the teaching experience more enjoyable.
To sum up, it is merely important to recognize that the scope of discourse communities is broad and most of the times this might lead to discussions and reflections among different scholars. What is more, the flow and behaviour of any discourse community can be better understood and analyzed.











References

Bizzel, P. (1992). Academic discourse and critical consciousness. Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press.

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

Pintos, V., Crimi, Y. (2010) Unit 1 Building up a community of teachers and prospective researchers, Retrieved September 2010, from
http://caece.campusuniversidad.com.ar/mod/resource/view.php?id=7214


Wenzlaff, T. L., & Wieseman, K. C. (2004). Teachers need teachers to grow.
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


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

Song...

Hi!... I invite you to listen to one of my favourite singers, Paul Mc Cartney with "No more lonely nights"

Hope you like it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmGqwTYPDDA

My first journal entry

A lesson for life

I will never forget the time I had to deliver my first lesson during my practicum at the Teaching English as a Foreign Language College (TEFL). It was an evening on May the second in 2009. I had to teach a group of eight adult students who attended lessons during the evening in order to finish primary school. I had been observing those students for more than two weeks. But, that evening, there was another student who had been absent during my observations. Some minutes before entering the classroom, the school´s headmaster asked me to go to her office and told me about that student´s situation. Mercedes had terrible problems with pronunciation since she was a child. She was undergoing medical treatment and this did not allowed her to take part in lessons, especially in the English ones.
That evening I had to start with a new topic (numbers from one to ten). For that reason, I had prepared colourful flashcards of those numbers which had the same number of balls at the bottom for those students who could not recognize written numbers. After introducing the topic, I made the students repeat all the numbers chorally as many times as possible using different techniques. And later, I made them repeat the same numbers, but individually. All the students (including Mercedes) could recognize and say the numbers with little difficulties.
However, when the oral practice session came, the problem seemed to have started. I could clearly see how nervous and tensioned Mercedes was. She might be very frightened and was continuously moving and touching her hands on her desk and my intention, of course, was not making her feel like that way. Although in the lesson plan I had designed there was an individual activity, I decided to change it for a pair one. So, I told them to work in groups. Immediately after saying that, Mercedes decided to go with one of her schoolmates and since then she seemed to feel better.
The activity proposed was a bingo to play in pairs. I delivered the groups two cards each to play the game. We played it some minutes before the lesson finished. During the activity, I saw the students really excited and engaged in the task. What is more, I could observe how Mercedes enjoyed and felt freer to participate in it too. When the lesson had almost finished, I greeted all my students and left the classroom.
Outside the classroom, there was the school´s headmaster with my trainee teacher waiting for me. I thought they were very upset because I had not followed my lesson plan. They just wanted to thank me for making Mercedes (as well as the other students) feel “part” of that lesson. For me, that lesson was a lesson for life.

The critical incident tecnique in our teaching practices

The importance of the critical incident technique for teaching practices

As educational settings become more complex, educational researchers are wise to consider employing a variety of research methodologies and techniques to address and inform about educational conflicts. For this reason, it would be worth mentioning one of them: the Critical Incident Technique (CIT). According to Flanagan (1954), the CTI consists of a set of procedures for collecting direct observations of human behaviour in such a way as to facilitate their potential usefulness in solving practical problems and developing broad psychological principles.
In general terms, critical incidents are any unplanned event that might also occur in educational settings. And, if we formally reflect on these critical incidents making use of the already mentioned technique, it may be possible for all educators to uncover new understandings of the teaching and learning processes.
That is the reason why Rahili and Saroyan (1997), as well as many other researchers, support the idea that CIT shows people meaningful experiences (...). What is more, “it allows collecting qualitative and quantitative data about classroom teaching and teaching thinking” (as cited in Pintos & Crimi, 2010, p. 9).
From my experience as a teacher, critical incidents, which take place in any educational institution, should be analyzed through the critical incident technique so as to help educators understand the factors which shape their daily practice. Moreover, when using it will be easier for teachers to identify and analyze rare events or circumstances that happen not only inside but also outside the school environment.
To sum up, the CIT should be included in most lessons with the purpose of helping students to understand and control their educational experiences. As Gonzalez, Elórtegui et al. (2003) stated, a Critical Incident is described as a pre-service and in-service teacher education strategy. The idea behind this technique is to integrate theory and practice.













References

Fernández, González, J., Elórtegui Escartín, N, & Medina Pérez, M. (2003). Los incidentes críticos en la formación y perfeccionamiento del profesorado de secundaria de ciencias de la naturaleza. Revista Universitaria de Formación de Profesorado, 17-001. Zaragoza. España: Universidad de Zaragoza. September 2010. Retrieved from
http:// http://redalyc.uaemex.mx/redalyc/src/inicio/ArtPdfRed.jsp?iCve=27417107

Flanagan, J. (1954). The critical incident technique. Psychological Bulletin, 51- 4.
Retrieved September 2010, from
http://www.apa.org/psycinfo/special/cit-article


Pintos, V., Crimi, Y. (2010) Unit 2 Personal narratives in teaching, Retrieved September 2010, from

http://caece.campusuniversidad.com.ar/mod/resource/view.php?id=7214

Welcome to my blog!

Hi everybody!...I think never is too late to publish one´s ideas!
I´m glad to share this blog with all my peers of EAP from the Licenciatura de la enseñanza del Idioma Inglés at CAECE University.