EED112 Language As Social Practice Mackenzie Links

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EED112Language As Social PracticeMackenzie Links

• Essay Plan
• we learn to do literacy as we learn how to
  behave and belong in our families and
  communities (Breen et al.)

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INTRODUCTION

• Literacy is learnt initially in the family, then,
  further knowledge is acquired through other
  groups and communities.
• Discourse Communities including Primary and
  Secondary.
• Socio Cultural Approaches to Language Development
  including strategies, theories, and contexts.
• The Context of Schooling six key elements.
• A socio-cultural approach is essential in
  schooling.

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DISCOURSE COMMUNITIES

• A discourse community derives its definition from
  the characteristics that describe a particular
  group, that which an individual is member.
• Examples of discourse communities families,
  schools, music groups, dorm groups.
• Primary Discourses.
• Secondary Discourses.
• (Gee 1991 and everyday literacies)

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PRIMARY DISCOURSE

• Primary discourse is generally identified with
  the family, as the family provides initial
  contact with all characteristics that define a
  discourse. However within each primary discourse
  of the family the details differ.
• For example African American children become
  accustomed to a culturally different context that
  promotes different language to that of European
  American children.
• (Gee 1991 Everyday Literacies)

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SECONDARY DISCOURSE

• Secondary discourses are likened to sub-cultures
  of the primary discourse.
• any stretch of language (spoken, written,
  signed) which hangs together to make sense to
  some community of people who use that
  languageMaking sense is always a social and
  variable matter what makes sense to one
  community of people may not make sense to
  another (Gee 1990 cited in Evday lit, p. 34).
• Examples of secondary discourses educational
  institutions, sports clubs, church groups.
• (Gee 1991)

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SOCIO-CULTURAL APPROACHES TO LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT

• Luke (ref) strongly believes that by disregarding
  the foundations of a childs literacy skills the
  competence level is severely reduced and the
  child is disadvantaged.
• Strategies including Scaffolding and the Zone of
  Proximal Development.
• Protolanguage, theory by Halliday.
• Different Contexts resulting from different
  language uses in primary discourses.
• Language as a social practice.

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STRATEGIES

• Scaffolding
• 1)Diagnosis
• 2)Planning
• 3)Withdrawal
• The Zone of Proximal Development (Vygotsky)

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PROTOLANGUAGE

• A developmental theory proposed by Michael
  Halliday to map out the language progressions
  and functions beginning in infancy.
• Functions include personal, instrumental,
  interactional, imaginative and mathetic.
• Mathetic function helps teachers pin point level
  of language and build on knowledge.
• Also helps teachers see that language is
  continuous.

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CONTEXUAL DIFFERENCES and LANGUAGE AS A SOCIAL
PRACTICE

• Each childs primary discourse has a different
  culture which influence their learning of
  literacy.
• Each child is exposed to a different amount of
  cultures and experiences which hinders or
  enhances their development.
• Each childs primary discourse values literacy
  differently. For example, some might place more
  emphasis on narratives, others on recounts.
• Language is functional, a resource and
  contextual.

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THE CONTEXT OF SCHOOLING

• A child is taught language in the secondary
  discourse in relation to Piaget, a developmental
  theorist, language is better learnt if the
  primary and second discourses are similar in
  environments.
• A teachers goal is to help make outsiders
  insiders in a secondary discourse, to help this
  transition run smoothly a socio-cultural approach
  needs be adopted.
• Jones six key elements in the effective
  integration of socio-cultural approaches.

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CONCLUSION

• Primary discourses provide a socio-cultural
  influence which in turn effects the transition
  into secondary discourses. Socio-cultural
  approaches need to be employed to help this run
  smoothly. Strategies and past theories are
  consulted to assist in understanding this whole
  concept of how discourses and a socio-cultural
  approach are a vital part in the context of
  schooling.
• The aim is for children to be able to do
  literacy so that they can effectively become part
  of many secondary discourses.

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REFERENCE