top of page

5. The Discourse of Me

Teacher Helping Student Playing Violin
Friends Having Coffee

Explore the Languages that Make You YOU

Often it’s not we who shape words, but the words we use that shape us.

- Nina George 

Lesson

Language is integral to differentiating one aspect of our lives from another. The words we use, the way we phrase them, our gestures and facial expressions as we speak, the media we use to communicate--all of these things help us fit into a community and differentiate one community from another. As such, it is important to begin noticing how we use language in different spaces. When we pay attention to language, we begin to notice ways we may unintentionally (and sometimes intentionally) exclude others, and we begin to see ways we may invite others into our worlds. 

​

James Gee, a linguist and educational researcher, uses the terms Discourse and Situated Language to help us better understand the role language plays in our identities and social interactions. This video demonstrates what Gee means by Discourse: 

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

 

​

​

​

​

​

 

Educational researchers and linguists are not the only ones who recognize the power of language to shape our identities. In this blog from Psychology Today, professor and psychologist Sheila Kohler explores how learning a new language can help us better understand who we are. This TEDx Talk also explores the role language plays in identity.

Challenge

Investigate the multiple Discourse communities you belong to and examine the role language plays in each of them. How does it signal acceptance and how does it exclude others from participating in your community?​

​

Step One: Make a list of all of the Discourse communities you belong to. Consider physical spaces such as churches, school, athletic fields, etc. Consider the people you interact with on a regular basis. Consider virtual spaces such as social media. Consider roles you play. For example, I might include teacher/school, mother, daughter, friend, Twitter, my professional organizations, etc.  

​

Step Two: Examine your list and identify at least four that you will be regularly engaging with in the upcoming days. Then engage! As you engage like you normally would, pay close attention to the language you are using and how you are delivering and receiving messages. Consider:

  • What words are you using? Are you speaking in slang or more formally? Is your slang specialized to that specific group? Are you speaking in jargon that those who aren't a part of the group wouldn't recognize? If you're communicating through writing, does spelling matter? Do you use shortcuts? 

  • What roles do visuals play? Do you gesture? How do facial expressions come into play? Do you use illustrate your ideas and thinking in any way? Are there symbols that everyone in the community recognizes?

  • How is the language organized? Do you talk or write in long sentences? Short fragments? 

  • What other cues tell someone looking from afar what kind of community you are participating in? Do you wear something in particular? Is there a specific structure to the space?

  • What kinds of texts are important? Books? Online forums? Text messages? Pictures?

  • What else do you notice about the language?

​

​

Step Three: Create a photo or video collage that highlights your observations about EACH of the four (or more) Discourse communities you participate in. Make sure to explicitly identify what the discourse community is and how its use of language is unique to the community. You may use photographs, illustrations, interviews, self-reflections, etc, to create your collage. 

​

Step Four: Reflect upon what you have learned about language as a result of your investigation. How are the communities different? How are they the same? What words stand out in each of the communities? What symbols? How is the way you structure the language similar and/or different? What about the language allows you to KNOW that members of your community are a part of the community? How does the language used exclude others?

​

Step Five: Publish your work on your blog, Instagram, or other platform of your choice. Invite others to engage in dialogue around your discoveries.

​

​

​

​

bottom of page