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Discourse Community Ethnography

Rene B Otero

Paul J Vierra Ph. D.

RWS 1301

University of Texas at El Paso

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Introduction

According to swales (1990) a discourse community is defined as “a group of people who link up

in order to pursue objectives that are prior to those of socialization and solidarity.” Swales also

describes six characteristics to discourse communities. The six characteristics are common public

goals, intercommunication mechanisms, looped intercommunication, dedicated genres,

specialized vocabulary, and self-sustaining hierchy. According to Ardasheva and Howell (2016)

the use of discourse communities’ aids in the learning for not only students of the native

language in which they are being taught but also students who speak other languages. Some

examples of discourse communities are research teams chat groups, and black board discussion

boards. The research teams chat groups are a great example since it is the main form of

communication outside of the classroom and serves as a tool to aid in the completion of

homework assigned to the group. Therefore, a class is a discourse community based on the

evidence given above.

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Literature review
Discourse communities have six different characteristics that are essential to discourse

communities such as classrooms. These six characteristics are essential to the classroom’s

communication which aids in informing the alumni about assignments and the constrains

imposed by the instrucructor.

Common public goals are as the name states a set of goals that are shared with the

members of a certain community. Some examples of common public goals in our RWS class are

passing thee course, earning a letter grade of at least a C, and learn about discourse communities

as well as other topics pertaining to the course. Another example is obtaining a degree which

would include all alumni in the university as a discourse community.

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Intercommunication mechanisms main goal is to provide information and feedback

between the members of a discourse community. An example of a intercommunication

mechanism that is used in our classroom would be Blackboard, which is a course management

system used by students not only enrolled in the RWS 1301 course but also in the university.

Blackboard is used as a way for the teacher to provide information about assignments for the

week. Blackboard also has a way for students to provide feedback by using a discussion board

which consists of posts submitted by students. The discussion board also has a reply feature

which is another way students provide feedback.

Looped intercommunication is similar to intercommunication mechanisms. The meaning

of looped intercommunication is a tool which allows members of a discourse community to

provide information and feedback as well as a method of conversation. An example of looped

intercommunication as used in our class is Email. Students use email to not only communicate

with each other but with the instructor as well. The conversations of course relate to assignments

as well as questions pertaining to a topic discussed during a lecture.

Dedicated genres according to swales (1990) are formatting created in a discourse

community. Dedicated genres also may vary depending on the discourse community. For

example, the discourse community that is a RWS 1301 class does not have the same dedicated

genres as a PHIL 2306 discourse community. Some examples of genres found in a RWS 1301

course are APA style formatting, discourse communities, and e-portfolios.

Specialized vocabulary according to swales (1990) is a special kind of vocabulary used in

a specific discourse community. For example, in a RWS 1301 class the vocabulary would be a

different one from the one used outside of the classroom. Some examples of this vocabulary
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would be rhetoric, audience, and constrains. The reason that a discourse community would have

a specialized vocabulary would be to separate itself from other discourse communities.

Self-sustaining hierchy according to swales (1990) has two kinds of individuals the

experts, and the apprentices. For example, in a RWS 1301 classroom the expert would be the

instructor because of the high level of education he possesses. The apprentices in that particular

discourse community would be the alumni given the fact that they are part of that community to

better their level of education. This is also important since the student might one day become an

expert and continue the cycle of a self-sustaining hierchy.

Methods

Research for this assignment was done by applying what was learned in class to the

complete the research part of the paper. The main source was provided by the instructor as a way

to introduce us into the topic of discourse communities. Thorough the week the instructor guided

us in the act of searching for credible sources. The main library for the search of sources was

miner quest since it was the easiest to use. It also eased the translation of the sources into the

appropriate format. The main methods used to write this paper were interview, survey

observation, tabulation, and compilation.

The interview portion of the paper was done by evaluating articles related to the topic.

The survey portion was analyzing sources and searching the one that would answer the question

“Is this class a discourse community?” The observation part of the research was looking at all the

points made by the authors of the sources. Also the observation portion of the research consisted

of finding out if a source was credible or not. The tabulation was done by gathering all the

evidence, and information to input it into the paper. Then the information from the sources was
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converted into a references page. The information learned from the sources was converted into

citations. The compilation portion of the research consisted of searching through an electronic

library to find sources that would help the paper answer the question.

Discussion

The six characteristics of discourse communities are used constantly in for example work

places, colleges, and clubs. An example of common public goals in a workplace are employee of

the month. Many jobs offer this kind of title to the employee who was the most productive in the

month. Another example, is earning a degree, this goal is mainly shared in colleges. In a club

however the goal is to become club leader.

There are also examples of intercommunication mechanisms in these three communities.

In a workplace, it would be through email and it would mainly be used for providing information

of work schedules to the employees. In a college, it would be through a course management

system such as blackboard. In blackboard, the instructor would provide the assignments for the

week and the due dates. A club would probably provide information and feedback through social

media.

Looped intercommunication is similar to intercommunication mechanisms in the sense

that they both are used to provide information and feedback. The only difference is that in looped

communication there has to be a sort of way to converse. An example of this would be the

discussion board feature provided in blackboard which not only allows for feedback and

information to be provided but it also allows for conversation between the alumni.

Dedicated genres are topics discussed within the community. Such in lectures given in a

college course where there is a particular topic for that lecture. In a workplace, it could be
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different. The genres in a workplace would be how to increase productivity, and how to make a

task easier and faster.

Specialized vocabulary is the vocabulary used within a discourse community. The

vocabulary used in a class room for example is very different from the one used in everyday life.

An example of the language used in a classroom would be audience, primary source, and

secondary source.

Self-sustaining heirchy is the cycle in which there is an expert and an apprentice. This

could be found in a college classroom. The expert would be the instructor given the fact that he is

teaching other individuals about his area of expertise. The students would be the apprentice since

they are part of that community to increase their level of education to one day become experts.

Conclusion

The six characteristics of a discourse community according to swales (1990) are

intercommunication mechanisms, common public goals, looped intercommunication, dedicated

genres, specialized vocabulary, and self-sustaining hierchy. Also according to Ardasheva and

Howell (2016) These six characteristics are essential in discourse communities such as schools,

workplaces, and clubs. Without these characteristics, the communities could not function as well

as they do.
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References

Ardasheva, Y., Howell, P. B., & Vidrio MagaAaAaAeA~a, M. (2016). Accessing the classroom

discourse community through accountable talk: English learners' voices. TESOL Journal,

(3), 667. 10.1002/tesj.237.

Swales. (1990). Concepts of Discourse Communities.