I do believe that our classroom is a discourse community based on Swales criteria. Each aspect relates back to our class in a positive manner.
1. A discourse community has a broadly agreed set of common goals. Our class discourse does have an agreed set of common goals. All of the students have a goal of passing the class and it is stated publicly on the syllabus, blog, and course outline of what is expected for us to receive a passing grade.
2. A discourse community has mechanisms of intercommunication among its members. By using speech in the class lectures, group work, lectures, and talking through the blog and emails we demonstrate this characteristic.
3. A discourse community uses its participatory mechanisms primarily to provide information and feedback. The class demonstrates this characteristic by the email we receive with the feedback about our blogs. It is also showed in the syllabus, class discussion, and our blog is filled with information.
4. A discourse community utilizes and hence possesses one or more genres in the communicative futherance of its aims. The class has many genres to follow including the already previously stated things such as the blog, syllabus, class discussion, group discussion, and the email feedback.
5. In addition to owning genres, a discourse community has acquired some specific lexis. The class definitely demonstrates its own lexis when speaking to each other and the professor. Most of the students do not speak in the class the same they would speak to their friends. There is also new language being introduced to the students in the classroom.
6. A discourse community has a threshold level of members with a suitable degree of relevant content and discoursal expertise. The classroom does display this characteristic by having the professor be the expert and by having the students changing from novice to intermediate and maybe even experts by the end of the course.
** Over all I do believe that the classroom is a discourse community. The use of blogging, emailing, class discussion, group work, and the syllabus are the prime components for making the class a discourse community.
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