Discourse community: An academic concept
Even though the phrase discourse community would be difficult to define, an analysis from an academic point of view could help to understand this concept. Merriam-Webster on-line dictionary provides a first definition of community as ¨ a unified body of individuals¨. The questions which might arise after this definition are different, for example, why are the individuals united?, what aspects unify these individuals?. However, the same dictionary goes deeper into the definition to later specify community as ¨ a body of persons of common and especially professional interests scattered through a larger society, e.g. discourse community. To enrich these definitions of discourse and to derive into discourse community itself, Swales (1990) enumerates a list of requirements to be met by the individuals: common goals, participatory mechanisms, information exchange, community-specific genres, highly specialized terminology and high general level of expertise. (as cited in Pintos & Crimi, 2010, p. 13).
In-context example
This program design took into account what is known about factors that influence teacher learning (Putnam & Borko, 2000), including teacher beliefs as filters (Pajares, 1992),the importance of interactions in a discourse community (Soltis, 1981, Putnam & Borko, 2000, Regan-Smith, 1994), […].
(Wenzlaff & Wieseman, 2004, p. 1 )
Discourse community is a high frequency term used in English Language Teaching (ELT) since teachers have gained a deep and critical position in their professional practices. This position obliges the individuals of the ELT community to meet Swales´ (1990) basic criteria. It is not enough for teachers to be recognized as a discourse community itself but they also have the responsibility to constantly update and refresh their knowledge about this concept. It is essential for teachers to be aware of discourse community in every aspect of their teaching experiences from a theoretical as well as practical perspective.
References
Merriam-Webster Dictionary On-line. Available at http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/community
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=6856
Wenzlaff, T. L., & Wieseman, K. C. (2004). Teachers need teachers to grow. Teacher Education Quarterly. Retrieved October 2009, from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3960/is_200404/ai_n9349405
Professionalism: a matter of praxis
Professionalism is the conduct, aims and qualities that characterize a professional. Banfi (1997) states that there is ¨certain core criteria¨ (p. 28) for people to be professionals: to provide a social service, to trust in their intellectual skills, to have a long period of specialized training and to be autonomous and involved in decision- making issues (as cited in Pintos & Crimi, 2010, p. 28). Following these criteria, to achieve professionalism a person should be able to fulfil social needs which make the existence of the profession possible and necessary. As regards intellectual skills, Banfi (1997) suggests that a professional should go beyond the idea of learning and having scientific knowledge to be able to produce knowledge (p. 15) ( as cited in Pintos & Crimi, 2010, p. 29). Another important factor in the development of professionalism is the idea of time, the longer a person develops himself/herself in a profession the more experience he/she gains and the more specialized and autonomous he/she becomes. This means that experience reinforces theoretical knowledge and vice versa.
Other categories
Professional (adj.), professional (n.), professionally (adv.), professionalize (v.)
In-context example of other categories: professional (adj.)
Howley and Howley (2005) explain that ¨some authors have advocated sustained programs of school-level professional development under the aegis of the professional learning community¨ (Boyd & Hord, 1994; Hord, 1997; Hord, 1998; Wald & Castleberry, 2000) (p. 2)
Teaching has developed not only into a scientific field but also a scientific profession. In order to achieve professionalism along the teaching practices, teachers are expected to fulfil certain social and intellectual requirements. Professionalism in English Language Teaching (ELT) goes beyond transmitting knowledge and training skill, it is also a matter of producing knowledge to become a professional teacher. This means that to reach professional development, a teacher should strike the balance between action and reflection. Hoffman-Kipp, Artiles and Lopez Torres (2003) name ¨the dialectical union of reflection and action¨ as praxis (p.1) and it is this praxis what leads the teacher to real professionalism.
References
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
Howley, A., & Howley, C. B. (2005). High-quality teaching: Providing for rural teachers´ professional development. The Rural Educator. Retrieved October 2007, from
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi qa4126/is 200501/ai n13591361
Merriam-Webster Dictionary On-line. Available at http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/professionalism
Pintos, V., & Crimi, Y. (2010). Unit 1: Building up a Community of Teachers and Prospective Researchers. Retrieved September 2010, from
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