Discursive Practice in Language Learning and Teaching

by Richard F. Young, Lourdes Ortega (Series Editor)

Discursive Practice is a theory of the linguistic and socio-cultural characteristics of recurring episodes of face-to-face interaction; episodes that have social and cultural significance to a community of speakers. This book examines the discursive practice approach to language-in-interaction, explicating the consequences of grounding language use and language learning in a view of social realities as discursively constructed, of meanings as negotiated through interaction, of the context-bound nature of discourse, and of discourse as social action. The book also addresses how participants’ abilities in a specific discursive practice may be learned, taught, and assessed.

279 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2009

About the author

Richard F. Young is Professor of English at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, USA.