Softball - Discourse Community

What determines a discourse community, described in chapter two “The concept of discourse community,” in the book “English in academic and research setting,” written by John M. Swales, has multiple factors in qualifying a discourse community.

“Use of the term ‘discourse community’ testifies to the increasingly common assumption that discourse operates within conventions defined by communities, be they academic disciplines or social groups. The pedagogies associated with writing the curriculum and academic English now use the notion of ‘discourse communities’ to signify a cluster of ideas” (21).

Swales clarifies the exaggeration that there is much more to a discourse community other than just a group of people. Communication and language are just two of the six key terms used to qualify a group as a discourse community. In each specific group, a common goal is shared along with a set of objectives. In this essay, Swales six important characteristics are described and explained in detail contrasting to the Humboldt State Softball program to succeed as a discourse community.

Methods

The methods specified include an observation of a live game and a complete reflection of a practice within the group, a primarily conducted interview given to the assistant coach of the softball program, paperwork qualifying a new member and establishing sponsorship of the group, and a social media webpage. To begin, I am a member of the softball team, so it was no problem asking my coach to observe one practice. The objective of the observation was to grasp an understanding of the set communication skills within the group, the ways the groups works as a unit towards an objective, and the organizations of the skills of their practice.

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As for the live game, we have our game stream live on the Humboldt State Softball website, I recorded the live stream and watched it later to take notes and reflect. I conducted my interview based off of th…