The Secret to ‘Talking the Talk’

By Doug Buehl,
Madison East High School teacher
Member, Wisconsin State Reading Association

February 2003

The talk. In our daily lives we are immersed in talk. The talk when we chat with immediate family members around the dinner table. The talk when we hold forth with one of our closest friends. The talk when we join in the patter in the teachers’ lounge. The talk when we converse with others leaving a worship service. The talk as we banter with fellow fans at a sporting event. The talk with a salesperson as we dicker on the price of a potential purchase. The talk as we interact with students in a classroom. The talk.

Of course, the exact nature of the talk varies. Often without consciously realizing it, we effortlessly adjust our talk to match the situation. One minute a conversation with the principal, the next a dialogue with a 6th- grader. We change the talk; we change the language we use (sometimes quite subtly); we change the manner we use non-verbal communications; we change how we form the message. As adults, we have become adept at tailoring the talk to fit the context.

Researchers like the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s James Gee use the term “discourse” to describe the talk we engage in with various individuals and groups. Discourse involves an accepted use of language, often a specific pool of vocabulary, as well as an actual way of interacting. Discourse also assumes a common knowledge base, a shared set of experiences and beliefs. Each of us is comfortable employing a wide array of discourses. The specific discourse we choose depends on who is receiving our talk and the conditions of our interaction. A coach, for example, uses one type of discourse when working with the team, and a different discourse when visiting a grandparent.

People who share a specific discourse are referred to by researchers as “discourse communities.” Doctors, for example, are a discourse community, a group of people who share a common vocabulary, experiences, outlook, and mien. Lawyers, accountants, pharmacists, civil engineers all exhibit the qualities of discourse communities. If you are a member, you know how to talk, you know how to act.

You obviously belong to a host of discourse communities. You and your spouse are a discourse community of two. You and your closest friends, your neighbors, your colleagues at your school, your classroom gatherings with students all are discrete discourse communities. In particular, you belong to the discourse community of people who are versed in the fields they teach. Some of you are members of the science discourse community; others history, literature, foreign language or music. You know how to talk the talk of your discipline.

The Strategy
For students to truly learn within a discipline, they too must gain membership in that discourse community. They need to develop confidence expressing themselves in the language of that discipline. They need extensive practice in “talking the talk.”

Step 1: Initiate consideration of discourse with students by discussing examples of groups of people who talk and act a certain way. Doctors are an excellent illustration of this concept. Doctors are expected to be skilled in articulating a wealth of medical terminology. Patients expect doctors to be authoritative and professional in their interactions.

To be accepted as knowledgeable within a discipline, an individual must demonstrate deep mastery of the language of that discipline, and must be able to use that vocabulary flexibly and confidently. Novice learners within a discipline – our students – require multiple opportunities to explore hearing, reading, and communicating the talk.

Step 2: A key element of discourse is an assumed vocabulary. Learners in math, for example, must learn the discourse of math. Learning vocabulary within a discourse is not a matter of memorizing definitions; definitions are often narrow and somewhat simplistic. Learners need to “adopt” the new vocabulary so that it becomes integral to the way they think about ideas and concepts within the discipline.

Mastery of content vocabulary includes two phases.

Phase 1 engages students in verbalizing their understandings of key vocabulary using personal, non-technical language. A problem encountered by many students is that they memorize technical definitions but never really translate these words into a basic understanding. As a result, they become “fact parrots” who futilely attempt to talk the talk but who really are not grounded in a true understanding of the concepts. Therefore the first challenge in learning content vocabulary is for students to explain a term using language that a “layman” would recognize.

Phase 2 encourages students to begin to talk like “insiders,” like members of the discourse community. Once they can break down a concept into more common language, they are ready to practice using the new vocabulary.

Teacher modeling of key language is crucial to this phase, in addition to the reading of material that expands knowledge of significant concepts. Students become familiar with hearing and seeing new terms, because important vocabulary is imbedded in meaningful contexts.

Step 3: Provide students with extensive opportunities to communicate their understandings of course content using the language of the discourse. In particular, students need to become confident using content vocabulary in speaking and writing; they need to begin to “sound” like a member of the discourse community.

Students need to do more than merely answer questions about the content to develop a command of the language. Instead, activities that ask them to explain and to elaborate their understandings, both orally and in writing, can lead to students gradually more able to express themselves within the language of the discourse.

Informal writing such as learning logs, as well as written discussions of lab experiments in science or an analysis of the elements of music portrayed in a composition being rehearsed in an orchestra class, are examples of using writing to help students gain facility in a content discourse.

Posted February 10, 2003