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Discourse Community Gigis Playhouse

Discourse Community Assignment

Gigis Playhouse-El Paso
Mariana Bayona
RWS 1301
The University of Texas at El Paso

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Discourse Community Gigis Playhouse

Introduction
Communication has been a crucial part of human existence since the worlds earliest times.
As a result of language development, human beings started classifying themselves under
specific communities. Some of the various communities that form todays society are
discourse communities. John Swales (1990) defines the concept as a community using
Herzbergs definition which sets a discourse community to be a cluster of ideas where
communication is necessary for maintain the community functioning as well as to welcome
new members. Being a Special Education major, I would like to work or volunteer at the
Gigis Playhouse foundation, an organization dedicated to help children with Down
syndrome, their families and friends. This foundation expresses a need for integration and
works for the inclusion of children and adults living with the syndrome.
Literary Review
To fully understand the concept of discourse communities, John Swales explains it in his
book: The Concept of Discourse Community. He starts by explaining how a discourse
community differs from a speech community and goes on to explain features exclusive of
the discourse community. He provides six characteristics that he considers necessary to be
able to distinguish a discourse community, among them being :members of the discourse
community sharing common goals, strategies to effectively communicate between
members, using those strategies for feedback, use of genres to communicate, a specific set
of vocabulary exclusive to the community and different levels of expertise among the
members.

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Discourse Community Gigis Playhouse

Another text important to my understanding of a discourse community was Discourse

community by Erik Borg. This text explains which problems are faced when narrowing
down the concept of discourse community for it to be comprehensible for readers. The
article also mentions an important aspect about discourse community, which is how to
obtain membership. According to Borg, in discourse communities, members enter usually
out of personal choice (Borg, 2003 p.398) and mentions one more time, agreeing with
Swales, how members of discourse communities have a set of goals in common.

Discussion
According to Swales six characteristics of a discourse community, the first one is that a
discourse community has a broadly agreed set of common public goals. (Swales,
1990.)For Gigis Playhouse foundation that goal is to provide tools for citizens of El Paso
living with Down syndrome to be able to carry out truly fulfilling lives. The foundation has
established many programs to help members of the playhouse of all ages achieve specific
goals such as ameliorating their communication skills both orally and through reading,
sharpening of motor skills, and interactions as members of a society with their family and
friends.
In order to achieve the Playhouses common goal, Swales mentions it is mandatory that
there is communication between the members of this community. Being that the
organization is now operating both in the United States and in the neighboring country of
Mexico they count with the supervision of Gigis Playhouses founder, Nancy Gianni. With
phone numbers and emails available to the public, contact with the organization is made

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Discourse Community Gigis Playhouse

possible to the families, although most of the contact is done through personal
conversations during all the therapy sessions the foundation provides.

Below, the contact information of the local Gigis playhouse location:

After all the work the playhouse performs to assist members it is necessary to communicate
the good news with the rest of society. Swales mentions the third characteristic of a
discourse community to be using mechanisms to provide feedback. Gigis playhouse counts
with a website, a newsletter and is currently working on a blog that grants information to
the public about the work accomplished and what is yet to be completed.
This ways of communicating also relate to the fourth characteristic that Swales describe in
his work, the use of genres. Although there are written records for the activities performed
at the playhouse, there are also other ways the organization is made known to others.
Pictures and videos around the web show success stories. Also, their presence on social
media grants a familiar way to access the foundations information.
Below, the thumbnail to a news story found on YouTube:

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Discourse Community Gigis Playhouse

Also, apart from communicating what has been already accomplished, communication is
used to ask for donations so that the foundation can continue with its mission of creating
success and acceptance for individuals with Down Syndrome.
One of the most important aspects that need to be covered by the program is the support of
the family. For the foundation it is important that both parents and siblings are involved in
their childs/siblings therapies, and they begin providing support for them since the
children are at a young age. Parents can attend sessions in which they are assisted in
understanding diagnosis and sharing experiences. However volunteers, therapists and
assistants must be prepared to understand the needs of every child/adult. Therefore, they
must be familiar with the special medical terminology used to express each individuals
condition. This differentiates the discourse community of the playhouse from other
communities since this kind of vocabulary might not be understood by outsiders.
The final characteristic present in discourse communities is the different levels of expertise.
It is clear that at Gigis Playhouse preparation is required to help the members of the
organization as best as possible. While volunteers are welcome to participate in the
different events at the playhouse, helping with electronic media, assisting at athletic events,
etc. tutoring is a more serious matter. Volunteers that wish to help with tutoring must
receive special training before assisting the children.

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Discourse Community Gigis Playhouse

Conclusion
According to my analysis and the characteristics studied Gigis Playhouse qualifies as a
discourse community since it has been shown that Swales six characteristics are present. I
was very overwhelmed by how much passion, love and hard work seems to be put every
day in the therapies, tutoring and even the programs of Open play in which children are
welcome to have a good time with their families and friends. It is a noble work that I am
sure could change the world one individual and his or her community at a time.
References
Borg, E. (2003) Discourse Community. ELT Journal Volume 57/4. Oxford University Press.
Swales, J. (1990) The Concept of Discourse Community. Writing about writing: Downs and
Wardle.