THE IMPORTANCE OF DISCOURSE

            As a future candidate English teacher, I know very well that in order to be successful in language, just learning the language with all the rules is not enough. For a language learner, being fluent in the language is really what makes him/her successful. In English, this aspect is known as ‘Discourse’. Therefore; I strongly agree with Gee, a researcher.  ‘Gee argues that teaching and learning English language and literacy is not just about teaching and learning English but also about teaching and learning specific social languages. He maintains that what students need to get right is not just the language but what he calls Discourse that is ‘multiple ways of acting-interacting-speaking-writing-listening-reading-thinking-believeing-valuing-feeling with others at the ‘’right’’ times and in the ‘’right’’ places so as to be recognized as enacting an ‘appropriate socially-situated identity’ ‘’. (p.100). Here, what he explains that you must learn the language in a way that you know how to interact with people appropriately. You should know what to say where and when and to whom. This is really important because if you cannot answer to a bank account or a taxi driver properly, you cannot said to be a speaker of that language. I remember one of my lecturers said to me that language finds meaning as long as it is used in a social environment. This is being competent in that language. Also, this is the main problems of English language learners which are Turkish. As we ignore communicating in English when we learn it. I think teachers should create a learning environment which supports interacting in all the ways; listening, speaking, answering, writing response etc.  This is the core of teaching English, actually a language, in my opinion.