Reference no: EM133219836

Question: What does Gee Mean when he says that you can speak with perfect grammar and yet be "wrong nonetheless" (para. 2)? Does this conflict with what you've been taught in school about grammar?
Gee argues that you can say something in the right way but do the wrong things, which he calls the "'saying-doing combination'" (para.2). What does this mean?
Explain Gee's distinction between Discourse with a capital D and discourse with a lowercase d. Does it make sense to you? Why or why not?
What does Gee mean by the terms primary Discourse, secondary Discourse, dominant Discourse, and nondominant Discourse?
What does it mean to say that "Discourses are connected with displays of an identity" (para. 18)? What are the implication of this claim, if it is true?
Gee argues that reading and writing never happen, and thus can't be taught, apart from some Discourse. Further, he argues, teaching someone to read or write means teaching them to "'say, do, value, believe'" as members of that Discourse do (para. 24). How is this connected to his claims about the relationship between Discourse and identity?
In paragraph 13, Gee argues that members of the dominant Discourse apply "constant 'tests'" to people whose primary Discourse is not the dominant one. Later, he explains that members of Dominant discourses often pay close attention to how mechanically "correct" others' language is because these features are the "best test as to whether one was apprenticed in the 'right' place, at the 'right' time. with the 'right' people" (para. 25). What is Gee talking about here? Can you think of an example you have seen or experienced that illustrates what Gee is describing?
Why do you think dominant Discourse "tests" happen? What is the benefit to members of the dominant Discourse?
How does Gee define literacy? What is his attitude toward print-based literacy, specifically?
How does Gee define enculturation?
What is metaknowledge and what is its value, according to Gee?
Consider a Discourse that you consider yourself to be already a part of. How do you know you are a part of it?
Consider a Discourse to which you do not belong but want to belong--a group in which you are or would like to be what Gee calls an apprentice? What is hardest about learning to belong to that Discourse? Who or what aids you the most in becoming a part? Do you ever feel like a "pretender"? If so, what makes you a pretender?