Language, in all its forms and variations, is an important aspect of learning for children to understand and develop in order for them to build and obtain effective communication skills. Language is open to interpretation, it can be viewed as cognitive, material, social; it is, of course, all of these at one and the same time. Language is also something that is both individual and social (Gee & Hayes, 2011, p. 6). Language, whether you can see it or hear it, is a way to communicate to others. The way certain language is portrayed can be affected by context, involving the social context and environment of the situation. Culture is so diverse and can be viewed in different ways, by different people, it is fair to say that the same goes for culturally
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Gee (2015) points out that it is not just the content of what you say that is important, but also how you say it, and when combined together, context and language allows the meaning of the language to be heightened. Even though this combination is significant within the language system, the way any language is received and then interpreted by others can vary quite differently due to the fact that everyone comes from different backgrounds and cultures. So to help with this barrier, Gee (2015) explains that every context has its own Discourse, ways of behaving, interacting, valuing, thinking, believing, speaking and, often reading and writing that are accepted as instantiations of particular identities by specific groups. For both adults and children, Discourse is used everyday and will change on a regular basis depending on where the person is and to whom that person is communicating with. In a school environment, focusing on the interactions between a child and parents, caregivers, peers and school professionals, it is important for students to learn such language because, without different Discourses within society, language just would not make much sense. Contextual language also has many functions which help to convey meaning in a socially structured way. Halliday (1975) believes that children want to learn and are motivated to develop language as it serves a purpose for them. He explores seven functions that language offers children in their early years; instrumental, regulatory, interactional, personal, heuristic, imaginative and representational. The first four functions that Halliday discusses are the ones that help to fulfill the needs of the child socially, emotionally and physically. The instrumental function allows the child to gain what he/she wants, it refers to the ‘I want ' language, the
Gee (2015) points out that it is not just the content of what you say that is important, but also how you say it, and when combined together, context and language allows the meaning of the language to be heightened. Even though this combination is significant within the language system, the way any language is received and then interpreted by others can vary quite differently due to the fact that everyone comes from different backgrounds and cultures. So to help with this barrier, Gee (2015) explains that every context has its own Discourse, ways of behaving, interacting, valuing, thinking, believing, speaking and, often reading and writing that are accepted as instantiations of particular identities by specific groups. For both adults and children, Discourse is used everyday and will change on a regular basis depending on where the person is and to whom that person is communicating with. In a school environment, focusing on the interactions between a child and parents, caregivers, peers and school professionals, it is important for students to learn such language because, without different Discourses within society, language just would not make much sense. Contextual language also has many functions which help to convey meaning in a socially structured way. Halliday (1975) believes that children want to learn and are motivated to develop language as it serves a purpose for them. He explores seven functions that language offers children in their early years; instrumental, regulatory, interactional, personal, heuristic, imaginative and representational. The first four functions that Halliday discusses are the ones that help to fulfill the needs of the child socially, emotionally and physically. The instrumental function allows the child to gain what he/she wants, it refers to the ‘I want ' language, the