Why do poor and minority students under-perform in school? Do computer games help or hinder learning? What can new research in psychology teach our educational policy-makers? In this major new book, Gee tackles the 'big ideas' about language, literacy and learning, putting forward an integrated theory that crosses disciplinary boundaries, and applying it to some of the very real problems that face educationalists today. Situated Language and Learning looks at the specialist academic varieties of language that are used in disciplines such as mathematics and the sciences. It argues that the language acquisition process needed to learn these forms of language is not given enough attention by schools, and that this places unfair demands on poor and minority students. The book compares this with learning as a process outside the classroom, applying this idea to computer and video games, and exploring the particular processes of learning which take place as a child interacts with others and technology to learn and play. In doing so, Gee examines what video games can teach us about how to improve learning in schools and engages with current debates on subjects such as 'communities of practice' and 'digital literacies'. Bringing together the latest research from a number of disciplines, Situated Language and Learning is a bold and controversial book by a leading figure in the field, and is essential reading for anyone interested in education and language.

In this important theoretical treatist, Jean Lave, anthropologist, and Etienne Wenger, computer scientist, push forward the notion of situated learning - that learning is fundamentally a social process. The authors maintain that learning viewed as situated activity has as its central defining characteristic a process they call legitimate peripheral participation (LPP). Learners participate in communities of practitioners, moving toward full participation in the sociocultural practices of a community. LPP provides a way to speak about crucial relations between newcomers and old-timers and about their activities, identities, artefacts, knowledge and practice. The communities discussed in the book are midwives, tailors, quartermasters, butchers, and recovering alcoholics, however, the process by which participants in those communities learn can be generalised to other social groups.

The first steps toward merging the cognitive and social approaches to language processing.

Cognitive Development in a Digital Age James Paul Gee begins his classic book with "I want to talk about video games–yes, even violent video games–and say some positive things about them." With this simple but explosive statement, one of America's most well-respected educators looks seriously at the good that can come from playing video games. This revised edition expands beyond mere gaming, introducing readers to fresh perspectives based on games like World of Warcraft and Half-Life 2. It delves deeper into cognitive development, discussing how video games can shape our understanding of the world. An undisputed must-read for those interested in the intersection of education, technology, and pop culture, What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy challenges traditional norms, examines the educational potential of video games, and opens up a discussion on the far-reaching impacts of this ubiquitous aspect of modern life.

In this seminal volume leading language and literacy scholars clearly articulate and explicate major social perspectives and approaches in the fields of language and literacy studies. Each approach draws on distinct bodies of literature and traditions and uses distinct identifiers, labels, and constellations of concepts; each has been taken up across diverse global contexts and is used as rationale and guide for the design of research and of educational policies and practices. Authors discuss the genesis and historical trajectory of the approach with which they are associated; offer their unique perspectives, rationales, and engagements; and investigate implications for understanding language and literacy use in and out of schools. The premise of the book is that understanding concepts, perspectives, and approaches requires knowing the context in which they were created, the rationale or purpose in creating them, and how they have been taken up and applied in communities of practice. Accessible yet theoretically rich, this volume is indispensible for researchers, students, and professionals across the fields of language and literacy studies.

Situated Literacies is a rich and varied collection of key writings from leading international scholars in the field of literacy. Each contribution, written in a clear, accessible style, makes the link between literacies in specific contexts and broader social practices. Detailed ethnographic studies of a wide variety of specific situations, all involving real texts and lived practices, are balanced with general claims about the nature of literacy. Contributors address a coherent set of issues: * the visual and material aspects of literacy * concepts of time and space in relation to literacy * the functions of literacies in shaping and sustaining identities in communities of practice * the relationship between texts and the practices associated with their use the role of discourse analysis on literacy studies These studies, along with a foreword by Denny Taylor, make a timely and important contribution to literacy theory and suggest directions for the further development of the field. Situated Literacies is essential reading for anyone involved in literary education.

Situated Learning is generally understood as a context-dependent approach to translator and interpreter training under which learners are exposed to real-life and/or highly simulated collaborative work environments and tasks, both inside and outside the classroom. Ultimately, Situated Learning seeks to enhance learners’ capacity to think and act like professionals. This book sets out to gauge the extent to which different factors influence the implementation of Situated Learning models in various teaching and learning contexts. It presents an understanding of Situated Learning that goes beyond previous interpretations of this notion, traditionally dominated by the discussion of pedagogical practices in authentic, i.e. real-world, or semi-authentic professional settings. This wider remit of Situated Learning encompasses previously underrepresented contextual factors pertaining to translation traditions, historical trends, community beliefs and customs, socio-economic constraints, market conditions, institutional practices, budgetary issues, or resource availability. The pedagogical considerations of these key aspects make this book particularly useful for both novice and seasoned teachers of translation and interpreting with an interest in informed practical advice on how to implement the principles of Situated Learning in collaborative teaching and learning environments that seek to promote translators’ and/or interpreters’ professional competence. This book was originally published as a special issue of The Interpreter and Translator Trainer.

This book responds to a growing body of work in sociolinguistics and applied linguistics that places an emphasis on situated descriptions of language education practices and illuminates how these descriptions are enmeshed with local, institutional and wider social forces. It engages with new ways of understanding language that expand its meaning by including other semiotic resources and meaning-making practices and bring to the fore its messiness and unpredictability. The chapters illustrate how a translingual and transcultural orientation to language and language pedagogy can provide a point of entry to reimagining what language education might look like under conditions of heightened linguistic and cultural diversity and increased linguistic and social inequalities. The book unites an international group of contributors, presenting state-of-the-art empirical studies drawing on a wide range of local contexts and spaces, from linguistically and culturally heterogeneous mainstream and HE classrooms to complementary (community) school and informal language learning contexts.

An incisive study of situated learning, analyzed through a critical theory of social practice as transformational change in everyday life.

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