Discursive Practice is a theory of the linguistic and socio-cultural characteristics of recurring episodes of face-to-face interaction; episodes that have social and cultural significance to a community of speakers. This book examines the discursive practice approach to language-in-interaction, explicating the consequences of grounding language use and language learning in a view of social realities as discursively constructed, of meanings as negotiated through interaction, of the context-bound nature of discourse, and of discourse as social action. The book also addresses how participants’ abilities in a specific discursive practice may be learned, taught, and assessed.

"Richard Young's book provides a wonderfully comprehensive account of discursive practices and social context in second language acquisition that synthesizes important theoretical and empirical insights from sociolinguistics, sociocultural theory, systemic functional grammar, and conversation analysis. This is a must read!"--Numa Markee, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Table of Contents: 1. What is Discursive Practice? 2. Foundations for the Study of Practice 3. Investigating Context 4. Discursive Resources 5. Language Learning and Discursive Practice 6. Contexts of Teaching and Testing 7. Prospects for Practice