Communities of Practice in Applied Language Research provides an up-to-date and critical introduction to the community of practice framework and how this can be applied to language research. Critiquing and offering alternative suggestions for the ways in which researchers frame research participants as members of communities of practice, with the goal of inspiring use of the CoP model in new areas of research, this book:
• Engages in extended critical analysis of past research as well as questioning recent applications and its limitations;
• Incorporates instructive examples from multiple fields, including Sociolinguistics, Linguistic Anthropology, Critical Discourse Studies, Language Teaching & Learning, Literacy Studies, and a trailblazing section on Language & Digital Media;
• Brings up-to-date the key questions and concerns around the Communities of Practice model, debunking myths and re-emphasizing ongoing challenges.
Communities of Practice in Applied Language Research is essential reading for undergraduate and postgraduate students studying research methods or undertaking research projects in those areas.
Table of Contents:
Author Acknowledgements
Foreword by Janet Holmes
Chapter 1 - Introduction
Chapter 2 – Communities of Practice
Chapter 3 – Language Variation & Change
Chapter 4 – Language, Gender, and Sexuality
Chapter 5 – Language in the Workplace
Chapter 6 – Language Learning
Chapter 7 – Language in the Online/Offline Nexus
Chapter 8 – Conclusion
Appendices
Appendix A – Transcription Conventions
Appendix B – Participant Descriptions
Index
