English Language Studies and the Community of Practice model: Beyond the ‘third wave’

Speaker:
Dr. Brian King
School of English
The University of Hong Kong

Abstract:
The first ‘language’ researchers to engage extensively with the Community of Practice model (CofP) were working in the variationist sector of sociolinguistics (e.g. Eckert, Mendoza-Denton, and others). When I specify extensively, I am pointing to their detailed and early work on the principled use of the theory and the meticulous identification of communities of practice, both of which emerged soon after Lave and Wenger’s seminal book (1992) and have been an inspiration for language researchers in many fields. Their methods are well established and robust, and other fields of language study would be well advised to emulate their fastidiousness more consistently. In this presentation, I will ‘bring to the table’ some fresh perspectives about the use of the CofP model beyond variationist research, including research in discourse analysis and English language learning, highlighting some instructive cases. Much remains to be explored in relation to the CofP in language research. Modes of belonging and the status of the practices being identified both need more nuanced attention because insights can ‘fall off the radar’ when the researcher’s field of view is too narrow. Finally, with the intersectional turn we see that the CofP model is well positioned to take us forwards, which is an exciting prospect indeed.