Using Netnography to Explore the Culture of Online Language Teaching Communities
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/cj.v32i3.26636Keywords:
online ethnography, distance language learning, community of practice, netnography, teacher community for CALLAbstract
Netnography (Kozinets, 2010) is an ethnographic approach to study communities that exist primarily online. Engaging in online participant observation, the netnographer connects to the online community through a computer screen, and the field takes place inside the screen. Although having been used in marketing research extensively, netnography is a relatively new methodology in educational research. In this paper, I overview netnography and its applicability in studying online language learning and teaching communities. Drawing upon a netnography of a globally-distributed online community of practice of English language teachers, Webheads in Action, I provide detailed accounts of my experiences as I made particular methodological considerations during data collection in netnography in order to shed light on the often untold aspects of an ethnographic design in online research that involves participant observation. I conclude with a discussion of possible benefits of participant observer approach in netnography in understanding the culture of online language learning and teaching communities, and invite CALL researchers of such online communities to consider netnography and online participant observation in their future studies.References
Androutsopoulos, J. (2008). Potentials and limitations of discourse-centered online ethnography. Language@Internet, 5, 1–20. http://www.languageatinternet.org/articles/2008/1610
Baym, N. K. (2000). Tune In, Log On: Soaps, fandom, and online community. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
Black, R. W. (2005). Access and affiliation: The literacy and composition practices of English‐language learners in an online fanfiction community. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 49 (2), 118–128. http://dx.doi.org/10.1598/JAAL.49.2.4
Boellstorff, T. (2008). Coming of Age in Second Life: An anthropologist explores the vritually human. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
boyd, d. (2008). Taken out of Context: American teen sociality in networked publics. (PhD Dissertation), University of California Berkeley, Berkeley.
boyd, d. (2009). A response to Christine Hine: Defining project boundaries. In A. N. Markham & N. K. Baym (Eds), Internet Inquiry: Conversations about method, 26–32. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE. http://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781483329086.n3
Correll, S. (1995). The ethnography of an electronic bar: The lesbian cafe. Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, 24 (3), 270–298. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/089124195024003002
Creswell, J. W. (2007). Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design: Choosing among five approaches (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
d’Eça, T. A., & Gonzalez, D. (2006). Becoming a webhead: Bridging the gap from classroom to blended or online teaching. CALICO Journal, 23 (3), 569–580.
Emerson, R. M., Fretz, R. I., & Shaw, L. L. (1995). Writing Ethnographic Fieldnotes. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press. http://dx.doi.org/10.7208/chicago/9780226206851.001.0001
Garcia, A. C., Standlee, A. I., Bechkoff, J., & Yan Cui. (2009). Ethnographic approaches to the internet and computer-mediated communication. Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, 38 (1), 52–84. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0891241607310839
Hamilton, K., & Hewer, P. (2009). Salsa magic: An exploratory netnographic analysis of the salsa experience. Advances in Consumer Research, 36, 502–508.
Hanson-Smith, E. (2006). Communities of practice for pre- and in-service teacher education. In P. Hubbard & M. Levy (Eds), Teacher Education in CALL, 301–315. Philadelphia, PA: John Benjamins. http://dx.doi.org/10.1075/lllt.14.25han
Harasim, L., Hiltz, S. R., Teles, L., & Turoff, M. (1995). Learning Networks: A field guide to teaching and learning online. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Harrison, R. (2013). Profiles in social networking sites for language learning – Livemocha revisited. In M.-N. Lamy & K. Zourou (Eds), Social Networking for Language Education, 100–116. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan.
Herring, S. C. (2001). Computer-mediated discourse. In D. Schiffrin, D. Tannen & H. E. Hamilton (Eds), The Handbook of Discourse Analysis, 612–634. Malden, MA: Blackwell.
Hine, C. (2000). Virtual Ethnography. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
Hur, J. W., & Hara, N. (2007). Factors cultivating sustainable online communities for K-12 teacher professional development. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 36 (3), 245–268. http://dx.doi.org/10.2190/37H8-7GU7-5704-K470
Janta, H., Lugosi, P., & Brown, L. (2012). Coping with loneliness: A netnographic study of doctoral students. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 1–19. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0309877X.2012.726972
Johnson, C. M. (2006). Establishing an online community of practice for instructors of English as a foreign language. (PhD Dissertation), Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, FL.
Karagiorgi, Y., & Lymbouridou, C. (2009). The story of an online teacher community in Cyprus. Professional Development in Education, 35 (1), 119–138. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13674580802269059
Kendall, L. (2002). Hanging out in the Virtual Pub: Masculinities and relationships online. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. http://dx.doi.org/10.1525/california/9780520230361.001.0001
Kendall, L. (2009). A response to Christine Hine. In Annette N. Markham & N. K. Baym (Eds.), Internet Inquiry, 21–25. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE. http://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781483329086.n2
Kozinets, R. V. (1997). To boldly go: A hypermodern ethnography of "Star Trek"(R) fans’ culture and communities of consumption. (Ph.D. NQ22473), Queen’s University at Kingston (Canada), Canada. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/304390707?accountid=14745ABI/INFORMComplete; ProQuest Dissertations & Theses A&I; ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Full Text database.
Kozinets, R. V. (1998). On netnography: Initial reflections on consumer research investigations of cyberculture. Advances in Consumer Research, 25, 366–371.
Kozinets, R. V. (2002). The field behind the screen: Using netnography for marketing research in online communities. Journal of Marketing Research, 39 (1), 61–72. http://dx.doi.org/10.1509/jmkr.39.1.61.18935
Kozinets, R. V. (2010). Netnography: Doing etnographic research online. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
Kozinets, R. V., Dolbec, P.-Y., & Earley, A. (2014). Netnographic analysis: Understanding culture through social media data. In U. Flick (Ed.), The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Data Analysis, 262–276. London: SAGE. http://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781446282243.n18
Kozinets, R. V., & Handelman, J. (1998). Ensouling consumption: A netnographic exploration of the meaning of boycotting behavior. Advances in Consumer Research, 25 (1), 475–480.
Kulavuz-Onal, D. (2013). English language teachers’ learning to teach with technology through participation in an online community of practice: A netnography of Webheads in Action. (PhD Dissertation), University of South Florida, Tampa, FL.
Kulavuz-Onal, D., & Vasquez, C. (2013). Reconceptualizing fieldwork in a netnography of an online community of English language teachers. Ethnography and Education, 8 (2), 224–238. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17457823.2013.792511
Lamy, M.-N., & Zourou, K. (Eds.). (2013). Social Networking for Language Education. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/9781137023384
Lave, J., & Wenger, E. (1991). Situated Learning: Legitimate peripheral participation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511815355
Markham, A. N. (1998). Life Online: Researching real experience in virtual space. Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira.
Markham, A. N. (2005). The methods, politics, and ethics of representation in online ethnography. In N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Research (3rd ed.), 793–820. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
Mishra, P., & Koehler, M. (2006). Technological pedagogical content knowledge: A framework for teacher knowledge. The Teachers College Record, 108 (6), 1017–1054. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9620.2006.00684.x
Negra, A., Mzoughi, N., & Bouhlel, O. (2008). E-procrastination: a netnographic approach. Journal of Customer Behaviour, 7 (2), 103–119. http://dx.doi.org/10.1362/147539208X325894
Nelson, M. R., & Otnes, C. C. (2005). Exploring cross-cultural ambivalence: a netnography of intercultural wedding message boards. Journal of Business Research, 58 (1), 89–95. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0148-2963(02)00477-0
O’Reilly, N. J., Rahinel, R., Foster, M. K., & Patterson, M. (2007). Connecting in megaclasses: The netnographic advantage. Journal of Marketing Education, 29 (1), 69–84. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0273475307299583
Patton, M. Q. (1990). Qualitative Evaluation and Research Methods. Newbury Park, CA: SAGE.
Patton, M. Q. (2002). Qualitative Research and Evaluation Methods (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
Preece, J. (2000). Online Communities: Designing usability, supporting sociability. New York, NY: Wiley.
Ryu, D. (2013). Play to learn, learn to play: Language learning through gaming culture. ReCALL, 25 (2), 286–301. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0958344013000050
Schlager, M., Fusco, J., & Schank, P. (2002). Evolution of an online education community of practice. In K. A. Renninger & W. Shumar (Eds), Building Virtual Communities: Learning and change in cyberspace, 129–158. New York: Cambridge University Press. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511606373.010
Simpson, J. (2005). Learning electronic literacy skills in an online language learning community. Computer Assisted Language Learning, 18 (4), 327–345. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09588220500335463
Sindhwani, P., & Ahuja, V. (2014). A study of online co-creation strategies of Starbucks using netnography. International Journal of Online Marketing (IJOM), 4 (1), 39–51. http://dx.doi.org/10.4018/ijom.2014010104
Thomas, J. B., & Peters, C. O. (2011). Which dress do you like? Exploring brides’ online communities. Journal of Global Fashion Marketing, 2 (3), 148–160. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/20932685.2011.10593093
Thorne, S. L., Black, R. W., & Sykes, J. M. (2009). Second language use, socialization, and learning in internet interest communities and online gaming. The Modern Language Journal, 93 (s1), 802–821. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4781.2009.00974.x
Vorobel, O., & Kim, D. (2012). Language learning at a distance: An overview of research. CALICO Journal, 29 (3), 548–562. http://dx.doi.org/10.11139/cj.29.3.548-562
Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of Practice: Learning, meaning, and identity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511803932
Wenger, E., McDermott, R., & Snyder, W. (2002). Cultivating Communities of Practice: A guide to managing knowledge. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.
Wolcott, H. F. (1999). Ethnography: A way of seeing. Walnut Creek: CA: AltaMira.
