Researchers and teachers often invoke context to explain their particular research/teaching issues. However, definitions of context vary widely and the direct impact of the context is often unexplained. Based on research showing contextual differences in second language (L2) learner beliefs and interactional behaviors, the current project compared…

Introduction: This paper investigates participatory practices in library activities for young children and their care-givers in a specific cultural context. Method: Using an ethnographic approach data were collected through participant observations of songtimes for babies and toddlers, and interviews and group interviews with staff and…

There is considerable agreement about the fact that the presence of researchers in the classroom mediates teaching and learning. Why "should" two very different forms of human activity, one designed to study the other, interact and mediate each other? In this article, we propose cultural-historical activity theory as a framework for understanding…

This commentary responds to the papers in the special issue "Accomplishing identity in bilingual interaction" and particularly to the use of Bucholtz and Hall's (2004a, 2004b, 2005) framework for the linguistic analysis of identities in interaction. The commentary focuses on the relationship between theory and empirical work, with attention to the…

Questions about students' competence in classrooms are addressed in three parts: the suitability of ethnography as a research strategy, a summary of research that examines the social organization of classroom events, and the consequences of this organization for students' performance in the classroom. The discussion of methodology leads to the…

Explores how the discourse context of metaphorical language supports children's understanding of sociocultural norms. Classroom data are examined to determine how language, situation, and interaction assist in the interpretation of metaphorically used language. (46 references) (Author/CK)

The basic objective of this monograph is to present and review a few selected theories of person-environment interaction which have stimulated meaningful research. Five theoretical viewpoints are included: Barker's theory of behavior settings, the subcultural approach, Holland's theory of personality types and model environments, Stern's need x…

The following articles on ethnography and education are presented: (1) "A Retrospective Discussion of the State of the Art in Ethnography in Education," by P. Gilmore and D. M. Smith; (2) "Ethnography in Education: Defining the Essentials," by S. B. Heath; (3) "The Structure of Classroom Events and Their Consequences for Student Performance," by…

This paper provides information about the nature of fieldwork and fieldwork research training. Fieldwork methods are best at answering the following five questions: (1) What's happening in this field setting? (2) What do the happenings mean to the people involved in them? (3) What do people have to know in order to be able to do what they do in a…

Based on the inaugural Suzanne McConnell Memorial Lecture, this article focuses on the theme of action in complex contexts. The following topics are covered: the author's approach to this theme and the steps needed to progress from analysis of context to new debates and practical action; the changing context of ALBE; and opportunities for action.…

This handbook of Colombian and U.S. gestures was prepared originally as an aid to English teachers in Colombia. The Colombian gestures were collected via personal observations and interviews with Colombian informants. Approximately 20 informants from various regions of the United States were also interviewed. To this orginal collection, published…

This paper examines the process of interpersonal communication across cultural boundaries, through a combination of the cross-cultural approach (from international communication research) and the interpersonal approach (from sociological research). The paper presents data on friendship patterns in a multi-cultural group. The experimenter observed…

A study was carried on for 2 years in a predominantly Italian-American suburb near Boston. During the period of data-collection, the researchers observed both classroom interaction in a kindergarten/first grade and the interactions of two members of that class at home with their families. The analysis is an attempt to discover what factors in…

Speculates on how central concepts in Basil Bernstein's work can, with some revision, yield a descriptive-analytic framework for the study of communicative competence, particularly in its developmental sense. (PD)