Communities of Practice: Fostering ELT Research in a Development Context

Abstract

Research in English language teaching in Cambodia has emerged in the past decade. For research in ELT to flourish in a development context such as that of Cambodia, the formation and fostering of communities of practice may be essential. Following Wenger, McDermott, and Snyder’s (2002) concept of communities of practice, Keuk (2015a) explored communities of practice in Cambodia at the three levels of ELT research practice: micro, meso, and macro. For a community of practice to grow, as Wenger (1998, 2006) and Wenger et al. (2002) argued, the community and its members need to achieve three fundamental characteristics: joint enterprise, mutual engagement, and shared repertoires. Through examining research practice from the micro level to the meso level and then to the macro level, Keuk’s (2015a) investigation revealed the development of true communities of practice in the Cambodian context and may provide useful insights to other development contexts where ELT research is still emerging.