Ethnography

research-methodology

Ethnography is a qualitative research approach involving prolonged, immersive engagement with a social group to understand its cultural practices, beliefs, and behaviours from the inside. Rooted in anthropology, ethnography has been adapted for applied linguistics as classroom ethnography and linguistic ethnography.

Defining Features

Extended fieldwork — the researcher spends months or years in the setting, not hours
Participant observation — the researcher participates in the group's activities while systematically observing
Thick description — detailed, contextualised accounts that capture meaning, not just behaviour (Geertz, 1973)
Emic perspective — understanding the culture on its own terms, through members' categories and meanings
Holistic orientation — the classroom or community is understood as a whole system, not reduced to isolated variables
Reflexivity — the researcher acknowledges their own influence on the setting and interpretation

In Applied Linguistics

Classroom Ethnography

Extended study of a classroom as a cultural and social system. Investigates how language learning is shaped by classroom norms, power relations, identity, and interaction patterns — phenomena invisible to short-term Classroom Observation.

Key work: Watson-Gegeo (1988) — seminal article arguing for ethnographic approaches in SLA; Canagarajah (1999) — ethnography of a Sri Lankan English classroom revealing resistance and identity negotiation.

Linguistic Ethnography

A UK-based tradition (Rampton, 2007) that combines close analysis of language (drawing on Discourse Analysis, Conversation Analysis, and sociolinguistics) with ethnographic contextualisation. The language data are not separable from the social world that produced them.

Language Socialisation

Ethnographic study of how newcomers (children, immigrants, students) are socialised into linguistic and cultural practices through interaction. Ochs & Schieffelin (1984) founded this paradigm.

Data Collection

Participant observation with detailed field notes
Audio/video recording of naturally occurring interaction
Interviews (informal and semi-structured)
Document and artefact analysis
Research journal/reflexive diary

Strengths

Captures the complexity and messiness of real language learning contexts
Reveals what standardised tests and experiments cannot: identity, resistance, agency, power
High Ecological Validity — the research setting is the real setting
Can challenge assumptions embedded in quantitative research categories

Limitations

Extremely time-consuming — not feasible for most graduate students or project timelines
Findings are not statistically generalisable (though they may be analytically transferable)
Observer's Paradox and Hawthorne Effect — the researcher's presence alters the setting
Researcher bias and subjectivity require ongoing reflexive management

Key References

Geertz (1973) — The Interpretation of Cultures (thick description)
Watson-Gegeo (1988) — ethnography in ESL: defining the essentials
Rampton (2007) — linguistic ethnography manifesto
Canagarajah (1999) — Resisting Linguistic Imperialism in English Teaching
Duff (2008) — ethnographic approaches in applied linguistics