ABSTRACT
In this chapter, we explore how ethnography, which finds its methodological origins in anthropology, has been used widely to study second language learning processes as well as to better understand the complex sociocultural contexts and communities in which learners are situated. In addition to describing the main tools—observations, field notes, and interviews—generally adopted in ethnographic research, we illustrate how three different forms of ethnography, namely, classroom ethnography, critical ethnography and netnography, have been used to investigate four core individual difference (ID) issues: identity, learner strategies, motivation, and anxiety. The chapter closes with a call for transparency in data analysis, additional attention to IDs with learning beyond the classroom as its focus, and the adoption of underutilized methods in ethnography such as stimulated recall and focus group interviews.
