A Review of Learning multiple foreign languages in a
community of practice innovation interconnection and dedication
1. Overview
Nowadays, the pivotal role of Community of Practice in language
learning have been advocated by many researches. (e.g. Haneda 1997;
Martin-Beltrán, Guzman, and Kidwell 2019; Montante 2019; Murray and
Fujishima 2013; Peercy, Martin-Beltran, and Daniel 2013) Moreover,
studies on CoPs in language learning contexts have revealed that CoPs
play a great role not only for language learning but also for intercultural
exchanges. This study investigates the linguistic and sociocultural
benefits that multilingual individuals gain through participation in a
Community of Practice (CoP) in Indonesia, a typically multilingual
country. Using an ethnographic approach and guided by Wenger’s CoP
theory, data are collected through participant observations and semistructured interviews. Eight key themes emerge from the analysis: the
empowerment of social media, innovative language activities, learning
support, personal learning freedom, intercultural exchange, sharing online
learning platforms, free language learning, and social networking. The
findings suggest that language learners can adapt to the methods used by
multilingual individuals in this community to enhance their foreign
language skills.
It is obvious that many impressive points should be mentioned.
First, the current study addresses a research gap in the research field
of CoP in language teaching and learning. Although many studies have
explored CoPs in language learning, research specifically focusing on the
affordances of multilingual learning communities is sparse. To bridge this
gap, this study examines how a multilingual practice community (MPC)
in Indonesia facilitates learning opportunities across multiple languages.
Considering the invaluable significance of affordance in language
learning, the implications of this study are significant, which suggest
potential benefits for CoPs by providing language teachers with more
affordances to aid their learning.
Second, the literature review progresses logically, starting from the
basic conception of CoP and the theoretical framework of the study,
namely Wenger’s CoP theory, combining this useful informal learning
tool with various studies about informal language learning, and
introducing the specific studies on language learning through CoPs. In
this way, readers can see the important role of CoPs and have an urge to
see whether it will have several impacts on multilingual participants in
this study.
Third, the writing format of this study is both rigorous and logically
structured, which may be helpful in our thesis writing. Just as we have
said before, the theoretical framework used in this study is Wenger’s CoP
theory. In the literature review section, the content of this theory is clearly
demonstrated so that readers can have a quick grasp of this theory. What
should be mentioned is that in discussion section, the eight affordances in
the results section are also discussed according to Wenger’s CoP theory.
That is to say, different affordances can be included in different stages.
This reminds me that in our own thesis discussion writing, we could not
do it as our please. Instead, we have to follow the logical unfolding of the
research question and closely relate it to previous research as well as
using an authoritative framework to analyze the findings.
2. Reviews for Sections
2.1 Abstract
The research report’s abstract is succinct and well-structured. It
provides a clear background on the research topic, highlighting the
prevailing focus of previous studies and establishing the link between
CoP and language learning in multilingual contexts. Moreover, the
abstract also outlines the study’s innovation by delving into how a
multilingual practice community (MPC) in Indonesia facilitates learning
opportunities across multiple languages. It adeptly covers essential
components, including the study’s purpose, significance, methodology,
and conclusions, serving as an instructive model for our writing.
2.2 Literature Review and Theoretical Framework
Based on the concept and goals of community of practice, the
authors review previous studies on CoP in language learning contexts.
Gumperz (1982)’s notion of a speech community, where language norms
are shared among a group, aligns with Milroy and Gordon (2003) ’s idea
of CoPs as social networks where language and social meaning are coconstructed. And then the authors have found that the previous studies
show that community of practice is not only for language learning, but
also for intercultural communication with significant help.
Therefore, in the literature review section, the authors first give a
brief introduction to the basic concept of CoP, which can be used as a
learning tool to learn the norms and language of a particular community.
Then the theoretical framework utilized in this paper is the three-stage
theory of community of practice proposed by Wenger. In the first stage of
Mutual Engagement, new and senior members of the community work
together to establish a sense of membership as a foundation for the
realization of the group task, and in the second stage of Enterprise,
members actually cooperate with each other and participate in the
completion of the task in order to learn the language and maintain their
identities. The third stage, Negotiable Resources, entails members sharing
shared resources with each other and negotiating to accomplish the
community’s tasks.
Considering that learning styles such as CoP belong to informal
education, the contrast between it and formal education is that it pays
more attention to the interests and needs of the participants or students,
and therefore the results of the previous studies have shown that language
learning can be effectively promoted in the context of informal education,
so more and more researches have started to pay attention to the language
learning through CoP. Most of them focus on the what, why and how
aspects, including elaborating and validating the concept of community of
practice, applying the community of practice to different language
learning contexts, and exploring members’ views and evaluations of the
community of practice, as well as its effects on the learning of language
skills. Despite these studies, the authors believe that there is a research
gap in that few studies have examined Affordance, or availability, or
provision in multilingual learning in the context of communities of
practice. In language learning, this affordance arises from learners’
participation and use, and opportunities for learning arise as a result of
participation and use. At the same time, the effectiveness of language
learning communities may vary in different contexts, so in order to fill
this gap, this study aims to investigate the affordance of opportunities to
facilitate multilingual learning in a multilingual community of practice in
Indonesia. It is developed from the perspective of the participants to see
what is available to them in this community for their language learning.
2.3 The Present Study and Its Method
The research conducted within the multilingual community in
Indonesia revealed a vibrant and dynamic learning environment,
characterized by rich linguistic diversity and a shared dedication to
language learning. The community, which the authors refer to as the
Multilingual Practice Community (MPC), provided a unique social
learning space where members could engage with multiple foreign
languages and cultures. The MPC welcomed language enthusiasts of all
backgrounds and ages, from academic students to professionals in various
fields. To join, individuals can follow the community’s social media
channels, such as Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter, where details like
meeting schedules, language-related events, learning resources, and
updates are regularly shared. Notably, this community caters to less
commonly studied foreign languages in Indonesia, such as Hindi, Russian,
Turkish, Korean, Italian, and Spanish.
Data are collected through participant observation and semistructured interviews, with the first author acting as a participant-observer,
who informed the MPC members about the study, objectives, and the
information that follows the research. So, in addition to the first author as
a participant in the study, there are eleven other participants in this study,
and they consist of two panelists who act as facilitators in the different
language groups, and nine other members who volunteer to learn one or
more languages to a greater or lesser extent. The nine of them then
participate in subgroups of a total of ten different languages. Some of
them may participate in only one group, while others may then participate
in five or six groups. Information on how this community can help them
to improve their foreign language skills are collected, and also several
semi-structured interviews will be conducted to validate the data the
authors obtained from the observations. Thematic analysis, informed by
CoP perspectives, is employed to analyze the interview data.
After reading many papers on qualitative research during this
semester, I also find that classroom observation as well as interview
method is one of the most common research methods. However, when
using these methods, we also need to analyze the data systematically
based on the theoretical framework, just like the author of the paper.
2.4 Results and Conclusion
As for the findings, eight themes have emerged from the study:
social media empowerment, innovative language engagement activities,
learning support, personal learning freedom, intercultural sharing, sharing
online learning platforms, free language learning opportunities, and social
networking. The first is the empowering social media. The members
unanimously recognize the usefulness of social media for communication
in this community, where they could learn languages together by asking
questions, answering questions, recounting original learning experiences,
and sharing learning data. Secondly, there are innovative language
engagement activities in this community. Participants in the community
choose their own representative locations for language learning, and then
they are free to choose to learn more than one foreign language, so there
is a high degree of autonomy among the members. Thirdly, there is
learning support, since there are two of the participants act as moderators,
who can guide the discussion of each topic and provide opportunities for
other participants to practice the foreign language. The fourth one is that
the participants are free to choose their own strategies and styles of
learning foreign languages, and in the relaxed and enjoyable atmosphere
of the community, they are able to use it as a way to learn the language
and make new friends without the pressure of grades, assignments, and
exams. Fifthly, there is intercultural sharing, because when some of the
participants live abroad and return home, only to find that they do not
have a partner to practice the language they learned abroad. But in this
community, they can practice with participants from similar backgrounds,
and learn the language through cultural encounters. Sixth, participants
also share online learning platforms, including their learning resources
and information about online learning. Seventh, in this community they
learn the language for free compared to formal education. Finally, the
participants feel that in this community they have created a social
network, have been able to find people with the same language interests,
and have developed their social network while improving their language
skills. These themes highlight the various affordances that facilitate
multiple language learning opportunities within the MPC. The findings
suggest that the MPC provides a supportive environment for language
enthusiasts to practice and improve their language skills in a nonclassroom
setting,
promoting
both
linguistic
and
intercultural
competencies.
2.5 Discussion and Implication
Just as what we have mentioned in the overview part, the authors
demonstrated the discussion part according to Wenger’s CoP theory to see
whether the participants have successfully built a multilingual CoPs.
Based on the eight affordances and several activities they have found
during the research, the authors classified them into the three stages of
Wenger’s CoP theory. For instance, innovative activities belong to the
mutual engagement, which helps create a community as a place where
people who have the same language interest can gather together and
contribute to active interaction. And in joint enterprise, participants set up
as the mission they need to achieve in response to their situation through
practicing language in the multilingual context that enjoys the free
atmosphere for them to learn the language freely and easily.
And of course, this research also shed lights on the future researches
in the following aspects. For language teachers who are delighted to
establish a CoP in their environments, the findings show various
management strategies educators might consider to encourage the
enactment of CoP for language learners. Further, for potential members of
the community, other than culture and language learning, members could
also see opportunities for social networking. Also, future research should
address the agency and identity of those who are involved in the CoPsbased language learning activities in relation to the sustainability of that
community.
3. Critiques of the Research
To conclude, this research provides valuable insights into the
affordances of a multilingual practice community (MPC) in Indonesia.
The use of Wenger’s CoP theory as a framework is appropriate, as it
highlights the social processes involved in language learning within a
community.
The
ethnographic
approach,
combining
participant
observation and semi-structured interviews, allows for an in-depth
understanding of the community’s practices and the perceived benefits of
multilingual engagement.
One significant advantage of this methodology is its ability to
capture the dynamic and interactive nature of the MPC. By being a
participant-observer, the first author could gain a deeper understanding of
the community’s practices and the nuances of member interactions. The
thematic analysis also provides a comprehensive overview of the various
affordances that facilitate language learning within the MPC.
However, there are also some limitations to the study. The reliance
on self-reported data from interviews may introduce bias, as participants
might present their experiences in a more favorable light. Additionally,
the study’s focus on a single community in Indonesia may limit the
generalizability of the findings to other contexts. Therefore, future
research could benefit from a comparative analysis of multiple
multilingual communities across different cultural settings to provide a
broader perspective on the affordances of multilingual learning.
In terms of reliability and validity, the study employs robust data
collection and analysis methods. The use of participant observation and
semi-structured interviews allows for triangulation of data, enhancing the
credibility of the findings. And the thematic analysis, informed by CoP
perspectives, provides a systematic approach to identifying key themes
and patterns in the data.
Overall, the research contributes to the understanding of how
multilingual communities facilitate language learning through social and
interactive processes. It highlights the importance of informal learning
settings and the role of social media, intercultural exchange, and personal
learning freedom in promoting multilingualism. The findings have
practical implications for language enthusiasts and educators, suggesting
that the practices of the MPC can be adapted to enhance language
learning in other contexts.