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explore and observe some other factors which influence the learning
of a second language.
Introduction
Ethnography is the research method used in this study. In anthro
pology, ethnography is a method by which the researcher gains under
standing of the participants of the research by studying them within
the context of the community in which they live and interact. For
purposes of this work, I am using the definitions of Geertz (1973)
and Wolcott (1980).
Geertz sees ethnography as a process of interpreting the ecological
webs of significance in peoples' lives. From the textbook perspective,
Geertz (1973) sees doing ethnography as . establishing rapport,
selecting informants, transcribing texts, . keeping a diary ..."
(p. 5), but argues that while these activities may be methods used by
the ethnographer, they do not necessarily make an ethnography. The
primary characteristic which distinguishes ethnography from other re
search methods is the requirement that the researcher utilize the
participants' understanding in interpreting the results (Geertz, 1973).
The responsibility of the ethnographer is to impose a cultural
framework of interpretation on what he or she observes as occurring in
the culture. Wolcott (1980) believes, "we are fast losing sight of the
fact that the essential ethnographic contribution is interpretive rather
than methodological" (p. 57). He emphasizes that the difference between
doing descriptive fieldwork and doing ethnography is that ethnography
seeks to apply a cultural context and a cultural interpretation to an
observed event. Observational fieldwork does not.