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The text defines CoPs using key features, including participant-driven creation, shared domains and goals, member-set agendas, task collaboration, and apprentice-like mentoring that evolves as members gain expertise. It then illustrates implementation through a large multinational CoP in the Lower Mekong region and two Cambodia-based local CoPs, detailing project activities, support structures, and outreach outcomes.",{"@graph":69,"@context":122},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":40,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/establishing-and-sustaining-a-community-of-practice/598278/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/establishing-and-sustaining-a-community-of-practice/598278.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Mafia Boss","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-30","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":34},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"What is a community of practice (CoP) and how is it defined in the text?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"A CoP is described as a group that shares a concern or passion and learns to do it better through regular interaction. The article lists defining features such as participant-driven creation and shared domains, goals, and interests.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"What guidelines does the article give for establishing and sustaining a CoP for teacher professional development?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"The text emphasizes CoPs created for participants by participants, with agendas set by members, collaboration on tasks, and apprentice-like mentoring. It also highlights supportive environments that help members reflect and request assistance.",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"How does the article illustrate a CoP model in practice using the Lower Mekong example and local Cambodia CoPs?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"It describes a large-scale multinational CoP linked to the PCSL project, where mentors supported cohorts of local teachers and members engaged in action research, conferences, and workshops. It also explains two Cambodia outgrowths: one hosted in Phnom Penh and another formed in Siem Reap, supported by locally situated EL Fellows.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":124,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":126,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":128,"site_id":62},598278,1792191334,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":131},{"doc_id":128,"user_id":132,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":39,"category_name":40,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":34,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":139,"language":140,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":141,"faqs":142,"seo_title":143,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":144,"read_time":145,"preview_page_count":4},962090760730,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_9964176cb1d06d4a9deccf72a44ae3dc","Establishing and Sustaining a Community of Practice  \nCommunities of practice have taken a firm foothold in the second language teaching profession due to their promise of enabling participants to self determine their professional development needs and, through peer mentoring, achieve their goals. This article provides a rationale as to why the model is particularly well suited to teacher professional development along with guidelines for establishing and sustaining the community. This process is illustrated via several examples: (1) a large-scale, multinational community of practice established in the Lower Mekong region of Southeast Asia and funded by the U.S. Department of State’s Office of English Language Programs and  \n(2) two teacher-created local outgrowths ofthis community established in Siem Reap and Phnom Penh, Cambodia.  \nCommunities of practice enjoy great popularity today in a wide range of fields. However, they have taken a particularly firm foothold in our profession of English language teaching—largely due to their inherent flexibility and their promise of helping participants, through expert-novice interactions, determine and achieve their professional development (PD) goals. This article provides guidelines for establishing and sustaining a community of practice (CoP) with the immediate goal of teacher professionalization. This process is illustrated via several examples: (1) a large-scale, multinational CoP established in the Lower Mekong region of Southeast Asia and (2) two teacher-created local outgrowths of this CoP in Siem Reap and Phnom Penh, Cambodia.  \nDefining Communities of Practice  \nWhat, exactly, constitutes a CoP? Broadly defined, it is a “group of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do, and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly” (Wenger-Trayner & Wenger-Trayner, 2015, p. 1) . To better understand the term, let us look at the defining features of a CoP (cf. Haneda, 2006; Tavakoli, 2015; Wenger, McDermott & Snyder, 2002a):  \n1. CoPs are created for participants by participants.  \n2. They take place outside of an established classroom, with little or no explicit teaching involved.  \n3. CoP members constitute a defined community; members share a specific domain of knowledge along with common goals and interests.  \n4. The group’s agenda is set by the members themselves and must be agreed upon by all.  \n5. Members collaborate on tasks, taking on responsibilities as befit their expertise and abilities.  \n6. Under apprentice-like conditions, less experienced members benefit from guidance provided by more experienced group members.  \n7. Over time, as less experienced members gain expertise, they take on the role of expert and in turn begin mentoring the group’s incoming members.  \nMembership in a CoP offers distinct advantages over other forms of PD. For one, as noted by Haneda (2006), learners benefit from the group negotiations of meaning that occur as an outgrowth of discussions on achieving the community’s goals. A second advantage includes the fact that meetings can convene either faceto-face or online, thus allowing a wider range of membership across regions or even national boundaries. Finally, the CoP’s supportive environment encourages members to honestly reflect on their own strengthsand weaknesses, enabling them to more readily request and accept assistance from experienced mentees in the group.  \nA Large-Scale Multinational CoP  \nThe Professional Communication Skills for Leaders (PCSL) project was a 5-year endeavor that took place in the Lower Mekong countries of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam from 2012-2017. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Office of English Language Programs, the project’s overarching goal was to increase mid- to upper-level ministry officials’ use of professional English for participation in regional partnerships, meetings, and conferences. English Language (EL) Fellows and Specialists worked in conjunction","cbCaitra35CsiZiA","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaitra35CsiZiA","pdf",366091,11,"English","# Establishing and Sustaining a Community of Practice\n## Defining Communities of Practice\n## Membership Advantages for Professional Development\n## A Large-Scale Multinational CoP\n## Local CoPs in Cambodia\n## The Institute of Foreign Languages CoP","[{\"question\":\"What is a community of practice (CoP) and how is it defined in the text?\",\"answer\":\"A CoP is described as a group that shares a concern or passion and learns to do it better through regular interaction. The article lists defining features such as participant-driven creation and shared domains, goals, and interests.\"},{\"question\":\"What guidelines does the article give for establishing and sustaining a CoP for teacher professional development?\",\"answer\":\"The text emphasizes CoPs created for participants by participants, with agendas set by members, collaboration on tasks, and apprentice-like mentoring. It also highlights supportive environments that help members reflect and request assistance.\"},{\"question\":\"How does the article illustrate a CoP model in practice using the Lower Mekong example and local Cambodia CoPs?\",\"answer\":\"It describes a large-scale multinational CoP linked to the PCSL project, where mentors supported cohorts of local teachers and members engaged in action research, conferences, and workshops. It also explains two Cambodia outgrowths: one hosted in Phnom Penh and another formed in Siem Reap, supported by locally situated EL Fellows.\"}]","Establishing and Sustaining a Community of Practice | PDF",1792086629,28]