ABSTRACT
Language socialisation goes beyond the mere acquisition of language, extending to the norms, values and practices that are embodied in the relevant communities. This chapter explains the nature of language socialisation, a process that is very much linked to social constructionist views of language and context. It discusses ways in which the academy and the workplace differ from one another as contexts for learning, with two studies chosen to illustrate these differences, showing how context can influence the shape of written products, and highlighting in particular the issues of aim and audience that relate to the respective settings. To understand the central role of the workplace in the acquisition of workplace genres, one has to look at theories of situated learning, a process in which knowledge is co-constructed in communities of practice by means of interactions between newcomers and more experienced practitioners. A point of pedagogical focus relates to the notion of community and its relationship with situated learning.
