Jo Anne Kleifgen is Professor Emeritus of Linguistics and Education, Teachers College, Columbia University, USA. Her publications include Educating Emergent Bilinguals: Policies, Programs, and Practices for English Language Learners (with Ofelia García; Teachers College Press, 2010) and Languages of Africa and the Diaspora: Educating for Language Awareness (with George C. Bond; Multilingual Matters, 2009).

• Acknowledgments1. Introduction: Theorizing Communicative Practices at Work2. Genesis, Inc. and Its People3. Multimodal Interaction on the Assembly Floor4. Doing Social Work: Power Relations in Interaction5. Globalizing Forces and Quality Control Certification6. Learning-in-Practice7. Conclusion: Towards a Comprehensive Understanding of Communicative Practices at Work

This book offers a view of the exquisite complexity of the linguistic and interactional activities that create the mundane world of everyday work. Kleifgen crafts her analysis of multilingualism and multimodality in a high-tech workplace with the same care, precision and creativity as her subjects craft their circuit boards. It will stand as a landmark study for the fields of language in the workplace, workplace ethnography, and informal learning.

Jo Anne Kleifgen is Professor Emeritus of Linguistics and Education, Teachers College, Columbia University, USA. Her publications include Educating Emergent Bilinguals: Policies, Programs, and Practices for English Language Learners (with Ofelia García; Teachers College Press, 2010) and Languages of Africa and the Diaspora: Educating for Language Awareness (with George C. Bond; Multilingual Matters, 2009).

• Acknowledgments1. Introduction: Theorizing Communicative Practices at Work2. Genesis, Inc. and Its People3. Multimodal Interaction on the Assembly Floor4. Doing Social Work: Power Relations in Interaction5. Globalizing Forces and Quality Control Certification6. Learning-in-Practice7. Conclusion: Towards a Comprehensive Understanding of Communicative Practices at Work

This book offers a view of the exquisite complexity of the linguistic and interactional activities that create the mundane world of everyday work. Kleifgen crafts her analysis of multilingualism and multimodality in a high-tech workplace with the same care, precision and creativity as her subjects craft their circuit boards. It will stand as a landmark study for the fields of language in the workplace, workplace ethnography, and informal learning.

Jo Anne Kleifgen is Professor Emeritus of Linguistics and Education, Teachers College, Columbia University, USA. Her publications include Educating Emergent Bilinguals: Policies, Programs, and Practices for English Language Learners (with Ofelia García; Teachers College Press, 2010) and Languages of Africa and the Diaspora: Educating for Language Awareness (with George C. Bond; Multilingual Matters, 2009).

• Acknowledgments1. Introduction: Theorizing Communicative Practices at Work2. Genesis, Inc. and Its People3. Multimodal Interaction on the Assembly Floor4. Doing Social Work: Power Relations in Interaction5. Globalizing Forces and Quality Control Certification6. Learning-in-Practice7. Conclusion: Towards a Comprehensive Understanding of Communicative Practices at Work

This book offers a view of the exquisite complexity of the linguistic and interactional activities that create the mundane world of everyday work. Kleifgen crafts her analysis of multilingualism and multimodality in a high-tech workplace with the same care, precision and creativity as her subjects craft their circuit boards. It will stand as a landmark study for the fields of language in the workplace, workplace ethnography, and informal learning.