Netnography (Kozinets, 2010) is an ethnographic approach to study communities that exist primarily online. Engaging in online participant observation, the netnographer connects to the online community through a computer screen, and the field is located inside the screen. Although it has been used in marketing research extensively, netnography is a relatively new methodology in educational research. In this paper, I give an overview of netnography and its applicability in studying online language teaching communities. Drawing upon a netnography of a globally-distributed online community of practice of English language teachers, Webheads in Action, I provide detailed accounts of my experiences during data collection and particular methodological considerations in netnography in order to shed light on the often untold aspects of an ethnographic design in online research that involves participant observation. I conclude with a discussion of possible benefits of a participant observer approach in netnography in understanding the culture of online language teaching communities, and invite CALL researchers to consider netnography and online participant observation in their future studies.