Researching Identity in Language Teachers – Current Challenges and Implications

Jennifer Ngan Bacquet

doi:10.7575/aiac.ijels.v.9n.4p.174

Researching Identity in Language Teachers – Current Challenges and Implications

International Journal of Education and Literacy Studies ◽

10.7575/aiac.ijels.v.9n.4p.174 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 (4) ◽

pp. 174

Author(s):

Jennifer Ngan Bacquet

Keyword(s):

Cultural Identity ◽

Teacher Identity ◽

Cultural Landscape ◽

Language Teachers ◽

Online Classroom ◽

Language Teacher ◽

Student Centered ◽

Pedagogical Choices ◽

Pedagogical Research ◽

Language Teacher Identity

Language teacher identity has been at the forefront of pedagogical research in recent years; this has become particularly important due to the demographic changes seen throughout the world since 2015; since then, there have been significant changes in the cultural landscape of schools in general and language teaching in particular, which presents unique challenges for teachers in their process of identity construction. This study aims to explore the transformative nature of language teacher identity in two settings: teaching in online classrooms in one’s home country, and teaching in online classroom abroad. The research will explore how cultural identity shapes an educators’ relationship with students, how one’s own cultural identity influences methodological and pedagogical choices, how these can improve literacy in the young adult classroom, as well touching upon the relevance of cultural identity is in a developing teacher. The findings revealed a general consensus on the need to gear pedagogigcal practices towards a student-centered approach; they further showed a general split in how teachers view the role that cultural identity plays in the classroom: while some felt that local cultures hindered their approach to teaching, others felt it helped build rapport and understanding between teachers and learners.

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Language teacher identity

Language Teaching ◽

10.1017/s0261444819000223 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 52 (3) ◽

pp. 281-295 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Hayriye Kayi-Aydar

Keyword(s):

Foreign Language ◽

Teacher Development ◽

Teacher Identity ◽

Classroom Practices ◽

Foreign Language Teaching ◽

Language Teachers ◽

Foreign Language Teachers ◽

Language Teacher ◽

Pedagogical Choices ◽

Language Teacher Identity

The topic of language teacher identity receives strong attention in current scholarly literature. Understanding the complexities of identities that second/foreign language teachers construct is crucial because the ways teachers perceive themselves as professionals impact teacher development (e.g., Kanno & Stuart, 2011*), interactions with peers and colleagues (e.g., Kayi-Aydar, 2015*), pedagogical choices or classroom practices (e.g., Duff & Uchida, 1997*), and access to power and ownership of language (De Costa & Norton, 2017*; Varghese et al., 2016*), ultimately undergirding or undermining second/foreign language teaching (Varghese et al., 2016*).

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Language teacher identity construction: Insights from non-native Chinese-speaking teachers in a Danish higher educational context

Global Chinese ◽

10.1515/glochi-2018-0013 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 4 (2) ◽

pp. 271-291 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Chun Zhang ◽

Ying Zhang

Keyword(s):

Foreign Language ◽

Identity Construction ◽

Teacher Identity ◽

Native Speaker ◽

Language Teachers ◽

Working Environment ◽

Educational Context ◽

Language Teacher ◽

Higher Educational ◽

Language Teacher Identity

Abstract This qualitative study concerns foreign language teacher identity construction, where the focal participants are four non-native Chinese-speaking teachers (NNCSTs) working in a higher educational context in Denmark. The study aims to go beyond the current prevailing research on native speaking (NS) teachers by making NNCSTs’ challenges and contributions visible and meaningful. It attempts to raise awareness of NNCSTs’ voices and seek better understanding of their identities as foreign language teachers. Data are gathered from in-depth questionnaires, audio-recorded interviews, classroom observations and field notes over a period of four years. Participants’ perceptions of native Chinese-speaking teachers’ (NCSTs) pedagogical practices and their critical reflections on personal and professional traits as effective language teachers are examined. The roles of non-nativeness in a non-Chinese working environment are also explored. The study concludes that being a NNCST does not create barriers in a local Danish context. Rather, non-native speaker status has positive advantages over teacher-student relationships and interactions. NNSCTs’ beneficial personality traits, comparatively high sensitivity to linguistic and cultural differences, empathetic understanding of students’ learning trajectory, along with their constant and conscious development of locally appropriate practices, altogether enhance the process of professional identity construction.

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Queer English Language Teacher Identity: A Narrative Exploration in Colombia

PROFILE Issues in Teachers Professional Development ◽

10.15446/profile.v20n1.63658 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 20 (1) ◽

pp. 89-101

Author(s):

Roderick Lander

Keyword(s):

Thematic Analysis ◽

Teacher Identity ◽

English Language ◽

Language Teachers ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Queer Identity ◽

Language Teacher ◽

Gay Male ◽

English Language Teachers ◽

Language Teacher Identity

This article presents partial results of research exploring links between language teacher identity and queer identity in English language teachers working in Colombia. Three gay male teachers participated in a narrative research project framed within a poststructural perspective on identity. I conducted and recorded semi-structured interviews with the participants and then carried out a thematic analysis of these interviews which led to the emergence of three main themes. Here, I present the most prevalent theme, that of being a gay language teacher in the Colombian context which reveals that the participants all live their queer identity alongside their language teacher identity with ease although they do recount instances of homophobia which have impacted their day-to-day lives and their careers.

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Neither Fish nor Fowl: the Contested Identity of Teachers of English in an EFL Context

RELC Journal ◽

10.1177/0033688219847315 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 51 (3) ◽

pp. 347-363

Author(s):

Malba Barahona ◽

Ximena Ibaceta-Quijanes

Keyword(s):

Professional Learning ◽

Teacher Identity ◽

English Language ◽

Teacher Satisfaction ◽

Language Teachers ◽

Significant Implication ◽

Online Questionnaire ◽

Language Teacher ◽

Pedagogical Strategies ◽

Language Teacher Identity

The literature on language teacher identity describes teacher identity as dynamic, shaped through professional and personal experiences and mediated by peer interaction, the effects of pedagogical strategies and professional discourses (Barkhuizen, 2017). This article reports on key findings from a study that investigated the perceptions of Chilean teachers of English about their work and their identity as language teachers. Data were collected through an online questionnaire with 716 respondents from teachers of English across Chile. The questionnaire included specific questions on teachers’ motivation, the nature of effective teaching practices, types of professional development and factors that contribute to their professional learning. The analysis of two critical open-ended questions related to levels of teacher satisfaction and valorization revealed that although teachers feel generally satisfied with their jobs, at the same time they feel essentially undervalued and somewhat illegitimate. Factors such as standards frameworks which compel teachers to validate their knowledge of the language, constraints in relation to working conditions and modest salary levels directly contributed to the perceptions of satisfaction and valorization. A significant implication of this study is the need for a more complex understanding of the motivations that drive the development of English language teacher identity.

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LANGUAGE TEACHER POSITIONING IN A TEACHER PROMOTION EXAMINATION: A SMALL STORY APPROACH

Neofilolog ◽

10.14746/n.2020.54.1.8 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 133-153

Author(s):

Dorota Werbińska

Keyword(s):

Professional Practice ◽

Teacher Identity ◽

Teaching Profession ◽

Positioning Theory ◽

Language Teachers ◽

Language Teacher ◽

Professional Assessment ◽

Teacher Professional ◽

Language Teacher Identity ◽

Teacher Positioning

Although there is an increasing body of research on diverse aspects of language teachers’ professional practice there are still contexts that remain hardly explored. One such context is the oral examination situation encountered by experienced language teachers in Poland who aspire to be promoted in the ranks of the teaching profession. Drawing on positioning theory as a methodological tool to analyse the experience of one English teacher’s promotion examination situation, I will attempt to find out what aspects of teacher identity emerge from the small stories employed in the examination situation, as well as what lessons can be learnt from a study about teacher positioning (both self-positioning and being positioned) in the professional assessment context. Although the study is set in the Polish context, it may contribute to the knowledge on language teacher identity (re)construction in general through its focus on one area of language teacher professional practice – taking a teacher promotion examination.

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A teacher-in-context

Apples - Journal of Applied Language Studies ◽

10.17011/apples/urn.201708233541 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 11 (2) ◽

pp. 103-123 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Dorota Werbińska

Keyword(s):

Professional Practice ◽

Teacher Identity ◽

Teaching Profession ◽

Language Teachers ◽

Teacher Talk ◽

Language Teacher ◽

Interpretative Repertoires ◽

Making A Difference ◽

Language Teacher Identity ◽

Self Presentations

Although there is an increasing body of research on the formation/re-formation of language teacher identity, there are still contexts within the professional practice of language teachers that remain relatively unexplored. One such context is the oral examination situation undergone by language teachers in Poland as part of the procedure for professional promotion. During this examination, teachers are expected to present their work, taking the prescribed ministerial regulations as their reference point. As access to teacher identity can be obtained through teacher talk about themselves, the presentations can be treated as teacher-made identity texts. Drawing on the 3A (affiliation, attachment, autonomy) Language Teacher Identity Framework (3ALTIF), this qualitative study focuses on the narratives of 15 examinees, all of whom are in-service English teachers, with a view to discovering: (a) what interpretative repertoires the participants employ with regard to conceptualizations of the language teaching profession (affiliation) which, in turn, determine (b) how they conceptualize themselves as language teacher practitioners with regard to their repertoires (attachment), and (c) how they express their agency through canonical self-presentations and responses to examiners’ questions within the framework of their repertoires (autonomy). Based on the analysis of the study, five interpretative repertoires were identified: the examination-orientation repertoire, the self-positioning repertoire, the care-for-others repertoire, the change repertoire, and the making-a-difference repertoire. The obtained repertoires can be ‘read’ as the participants’ self-evaluations with regard to their perceived teacher roles and the ability to express themselves.

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