Becoming English language teachers: A multiple case study of transnational native English-speaking teachers’ identities construction

Abstract

Language teacher development has been regarded as central to ensuring the quality of learning experience of many students around the world. In recent years, an increasing number of native English speaking teachers have been recruited in English as a foreign language setting. Although students’ perception of these teachers have been widely investigated during the past decade, their understanding of themselves as English teachers and in what ways those understandings are enacted in their instructional practices in class remains understudied in the field of TESOL. Grounded in poststructuralist views of identities, this study explores construction of native English speaking teachers’ identities in mainland China. A qualitative multiple case study approach is employed and four participating teachers from three universities are recruited. Data sources include questionnaires, three rounds of in-depth interviews, weekly non-participant classroom observation and post observation interviews over a period of five months. Analysis of the data employs the constant-comparative method and draws upon a combination of Wenger’s (1998) theory of identity formation, Bucholtz and Hall’s (2005) identity in linguistic interaction, and Richards’ (2006) classroom discourse analysis approach as a complementary analytic lens for analyzing participant’s identities from both narrated and enacted perspectives. Findings reveal teacher identities construction is a complex, dynamic process which involves complex interaction between a myriad of cognitive, affective, contextual and experiential factors. Participants have developed diverse and multi-dimensional understandings of themselves as English teachers in China both within and beyond individual levels. The formation and transformation of these understandings are traced from their biographical and socio-cultural backgrounds as well as educational and professional experiences before entering English teaching, through to their interactions as English language teachers with students and other members in local institutional, wider professional and broader sociocultural contexts. Results highlight the effects of personal and interpersonal factors on participating teachers’ ongoing identities construction and their adaptation and resistance to challenges and concerns during developing their identities as English teachers in China. Implications of the findings suggest the importance of institutions building a professional community in support of native English speaking teachers’ retention and professional growth in EFL contexts, as well as highlighting the demand for an increased focus on creating teacher-centered language teacher education programs that incorporate teacher identities development as an explicit topic in the curriculum. Limitation of the study and suggestions for further research are explored to help deepen understanding of identities development of English teachers around the globe.