Affiliation:
1. Department of English Language and Literature, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences Golestan University Gorgan Iran
2. Department of Foreign Languages Iran University of Science and Technology Tehran Iran
3. Department of English and Communication The Hong Kong Polytechnic University Hong Kong Hong Kong
Abstract
AbstractLanguage teachers deal with different groups of learners as a natural aspect of their professional careers. However, little is known about how teachers construct their identities in response to various learner groups. This study relies on the concept of identities‐in‐practice and explores how six English‐L2 teachers construct their identities across beginner and advanced levels of teaching. Data were collected from semi‐structured interviews, stimulated recalls, and classroom observations to examine teacher identities across the two practice levels. Data analyses revealed similarities and differences in teacher identities across the two levels, which involved three components: agentic variations, discursive realisations, and extended identities. These findings provide novel implications for understanding language teacher identity construction across different learner groups. The study also provides implications for teachers and teacher educators to pay focal attention to the role identity plays in teachers’ work across different practice levels.
Subject
Linguistics and Language,Language and Linguistics