Seeing teacher identity through teachers’ beliefs: Narratives of pre-service EFL teachers in China

Abstract

In the field of foreign and second language (L2) teacher education, existing literature has emphasized the importance of examining language teacher identity in uncovering how L2 teachers grow professionally. However, there have been relatively few investigations into emerging pre-service L2 teachers’ language teacher identity at an early stage of professional development. Focusing on a group of pre-service teachers of English as a foreign language (EFL) in China who were in their first semester of study in English teacher education, the present research was set out to explore these emerging pre-service teachers’ beliefs and how their beliefs connected to teacher identities. Analyses of participants’ survey narratives showed that pre-service EFL teachers highlighted three significant aspects of their English language teacher identities, which were English teachers as ‘instructors’, as ‘individuals’, and as ‘English experts’. Results of three focal pre-service EFL teachers’ interviews provided further evidence to demonstrate how teachers’ beliefs linked to teacher identities. The significance of these findings and directions for future research were discussed. This study concluded with suggestions for supporting emerging pre-service L2 teachers’ professional growth in language teacher education.