Examining Language Teacher Identity and Intersectionality Across Instructional Contexts Through the Experience of Perezhivanie

Abstract

AbstractThis article reports on an ethnographic case study of the professional identity development of Mark—an English language teacher who identified as cisgender, gay, Catholic, white, and not wealthy. Using the lenses of intersectionality (e.g., Crenshaw, 1989, 1991) and perezhivanie (Vygotsky, 1999)—“the emotional and visceral impact of lived experiences” (van de Veer & Valsiner, 1994, p. 339)—we examined the multiplicity of identities (e.g., Norton, 2017) in Mark's experiences across contexts in China and the USA. Ethnographic data included interviews, fieldnotes, classroom audio‐recordings, and other supportive data. The findings demonstrate the central mediating role of perezhivanie in allowing him to safely re‐envision identities in a given context based on prior experiences and knowledge. Mark's dynamic movement of in and out of his multiplicity of identities across contexts produced distinct perezhivanie experiences that informed the development of his identities and pedagogies within and beyond those contexts. Methodologically, our approach was enhanced by the use of photo‐elicited interviewing. This methodology allowed Mark to tap into his multiple identities, including those that were assigned to him by the local context or by a broader policy context and those that he felt comfortable to take up. We conclude with implications for research and practice that examines language teacher identities and intersectionality through perezhivanie experiences in the past and explores the relationship among them and places them in conversation with present identities and experiences.