Making sense of emotions in NNESTs’ professional identities and agency

Abstract

This chapter argues that the emotions felt and experienced by teachers impact how they conceptualize their teaching and the very essence of their pedagogical practices. It describes that in order to effectively prepare non-native English-speaking teachers (NNESTs) in TESOL, teacher educators should understand how various emotions experienced by NNESTs impact their professional identities and their teaching. NNESTs comprise a very diverse group of individuals encompassing many types of professional training, expertise, experiences, and contexts; as well as languages spoken, language ability, professional self-esteem and confidence. An important distinction is made between a word's meaning and sense in sociocultural theory. The main implications for pre- and in-service teacher preparation and development arising from the above discussion involve the inclusion of NNEST-related topics, ongoing support, and pedagogical experiences relevant to the needs of NNESTs. Regulation of one's affective states is thus more likely to occur if NNESTs can learn about and experience such type of regulation collectively.