The construction of practice and identity in primary English language teaching in Vietnam

Abstract

Teacher identity has become an emergent theme in language teaching research. Research studies on language teacher identity have focused on teachers in secondary and tertiary education. Language teachers at primary schools have not been at the centre of research attention. To fill the gap, this study explores the construction of practice and identity in primary school English language teaching in Vietnam. The study drew on the theories of teacher identity in both general education and language teaching. The conceptual framework for inquiring into teachers’ construction of identity and practice was developed mainly from a social theory of learning (Wenger, 1998). The study used a combination of case study and narrative inquiry. The participants in the multiple cases are six teachers of English language working in six different primary schools in Vietnam. Data for the study were collected from interviews, classroom observations and reflective journals. The underlying principle of induction, especially cross-case analysis, was employed for data analysis in this study. The participating teachers’ identities and practices have been constructed from a variety of sociocultural factors such as family background, learning culture and social concepts of education, especially their own learning experience. Entering their teaching career, all of them built both theory and practice of teaching young learners by learning from their colleagues in primary schools. However, the six teachers’ participation in the primary school as a ‘community of practice’ included not only peace, happiness and harmony but also tensions, disagreement and conflicts. Therefore, each teacher sought other communities beyond the school community for learning to teach, such as a separate group of primary English language teachers, their family, higher level TESOL groups and the imagined community of Vietnamese and expatriate teachers. In this sense, their practices and identities have been constructed from multi-memberships in multi-communities. The participants’ construction of practice and identity faced pressures and disagreements. More challenging, though, was their navigation of professional legitimacy in both the school community and the wider society. They were particularly engaged with tensions and conflicts in the classroom and the school community. Understanding the educational reality in Vietnam and drawing on their own learning experience, they contended that their practice should be built on communication-oriented teaching. However, the implementation of this pedagogy has been hindered by various constraints including inadequate facilities, prevalent discourses in mainstream education, textbooks used in state schools and the expectations of pupils’ parents. Determined to transform their practice, they did not consider the constraints insurmountable but, rather, as an impetus for reform. Accordingly, their construction of practice and identity was marked by negotiations and reconciliations between the reality of mainstream education and their desired pedagogies. Beyond the educational community, they navigated other tensions in the wider society such as poor living conditions, the widespread “disease of private tutoring” and the conflicts between Vietnamese and Western cultures. Transcending all the obstacles, the participants successfully devised a system of specific practices for primary English language teaching embracing four constituents: artistic and entertaining activities integrated into language learning, English language use, meaningful contexts and social practice within and beyond the classroom. Their identities are reflected in these metaphors: artists, mothers, trial judges, intercultural promoters and democrats.