English Language Teaching Professionals Research Articles

Translingualism and the formation of identities: A duoethnography of two Korean ELT professionals in higher education

English teacher identity research has been often discussed through the lens of native versus nonnative-English-speaking teachers, against which translanguaging is suggested as a counternarrative approach. Utilizing the theoretical and methodological intersection of translingualism and duoethnography, this study illustrates the identity formation of two Korean researchers who seek translingualism. The selected dialogues regarding English language teaching (ELT) issues demonstrate how the authors’ translanguaging instinct and mindset are realized in the context of researching, teaching, using, and probing translinguistic identity. The discussion portrays their realization of identities shuttling between “translinguist” and “translanguager” in individual and collective spaces. The study suggests pedagogical implications for language teachers, teacher educators, and researchers, as well as methodological implications for those considering using duoethnography for exploring translinguistic identity. The study contributes to an emerging discussion on what it means to transform ELT in higher education by acknowledging the translinguistic identity among English language learners, teachers, teacher educators, and researchers.

Breadth or depth: The perceptions of Turkish ELT academics in terms of academic specialization: A qualitative analysis of challenges and affordances

The constant accumulation of knowledge forces academics to branch out into further sub-domains within a specific scientific area, requiring more specialization. The same is true for English Language Teaching (ELT) departments, especially in Türkiye, since some twenty years ago ELT academics were expected to know all about the process of language teaching ranging from testing to methodology. Türkiye has experienced an explosion of universities with the ‘one university in each province’ initiative. This brought about a huge number of universities and newly-opened ELT departments. Another factor that triggered the present study is the increasing competence of ELT professionals in Türkiye which is reflected in the increasing number of publications in internationally acclaimed platforms including journals or edited books. This expansion calls for an examination of how ELT professionals view specialization. Therefore, in the present study, I report on the eleven semi-structured interviews conducted with ELT professionals with varying degrees of experience in Türkiye on the topic of specialization. The ELT professionals in the study listed publication / academic output, thesis supervision, and practical application as merits of specialization. The ELT professionals stated that collaboration should be increased, and a meticulous needs analysis and planning process should be conducted to ensure specialization. Finally, the ELT professionals stated that we need experts in testing and evaluation as well as language teaching methodology.

Let's Hear it from Them: An Interview‐Based Exploration of Male Teachers' Perceptions of Gender Imbalance in the English Language Teaching Profession

AbstractThe presence of gender disparities, marked by a shortage of male teachers, has been a longstanding concern within the TESOL profession. Drawing on the concept of human flourishing, which advocates for equality and respect beyond gender and social standing, this research seeks to challenge gender stereotyping in foreign language teaching. Guided by personal observations and the stories of three male English language teachers, this article seeks to answer how male ESL/EFL1 teachers perceive gender playing out in their careers. By examining their perezhivaniya, or lived experiences, the study contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of the gender dynamics within TESOL, filling a critical gap in the existing literature and offering new insights into the subjective emotional experiences shaping the professional lives of male teachers in this field. The research demonstrates how the feminization of the ELT environment affects their sense of self‐worth and fulfillment and ultimately their commitment to stay in the profession.

‘The least stable form of employment’: the professional (in)security of English Language Teaching

ABSTRACT The field of English Language Teaching (ELT) increasingly requires advanced qualifications. While learners benefit from instruction of trained pedagogues, many professionals are nevertheless forced to accept employment incommensurate to their qualifications. Indeed, recent graduates may discover that they are unable to engage in the field for which they have prepared. This insecurity places ELT professionals into the precariat, a socioeconomic classification that includes individuals who possess vocational qualifications yet lack a secure professional identity and must accept status and income below their qualifications. Reporting on the experiences of professionals who recently completed an ELT preparation program, this article seeks to understand why some individuals remain in the field while others leave; it connects these experiences to qualities of the precariat. The article provides insight into how the prospect of professional precarity undermines the attractiveness of ELT as a profession.

Research on “native” and “non-native” English-speaking teachers: Past developments, current status, and future directions

AbstractRecently, we have been witnessing the emergence of scholarly interest and professional advocacy efforts centering on systemic, intersectional, fluid, and contextualized inequalities and dynamic hierarchies constructed by essentialized and idealized (non)native speakerhood (speakerism/speakering) and its personal and professional implications for English language teaching (ELT) profession(als). This critical literature review aims to portray, examine, and guide the existing scholarship focusing on a myriad of issues related to ELT professionals traditionally conceptualized as “native” and “non-native” English-speaking teachers. We come to a working conclusion that (non)native speaker/teacherhood is an epistemologically hegemonic, historically colonial, contextually enacted (perceived and/or ascribed), and dynamically experienced socio-professional phenomenon intersecting with other categories of identity (e.g., race, ethnicity, country of origin, gender, religion, sexuality/sexual orientation, social class, schooling, passport/visa status, and physical appearance, among others) in making a priori connections and assertions about individuals as language users and teachers and thereby forming discourses and practices of (in)equity, privilege, marginalization, and discrimination in ELT.

Mapping English Language Teacher-Researchers’ Collaboration and Networking Practices Throughout Their Professional Paths

This article reports the findings of a multiple case study that identifies and describes the collaboration and networking practices of four Mexican English language teaching professionals belonging to two MA cohorts: 2005–2007 and 2007–2009. For two years, curriculum vitae analysis, maps, and in-depth interviews were used to collect data on these professionals’ paths. Three dimensions were examined: teaching, organization, and research, as well as levels of involvement in these professional activities, which construct and shape participants’ collaboration and networking practices. The findings revealed that each teacher-researcher’s agency was directly related to their capitalization of diverse strategies in each dimension and how this, in turn, configured their engagement in the English language teaching community or other communities.

ELT profession in the post native-speakerism era

ABSTRACT For a long time, the English language teaching (ELT) profession in Asia has been regarded as a dichotomous composition of so-called ‘native English speaker’ (NES) teachers and ‘non-native English speaker’ (NNES) local teachers. This dichotomy serves as a benchmark against discussing various problems in the discipline ranging from learners’ proficiency to hiring practices of teachers. In this article, I will present a diachronic account of how the ideas of ELT have changed over the years, with special attention to the status of NES–NNES dichotomy, and consequently how the changes have contributed to the formation of the disciplinary discourse at different times. I will then critically analyze how the notion of native speakers has been represented in the literature in applied linguistics to identify the key issues on native-speakerism in ELT and make a proposal for optimizing the profession by calling for a departure from the NES versus NNES dichotomy.

Identity as a source of agency for transformative english language teachers

Objective: This study aims to analyze two teacher-researchers’ stories about their socially enacted identities as a source of agency for transformation to revindicate what language teachers have to say and do about themselves and to position them as valid interlocutors of the educational system. Method: We used the narrative inquiry approach to analyze the participants’ small stories. The study attempted to answer the following research question: What reflexive and transformative perspectives do language teachers use to tell their story as English language teaching professionals? The data corresponded to two participants’ meaningful life stories that involved their personal, professional, and academic profiles. Those stories were collected through narrative interviews. Results: The analysis was encapsulated in the category titled Transformative Teachers’ Storied Agency Being Affected by Neoliberal Dynamics. It is defined through two emerging subcategories—Asymmetric Social Relations: Educational Equality through Teacher-Researchers’ Storied Agency Despite the Neoliberalism Hierarchy and Teacher-Researchers’ Decisions and Actions for Tackling the Univalence and Ambivalence of the English Language Teaching Curriculum. Discussion and Conclusion: We account for the participants’ transformative teacher-researcher identity as a site of agency in the frame of macro policies with a neoliberal influencing force. Our definition of the categories reflects one of the lessons we learned after our small story analysis: the concept of storied agency.

Intercultural Awareness in English Language Teaching: Theories and Some Implications in the Vietnamese Classroom

This paper reviews the body of research on intercultural awareness and its growing importance in the English language teaching profession. Rooted in the well-established concept of cultural awareness in language teaching, intercultural awareness represents a more embracing view of culture that captures its emergent and dynamic nature in the relationship with language. The types of knowledge, skills and attitudes of intercultural awareness are briefly presented with general suggestions and guidelines for application in the English language classroom. Finally, these theoretical developments are discussed with reflections and implications in the Vietnamese context.

Teaching Intercultural Communication in an English as a Lingua Franca Context

Developing learners’ intercultural communicative competence is considered to be one of the responsibilities of English language teaching professionals. This responsibility has become ever more challenging in today's globalized world, in which most intercultural communication occurs in English as a lingua franca (ELF) contexts, where a target culture often does not exist. To address this challenge, the current paper showcases an innovation that utilized practitioner-produced materials to teach intercultural communication in ELF settings as part of a General English course at a Taiwanese university. The project sought to achieve the dual purpose of raising the learners’ intercultural and ELF awareness by engaging them in a sequence of activities that involved experienced ELF users from various countries, from video-viewing and online forum discussions to face-to-face interactions. The effectiveness of the innovation was evaluated through questionnaires and participants’ written reflections on the activities, which indicated that the project was generally successful in both cultural and language attitude domains.

Pluralism of Identities and Major Preferences of Freshwomen and Sophomore ELT Students

This paper discusses the diversity of identities possessed by English Language Teaching (ELT) students, as prospective English language professionals, both in terms of their socio-cultural and linguistic pluralism. In addition, the complexity of the problem of determining majors that are still often encountered in the field will also be part of the discussion in this paper. By using the narrative study method, data were collected by analyzing the results of reflections carried out by the research subjects on how they view themselves as individuals and also members of diverse communities, their experiences before starting their study period as students of English education, what strategies they overcome difficulties during their study, especially since the pandemic until at the present time. Subject selection is done by purposive sampling method. This paper is expected to provide a useful reference for students and lecturers in analyzing needs at the beginning of the study period and helping students solve the problems they experience related to major preferences, with the provision of a good introduction to the identity of prospective ELT professionals. This will support their success in language education that prioritizes respect for the linguistic and cultural diversity of others as an inseparable part of this global and unpredictable era. Furthermore, the idea is expected to give valuable insights for Transformative English Studies.

The Promise and Precarity of Critical Pedagogy in English for Academic Purposes

English for Academic Purposes (EAP) has become an increasingly prominent sector of the English language teaching profession in British Columbia, providing English language preparation for post-secondary education across a range of disciplines. This theoretical paper gives overviews of EAP and critical pedagogy, then delves into four central tenets that are parallel in both fields: decoding, contextualization, praxis, and critical thinking. Beyond the parallels, it explores both promising initiatives and tensions in the enactment of critical pedagogy in EAP, not least of which is the precarity of many instructors in the field. Recognizing the contributions of EAP and moving the field from the margins of the academy would make for better opportunities to realize the full potential of international students and international education through critical pedagogy.

Disinventing Native Speakerism in English Language Teaching

This article explores native speakerism, a chauvinistic ideology, in reference to relevant literature. It first exposes its ideological essence and adverse effects on English language teaching (ELT), and then moves to deconstruct the native speakerist practices concerning English language teachers, English language norm, cultural foundation of ELT curriculum, and teaching methodology, particularly the approaches of communicative language teaching (CLT) and task-based language teaching (TBLT). Through unearthing the culturist essence of native speakerism and the fallacies embedded in native speakerist ELT practices, this study is intended to contribute to eliminating native speakerism and building up more equitable and harmonious ELT profession.

The Future of Nonnative Teachers of English

This paper discusses nonnative teachers of English who are often claimed to be less competent and qualified compared to their native counterparts. The aim of this paper is to elaborate that the identity of the teachers of English shall no longer be problematic in a matter of English Language teaching profession. The literature-based methodology was employed in this paper. The discussion is divided into two sections; the first part discusses the status and identity of nonnative English-speaking teachers and the second part delineates the actions for self-confidence of nonnative teachers of English as an international language. To conclude, Teaching English must emphasize on the teacher’s quality of the English teaching competence rather than the irrelevant nonnative identity. Furthermore, actions need to be executed by Nonnative English-speaking teachers (NNESTs) to enhance their performance in English language teaching in order to increase their self-confidence of their status in ELT and to be able to internationally compete.

Gender- and Sexuality-Inclusive Curriculum in an Intensive Language Program

Queer pedagogy is an application of Queer Theory to utilize inquiry, interrogate identity and employ pedagogical practices that interrupt heteronormativity. EFL (English as a Foreign Language) curriculum and materials have long neglected gender- and sexuality inclusive teaching practices and investigations. Furthermore, identity needs to be considered by ELT (English Language Teaching) professionals as a non-static, relational and complex construct that may have implications to second language acquisition. In asking how EFL university instructors can practice Queer Theory and pedagogy that proposes active deconstruction and disruption of heteronormativity, the authors made learning a site of inquiry, by implementing a classroom pedagogical strategy to examine classroom materials from an in-house textbook, center student perspectives, encourage self-reflexivity and to unpack unexamined normative discourses. Through literature review, content analysis, the study of reading practices, and classroom research, this paper explores the implications of challenging reading practices and heteronormative thinking and constructions of identities that may be present in an EFL university curriculum. The research findings illustrate how internalized heteronormativity surfaces in the assumptions made while reading a text, acts onto queerness and overrides judgment, blocking accessibility to diversity. The authors propose reading strategies that encourage critical thinking to excavate and obliterate heteronormativity and to unearth the queerness in curricula materials as an approach to integrating a gender- and sexuality-inclusive curriculum.

Towards a Research Agenda on Individual Differences in ELT in Nigeria

AbstractThere are a variety of individual differences that English language teaching (ELT) professionals cannot afford to ignore. This essay is based on a premise that teaching and learning English in Nigeria’s multilingual background of 526 languages (Ethnologue, 2018) present an extraordinary context of multiculturalism and individual differences in the language classroom. ELT professionals in such a context require significant expertise in the application of inclusive practices. The essay identified gaps in the praxis and policy dimensions of Nigerian ELT practice relating to individual differences and suggested a research focus on these two areas. It concluded that teachers should adopt clear, empirically tested methodologies to cater for the different students in the class, create good relationships in the classroom to develop learner self-confidence, integrate activities and tasks that clearly appeal to different learning styles and personalities, personalize learning as much as possible, create learner autonomy, and pay attention to cultural variations among L2 learners.

The wellbeing of language teachers in the private sector: An ecological perspective

The teaching profession has been characterized as having high levels of stress and record rates of burnout and attrition. Language teaching is no exception to this global trend. Indeed, it could be argued that it is subject to additional specific stressors such as high intercultural and linguistic demands as well as the frequent use of energy-intense methodologies. Generally, language teacher psychology has been relatively neglected in research; however, those working in the private sector have almost exclusively been ignored. In terms of wellbeing, this is especially problematic given concerns about their working conditions. Therefore, this study takes an ecological perspective to investigating the wellbeing of teachers of English language teaching (ELT) working in the private sector in Malta. Eight volunteer teachers took part in a series of two semi-structured interviews assisted by visual prompts and journal entries. The data were analysed using a grounded Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) approach and presented in line with the ecological perspective. The main findings revealed how the teachers’ wellbeing is defined by the business model character of the private sector in particular in terms of working conditions and status of the ELT profession in Malta. For the teachers, this very often means precarity in terms of the job and future prospects. However, the study also revealed aspects of positivity. For example, teachers reported enjoying their teaching, positive relationships with colleagues and students, and a positive work climate, which varied across institutions. The findings suggest implications for good practice in the field and directions for further research.

Rethinking TESOL in Diverse Global Settings: The Language and the Teacher in a Time of Change

In this book, Marr and English raise and address many of the most significant questions that English language teaching professionals have been asking regarding the TESOL profession and TESOL teacher education for many years. The book invites readers, English language teachers and English language teacher educators alike to reflect on what constitutes the knowledge foundation for TESOL practice and English language teachers’ professional identities. It also encourages readers to re-examine the language that English language teachers teach, the ways in which they perceive themselves and are perceived by others, and how they can use these new understandings to deliver lessons with meaningful impact on language learners. Marr and English’s thoughtful engagement with these crucial questions makes the...

English language teaching professionals' trajectories within the context of learning organisations

AbstractEnglish as a foreign language teachers' associations (henceforth ELTAs) act as empowering platforms for English Language Teaching (ELT) professionals (Lamb, 2012), and yet the contributions of ELTA leaders have not been widely investigated in the fields of second language acquisition and language pedagogy. In order to fill this niche, a qualitative interview study explored the professional trajectories of successful teacher trainers. The paper gives an account of the motivation for continuing professional development (CPD) through the turning points in these professionals' early careers. The findings suggest that there are some similarities behind the motivating factors for CPD and the increasing participation in social spheres (Lave & Wenger, 1991) leads to professional growth. Moving from the periphery towards the centre in a Community of Practice (CoP) the participants of CoPs become knowledge providers. The results reveal that after members have reached their own plateau and can no longer grow professionally in a particular CoP, they either move on to a different, often more challenging CoP and often belong to different CoPs and even end up as the leaders of ELTAs. Limitations and further research suggestions are included at the end of the paper.

Between Two Worlds? Research Engagement Dilemmas of University English Language Teachers in Vietnam

If enhancing the connection between teaching and research has been highlighted in the general English language teaching profession, does English teaching at university – the ivory tower characterized by research – face the same issue? And how might this affect how the profession is perceived? This study provides an in-depth examination of how university English language teaching (ELT) teachers conceptualize research and their doing research, and discusses the issue in connection with the notion of profession. The study uses teacher cognition semi-structured interviewing with faculty members teaching English at a university in Vietnam. The results show ELT faculty construct different versions of research to rationalize their attitudes, self-awareness, and practices: research as irrelevant impositions, research as desirable but unfeasible goals, and research as practical, inner calls. Revealing this group’s dilemmas between two worlds – practitioners and academics, external pressures and internal values, visions and realities, – the study argues that to increase research engagement, practical support is needed, but a reconceptualization of research is also an important factor. Also, understanding and realizing the teaching-research nexus in ELT hold implications for the profession’s status and the professional’s identity and autonomy.