Past, Present, and Aspirational identity of English Language Teachers: Teaching Experience and its Influence on Professional Identity

Document Type : research article

Authors

1 Allameh Tabataba'i University

2 Language Department, Border Policing Faculty, IRI Amin Police University Tehran, Iran.

Abstract

Professional development and professional identity have been interchangeably abused in the research agenda on teacher education and teacher development. This study is an effort to examine the influence of teaching experience on past, present, and aspirational identity while focusing on the distinction between professional development and professional identity development. Data was gathered through a questionnaire from 180 English language teachers working within inner, outer, and expanding circle of language use. Statistical analysis showed that while there was a meaningful statistical significant difference between teaching experience with past and present professional identity, no statistical difference found between teaching experience and aspirational identity. Spearman Correlation also showed that teaching experience had a direct positive relation with past and present identity. These findings imply that although teaching experience might develop some components of professional identity (past, and present), it lacks development of professional identity as a whole. These implications have suggestions for teacher development and education.

Keywords

References

منابع
سرمد، زهره.، بازرگان، عباس.، و حجازی، الهه. (1377). روش‌های پژوهش در علوم رفتاری. تهران: انتشارات آگاه.
غفارثمر، رضا.، مختارنیا، شبنم.، اکبری، رامین.، و کیانی، غلامرضا. (1392). ایدئولوژی زبانی در آموزش زبان: بررسی جایگاه زبان مادری در یادگیری و بکارگیری زبان انگلیسی در ایران. پژوهش‌های زبانشناختی در زبان‌های خارجی، 3(2)، 243-262.
Beijaard, D., Meijer, P.C., & Verloop, N. (2004). Reconsidering research on teachers professional identity. Teaching and Teacher Education, 20(2), 107-128. doi:10.1016/j.tate.2003.07.001
Bolton, K. (2004). World Englishes. In A. Davies & C. Elder (Eds.), The handbook of applied linguistics (pp.367-396). Oxford: Blackwell Publishing.
Britzman, D. (1991). Practice makes practice: a critical study of learning to teach. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.
Bryan, B & Burnette, R. (2003). Language variation and language use among teachers in Dominica. In M. Aceto & J. P.Williams (Eds.), varieties of English around the world: Contact nglishes of the eastern caribbean (pp. 141-154). Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
Buzzelli, C. A., & Johnston, B. (2002). The moral dimensions of teaching: Language, power, and culture in classroom interaction. New York: Routledge Falmer.
Clarke, M. (2008). Language teacher identities: co-constructing discourse and community. Somerset: Cromwell Press.
Coombe, C. (2015, March). Professionalizing your English language teaching. Paper presented at the 21st TESOL Arabia International Conference, Dubai, UAE.
Dantas-Whitney, M. (2002). Critical reflection in the second language classroom through audiotaped journals, System, 30, 543-555.
Dyer, J. (2007). Language and identity. In C. Llamas, L. Mullany, & P. Stockwell (Eds.), The Routledge companion to sociolinguistics (pp. 101-108). New York: Routledge.
Erikson, E. H. (1968). Identity, youth and crisis. New York: W.W. Norton & Company.
Hamzah, S. G., Mohamad, H., and Ghorbani M. R. (2008). Excellent teachers’ thinking model: implications for effective teaching. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 33(4), 11-27. http://dx.doi.org/10.14221/ajte.2008v33n4.2
Keng, C. S., Hoong, D. C., & Aun, K. T. (2008). Professional characteristics and teacher professionalism of secondary school teachers. Asia Pacific Journal of Education, 14(1), 55-66. DOI:10.1080/02188799408547725
Kirkpatrick, A. (2007). World Englishes: implications for international communication and ELT. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Mayer, D. (1999). Building teaching identities: implications for pre-service teacher education. Paper presented at the Australian Association for Research in Education and New Zealand Association for Research in Education Conference. Retrieved May 10, 2014 from: http://www.aare.edu.au/99pap/may99385.htm.
Omoniyi, T. (2006). Hierarchy of identities. In T. Omoniyi & G. White (Eds.), the sociolinguistics of identity (pp.11-33). London: Continuum Books.
Pallant, J. (2013). SPSS survival manual: a step by step guide to data analysis using IBM SPSS (5th edition). New York: McGraw Hill Company.
Rampton, B. (2005). Crossing: language and ethnicity among adolescents (2nd edition), Manchester: St Jerome Press.
Salimi, E. A., Mostafaei Alaei, M., & Najjar Baghseyah, R. (2016). Examining teachers’ development through past-present-aspirational continuum of English language teachers’ professional identity. Iranian Journal of Applied Language Studies, 8(2), 27-50. doi: http://ijals.usb.ac.ir/article_3079.html
Sarani, A., & Najjar. R.(2013). Formulation of language teachers’ identity in the situated learning of language teaching community of practice. Iranian Journal of Applied Language Studies, 5(2), 167-192.
Richards, J. C., & Farrell, T. S. C. (2005). Professional development for language teachers: Strategies for teacher learning. New York. Cambridge University Press.
Simon-Maeda, A. (2004). The complex construction of professional identities: Female EFL educators in Japan speak out. TESOL Quarterly 38(3), 405-436.
Stannard, R., & Matharu, S. (2014). Using technology to provide greater flexibility and access to continuing professional development. In D.Hayes (Ed.), innovations in the continuing professional development of English language teachers (pp. 159-178). London: British Council.
Tafazoli, D., & Jafari, G. (2013, November). Professional identity: perceptions of current & prospective English language teachers. Paper presented at the 11th TELLSI International Conference, Mashhad, Iran.
Tajeddin, Z., & Khodarahmi, E. (2013, November). EFL teachers’ professional identity: underlying components and factors contributing to its construction. Paper presented at the 11th TELLSI International Conference, Mashhad, Iran.
Tajeddin, Z., & Teimournezhad, Sh. (2014). Exploring the hidden agenda in the representation of culture in international and localised ELT textbooks. The Language Learning Journal, 1, 1-14. DOI:10.1080/09571736.2013.869942
Varghese, M., Morgan, B., Johnston, B., & Johnson, K. A. (2005). Theorizing language teacher identity: three perspectives and beyond. Journal of Language, Identity, and Education 4(1): 21-44.
Weinreich, P. (2003). Identity exploration: theory into practice. In P. Weinreich & W. Saunderson (Eds.), analyzing identity: cross-cultural, societal, and clinical contexts (pp. 7-76). New York: Routledge.
Zhang, L., and Zhang, D. (2015). Identity matters: ethnography of two Nonnative English- Speaking Teachers (NNESTs) struggling for legitimate professional participation. In Y. L. Cheung, S. B. Said and K. Park (eds.), advances and current trends in language teacher identity research, (pp. 116-132). Routledge Publications; New York.
Zolghadri, M., & Tajeddin, Z. (2013, November). Perceptions and practices of professional identity: EFL teachers’ agency facing curriculum constraints. Paper presented at the 11th TELLSI International Conference, Mashhad
Journal of Foreign Language Research
Volume 6, Issue 2
October 2017
Pages 303-320

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics