EFL teachers' professional identity : a discourse analysis study of foreign teachers' narratives in Shenzhen, China

Abstract

Drawing on narrative and positioning theories this dissertation attempted to elucidate how foreign EFL teachers working in kindergarten and primary levels in Shenzhen, China construct their professional teacher identity. Interviews with eight foreign teachers revealed that the educators draw on similar subject positions to talk about their experiences of what it means to be a teacher in Shenzhen. Results show that combining subject positions and locating themselves differently towards them, the teachers create and negotiate multiple identity constructions. The identity constructions identified in the teachers’ narratives are: ‘foreign teachers claiming authenticity’, ‘foreign teachers bridging host and home country culture’ and ‘foreign teachers providing a positive English experience’. These findings are illuminating, because they expose how foreign teachers think about their international teacher experience. Empowering, because they give teachers the possibilities to listen to themselves and others and to respond to what is heard. And helpful as they reveal some significant issues that suggest the importance of collaboratively talk as a way to support and enhance the teachers’ experience in China.