Teacher identity and agency in language teaching: Adult ESL instructors as explorers
Anna Sanczyk
University of North Carolina at Charlotte, USAAnna Sanczyk received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Philology from the University of Bialystok, Poland and a Master of Arts degree in English Linguistics from the University of Oslo, Norway. She taught adult ESL and was a program coordinator at Central Piedmont Community College, USA. She recently earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Curriculum and Instruction: TESL from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, USA. Her research interests include language teacher identity, language teacher agency, culturally responsive pedagogy, and critical pedagogy.
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5819-2058
Abstrakt
As the world becomes more globalized, various social, cultural, and historical contexts are shaping teacher identities. Exploring teacher identities is essential in understanding experiences, interactions, and beliefs that influence language teachers’ practices inside and outside the classroom (Farrell 2011). This narrative study, conducted in a large urban community college located in the southeastern region of the United States, engaged seven adult ESL instructors in critical reflection on their assumptions, teaching, personal experiences, and an institutional environment. Data collection included semi-structured interviews, classroom observations, journal entries, and classroom observations, including notes about artifacts used in the lessons. The findings of this study highlight the relationship between teacher identity and agency in teaching culturally and linguistically diverse learners. Participants characterized themselves as explorers, who valued various cultural experiences and acted agentively to create culturally responsive lessons and an enriching learning environment. These findings have significant implications for language teacher training and further research.Słowa kluczowe:
language teacher identity, language teacher agency, language teaching, adult ESL, culturally and linguistically diverse learnersBibliografia
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University of North Carolina at Charlotte, USA
Anna Sanczyk received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Philology from the University of Bialystok, Poland and a Master of Arts degree in English Linguistics from the University of Oslo, Norway. She taught adult ESL and was a program coordinator at Central Piedmont Community College, USA. She recently earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Curriculum and Instruction: TESL from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, USA. Her research interests include language teacher identity, language teacher agency, culturally responsive pedagogy, and critical pedagogy.
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5819-2058
