Narrative Perspectives on the Construction of English Language Teacher Identity

Abstract

The research objective of this research is to explore English language teachers’ identities in view of cultural backgrounds, enthusiasm, and institutional conditions. It manifests lived experiences and sense of professionalism of resources, administrative support, and resilient identities through teachers’ narratives. I employed a qualitative research design in narrative inquiry grounded on identity theory to capture teachers’ experiences, emotions, motivation factors in shaping their professional career trajectories. I explored English language teachers’ identities construction in the spectrum of personal agency, organizational atmosphere, and socio-political scenario. I applied narrative inquiry to extract the individual's lived experiences, context-specific, and sense of their professional paths in their teaching journey. I used narrative identity theory of Clandinin and Connelly as a research methodology, conducted semi-structured interviews with five English language teachers and interaction in different classroom contexts of respondents. The primary sources of data collection were casual conversations, note-taking, and audio recordings using a cell phone. On the other hand, secondary sources were journal articles, books, and existing literature. Data collection was conducted in July 2024. Thematic analysis Braun and Clarke helped me to identify major findings such as the formation of teacher identity, English teachers’ professional experiences, and environmental aspects influencing teacher identity. Findings indicate motivation, social recognition, and financial stability in formulating teachers’ identity. Furthermore, this study highlights supportive administration, sufficient resources, and collaborative cultures that enhance teachers’ professional development. Narratives contributed to deciphering teachers’ economic hardship, burnout, and negotiate challenges in teaching domains.