Albert Maganaka
Do you really know who you are? How do you see yourself as a language teacher? What are the impressions of your students and colleagues toward you?
These questions boil down to knowing one’s identity. Identity is the “whole sum of characteristics given by place, gender, age, race, history, nationality, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, religious orientation, ethnicity and above all the blanks between all these…” (Meyer, 2017). The video below captures the concept of identity. It also shows the intersection between language and identity.
When I took LLED 510: Language, Discourse, and Identity at the University of British Columbia with Dr. Bonnie Norton, an authority on the subject https://faculty.educ.ubc.ca/norton/, we discussed the various components of identity vis-à-vis language learners, language teachers, investment, imagined communities, indigeneity, digital era, digital storytelling, transnational research, and future directions.
Cognizant of language teachers, it is inevitable to know the kind of rational human beings they are, capable of deciding for themselves, their school, and communities. This connects with Gee (2000) that identity is “being recognized as a certain ‘kind of person’, in a given context” (p. 99). The romance between identity and language teachers cannot be overemphasized. As Motha et al (2012) argue that “if teacher linguistic identities are to become available as pedagogical resources, critical reflection on how these identities are formed and maintained is crucial.” Varghese et al. (2005) add “In order to understand language teaching and learning we need to understand teachers; and in order to understand teachers, we need to have a clearer sense of who they are: the professional, cultural, political, and individual identities which they claim, or which are assigned to them” (p. 22).
Barkhuizen (2021), the winner of TESOL’s 2017 Award for Distinguished Research, popularizes the term Language Teacher Identity (LTI). He refers it to “the way language teachers see themselves and understand who they are in relation to the work they do. It is also the way others, including their colleagues and students and institutions, see them” (p. 1). Barkhuizen explores LTI in detail, including its research potential on this video Professor Gary Barkhuizen on Teacher Identity – YouTube .
Personally, I have always been passionate about teaching- it was my first love. At 7, I already knew that I would become a teacher someday. While teaching is a tiring and a demanding profession, the difference I make in the lives of my students who are newcomers to Canada outweighs all the challenges and difficulties. It is my accomplishment to see students able to settle and integrate to the Canadian mainstream. Much more, it is gratifying to receive positive feedback regarding teaching performance and a true ‘thank you’ from students and administrators.
References:
Barkhuizen, G. (2021). Language teacher identity. In: Mohebbi, H., Coombe, C. (eds) Research questions in language education and applied linguistics. Springer Texts in Education. Springer, Cham. doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-79143-8_96
Gee, J. P. (2000). Identity as an analytic lens for research in education. Review of Research in Education, 25, 99–125.
Meyer, U. (2017). In the name of identity: Teaching cultural awareness in the intercultural classroom. Retrieved from https://immi.se/oldwebsite/nr19/meyer-ulrike.htm
Motha, S., Jain, R., & Tecle, T. (2012). Translinguistic identity-as-pedagogy: Implications for language teacher education. International Journal of Innovation in English Language Teaching, 1(1), 13– 28.
Varghese, M., Morgan, B., Johnston, B., & Johnson, K. (2005). Theorizing language teacher identity: Three perspectives and beyond. Journal of Language, Identity, and Education, 4, 21–44
