Joint Development of Teacher Cognition and Identity Through Learning to Teach L2 Pronunciation

Abstract

The constructs of teacher cognition and teacher identity have recently gained considerable attention in second language teacher education research for their crucial roles in understanding teacher learning. While a number of current studies have examined the contributions of both constructs, the connections between cognition and identity are yet to be fully conceptualized. This article addresses this gap by drawing on the notion of identification to examine the identity construction and cognition development of 15 student teachers in the context of a postgraduate course on pronunciation pedagogy. Questionnaires, focus group interviews, observations, and semi-structured interviews were triangulated to obtain an in-depth understanding of the complex relations between identity formation and cognition growth. Findings revealed that identity construction-manifested through imagination of self and others, engagement and investment in the course, and alignment with course content-not only had a profound impact on participants' cognition development, but that these two constructs were intertwined in a complex and reciprocal relationship, fostering the process of student teachers' learning to teach pronunciation.

Exploring the Intersection Between Teachers’ Beliefs and Research Findings in Pronunciation Instruction

“…First, while it was worthwhile to conduct focus groups and design items based on comments made during those discussions, doing so sometimes resulted in doublebarreled statements merging ideas that should be separated for the sake of clarity, such as the item that interwove issues of motivation and natural pronunciation development. Second, while questionnaires and surveys are useful research tools for large-scale quantitative data collection, it is crucial to complement them with interviews and observations, which can lead to a deeper, more contextualized understanding of the relationship between beliefs and practices (Baker & Murphy, 2011;Baker, 2014;Burri et al, 2017;Foote et al, 2016).…”

“…370–371). Interestingly, while teacher education programs and in‐service PD experiences often promote changes in teachers’ beliefs (e.g., S. Borg, , and references therein) and can even play a role in teachers’ conceptualizations of their identities (e.g., Burri, Chen, & Baker, ), this may not always occur (e.g., M. Borg, ; Peacock, )—in part, perhaps, because of the strength of the “apprenticeships of observation” teachers have internalized during their own previous educational experiences (Lortie, ) or because people may naturally filter academic articles and other sources of information through their existing belief systems, using them to provide further support for already‐held beliefs (e.g., Kamiya, ). Where pronunciation is concerned, a lack of impact may make sense for other reasons as well.…”

Understanding lack of development in early career teachers’ practical knowledge of teaching speaking skills

“…Yigitoglu & Belcher, 2014). Studies of teachers' cognitions regarding the teaching of speaking are more limited and have principally focused on the sub-skill of pronunciation (see, for example, Baker, 2014;Burri, Chen & Baker, 2017). However, Baleghizadeh & Nasrollahi Shahri's (2014) research highlights the uniqueness of individual teacher pedagogical orientations towards the teaching of speaking, identifying a higher level of sophistication in the pedagogical knowledge of more expert teachers.…”

Öğretmen bilişi: Öğretmenlik alışkanlıklarını geliştiren ve yöneten güçlü bir olgu

“…Accordingly, teachers' goals are depicted as mental constructs that reflect their motivational and behavioral system, and thus teachers' instructional practices are a way of fulfilling their goals. Burri et al (2017) discussed teachers' identity construction and cognitive development as intertwined in a complex and reciprocal relationship. As asserted in their article, teachers' identity was constructed through the imagination of the self and the others as well as their engagement with their subject matter and content, and the process of identity construction exerts a profound impact on teachers' cognitions.…”