The Cultural Identities of Foreign Language Teachers

Abstract

Foreign language teachers are often migrants. They have traveled and lived in other countries either to learn or to teach a language. In 2005, Domna Stanton characterized language teaching as a cosmopolitan act-"a complex encounter made in a sympathetic effort to see the world as [others] see it and, as a consequence, to denaturalize our own views" (p. 629). Do foreign language teachers 'denaturalize' their views of their native culture through their encounters with the other culture? Could it be that "engagement with the Other necessarily mean[s] an abnegation of the inherited culture" (Mani, 2007, p. 29)? This study investigated not only in how far foreign language teachers affiliate with more than one culture but also how this cultural identity affects their classroom practice. To what extent do foreign language instructors claim multiple cultural identities? What advantages and disadvantages do foreign language instructors experience in the classroom in respect to their cultural identities? To what extent do foreign language instructors feel their cultural identity is relevant in the classroom? Results showed that foreign language instructors engage with their cultural affiliations intellectually, by embracing but not embodying "the other" culture.

EFL Teachers’ Cultural Identity Development through Participating in Cultural Negotiation: Probing EFL Students’ Perspectives

“…because they have their own cultural values, assumptions, beliefs, and, ultimately, cultural identity; causing ìtensions and struggles Ö common themes in the construction of language teachersí bior multi-cultural identitiesî (Martel & Wang, 2015, p. 239). However, it should be noted that if the conflicts and tensions will be negotiated appropriately, a secondary cultural identity can be achieved by the EFL teachers and learners which is related to the EFL context they have already participated (Fichtner & Chapman, 2011).…”

Researching Identity in Language Teachers – Current Challenges and Implications

“…A significant realization of sociocultural theory comes in the way of interconnectedness in the relationship between pedagogical knowledge, theoretical knowledge and recognition of teacher characteristics. As mentioned above, Fichtner and Chapman (2011) express the importance of balancing perceived cultural identity and balancing pedagogical knowledge, though "reorganization creates a new lens through which they interpret their understandings of themselves" (John and Golombek, 2016, p. 6). Furthermore, the findings as shown in Table 2highlight some of the struggles that language teachers face while teaching abroad, such as pedagogical challenges that may be problematic due to language limitations, acknowledging tensions ascribed from perceived notions of clashing cultural affiliation, and assertiveness in the role as a teacher in a foreign country.…”

“…The phrase sought to illustrate an Australian teacher in Japan, mastering the Japanese language but also holding on to what remains of their Australian identity. If we apply Vygotsky's (1978) sociocultural theory to teacher identity, it would be concomitant to suggest that teachers create a different identity to support their current context and adapt, while educators who teach outside of their home country explore the fundamental challenges of balancing cultural identity and establishing pedagogical credibility in their workplaces (Fichtner and Chapman, 2011). Mutekwe (2018) claims that cultural representation and the globalization of educators bring forth critical framing of teacher identity and, much like Vygotsky, the sociocultural perspective relies considerably on social interactions with students, colleagues and institutions.…”

Anadili İngilizce Olan ve Olmayan İngilizce Okutmanlarının Kültürlerarası Yabancı Dil Eğitimi Üzerine Algıları

“…Hall (2008, p. 45) carries this observation a step further when he says; "In our interactions with others, we use language not only to refer to or represent our socio-cultural worlds, it is also the central means by which we bring our cultural worlds into existence, maintain them, and shape them for our own purposes." It can therefore be said that, since languages hold a myriad of cultural signs and meanings when it comes to language learning, these elements cannot be regarded as a separate entity in the language learning environment (Fichtner and Chapman, 2001). It follows that learning a different language requires that learners not only grasp the structural and formal elements of the language, but also become versed in those aforementioned cultural components in order to achieve true facility in their new tongue (Byram and Buttjes, 1990;Deardorff, 2009;Byram, Nichols and Stevens, 2001;Sercu, 2000).…”