The identity (re)construction of nonnative English teachers stepping into native Turkish teachers' shoes


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MUTLU KAYA S., Ortactepe D.

LANGUAGE AND INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION, cilt.16, sa.4, ss.552-569, 2016 (SSCI) identifier identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 16 Sayı: 4
  • Basım Tarihi: 2016
  • Doi Numarası: 10.1080/14708477.2016.1194852
  • Dergi Adı: LANGUAGE AND INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus
  • Sayfa Sayıları: ss.552-569
  • Anahtar Kelimeler: Teacher identity, self-image, self-efficacy, beliefs about teaching and learning, LANGUAGE, NEGOTIATION
  • Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

The present study explored the identity (re)construction of five nonnative English teachers who went to the USA on a prestigious scholarship for one year to teach their native language, Turkish. In that sense, it investigated how this shift from being a nonnative English teacher to a native Turkish teacher influenced their self-image, self-efficacy, and beliefs about teaching/learning. The data were collected mainly through three different instruments: a personal data questionnaire, ongoing controlled journals along with follow-up questions, and interviews. All the qualitative data were first analyzed according to Boyatzis' [(1998). Transforming qualitative information: Thematic analysis and code development. Sage) thematic analysis, and then the emerging themes were related to three sensitizing concepts, which were (a) self-image, (b) self-efficacy, and (c) beliefs about teaching and learning. The findings revealed that (a) the participating teachers in this study had high(er) self-efficacy but low(er) self-image when teaching English compared to Turkish because of their idealization of native speaker norms; (b) their multiple identities were interacting with each other, and shifting from being a native to a nonnative, and a language teacher to a language user; and (c) their beliefs about teaching and learning coming from their core identity as an English language teacher worked as a catalyst in this process.