The Role of Students in the Professional Identity Negotiations of a Mexican EFL Teacher

ABSTRACT

The process by which novice language teachers negotiate their professional identity has been described as mediated by factors such as peers’ support, mentor’s influence, and even ideologies such as the native speakers’ fallacy. However, the role that students may play in these negotiations still needs attention. The present study examines how a middle-class Mexican teacher of English discursively negotiated his professional identity in the context of his relationship with a group of wealthy students. The analysis explores the fluid nature of discursive positioning in narratives showing how the participant positioned himself as a popular teacher. The study uncovers how social class and dominant ideologies interacted in the participants’ storytelling and demonstrates how an individual may narratively represent the struggle between agency and social structures.

KEYWORDS:

• Identity negotiations
• narrative analysis
• positioning
• social class
• teacher identity

Notes

1. A brief narrative that may or may not meet the expectations of prototypical storytelling (e.g., follow a chronological order, refer past events, or include a conclusion). Bamberg (2006a, 2006b) has made an eloquent defense of small stories arguing that they can contribute to uncover relevant aspects of social interaction and the discursive construction of identity. Although Bamberg’s definition of small stories refers specifically to narratives emerged in naturally-occurring conversations, I extend the concept to include informal written discourse such as journal writing, text-messaging, or online interactions.

2. During the festivities of the Day of the Dead in November, schools encourage students to engage in the creation of altars with offerings for their diseased family members and national heroes, as a reminder of the ancient Aztec tradition.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Alys D. Avalos-Rivera

Dr. Alys D. Avalos-Rivera worked as a teacher educator and second language instructor in Mexico for over 10 years. She has conducted research on second language learners and teachers in that country and the United States. Her current appointment as an Academic Writing lecturer in the University of British Columbia has led her to expand her research interest to include novice writers’ identity and intertextuality as well as the relationship between multi-modal technological affordances and instructors’ positioning in writing feedback.