Efl teachers’ construction of professional identity a case study at a police school in vietnam nghiên cứu trường hợp Điển hình tại một trường cảnh sát Ở việt nam

EFL teachers’ construction of professional identity a case study at a police school in Vietnam Nghiên cứu trường hợp điển hình tại một trường cảnh sát ở Việt Nam

INTRODUCTION

Rationale of the study

In the globalization era, English as an international language plays an important role in national development in general and educational development in particular For the awareness of its importance, the Vietnamese Government has given closer guidance on nationwide popularization of English teaching and learning towards the possession of human resources of all educational levels with a good command of foreign language and the turning of foreign languages into a strength of Vietnamese to serve national industrialization and modernization (Decree 1400, 2008) This is to say, one of the most decisive components is, therefore, to possess a resource of highly qualified and experienced EFL university teachers 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 (Varghese, Morgan, Johnson, and Johnson, 2005) In recent years, the emerging subject in a remarkable strand of applied linguistics research that has attracted the attention of a contingent of academic education researchers and scholars is the theme of teacher identity (Clarke, 2008; Dang, 2013; Duff and Uchida, 1997; Kanno and Stuart, 2011; Knowles, 1992; Morgan, 2004; Pavlenko, 2003; Pennington and Richards, 2016; Trent, 2017; Volkmann and Anderson, 1998; Yazan, 2018;) Currently, a great deal of research interest in teacher identity is centered upon the study of teacher professional identity from different perspectives (Beijaard, Meijer and Verloop (2004); Beijarrd, Verloop and Vermunt, 2000; Harun, 2019; Jiang, 2017; Kelchtermans, 1993; Le, 2013; Tickle, 2000) Despite their different opinions, many researchers agree that professional identity as an ongoing process is characterized by the multidimensional or multifaceted nature Likewise, I am also concerned with the study of teacher identity-related aspects (e.g., professional identity, personal identity or moral identity) that stimulates my thinking on the performance of the research like this Furthermore, as an EFL teacher, I have a passion for the teaching job, so I genuinely feel curious about the professional identity of my colleagues - other EFL university teachers of my department - that motivates me to carry out this study Importantly, I sense that it can be even the self of such teachers who has been unaware of their professional identity Accordingly, this study can help the participating teachers gain further insights into the professional self Understanding of the professional self contributes to interpreting their professional identity as process and product that can exert a significant influence on their current and future teaching Thanks to this, such EFL university teachers can explore their professional identity

On the whole, the motives, which encouraged me to conduct this research, constituted the prevalent theme of professional identity, my own curiosity about my colleagues’ professional identity and the aspiration of the teachers themselves for the exploration of their professional identity.

Statement of the problem

To consider the fundamental necessity of foreign language teaching and learning (especially English), the Ministry of Education and Training and other relevant authorities have placed more focus on language teacher education and teacher development because teachers are seen as key persons who directly get involved in teaching greatly influence their students’ learning One of the most remarkable themes that has currently attracted much interest in research is understanding of teacher identity in general and teacher professional identity in particular In this research area, producing real insights into teacher professional identity construction can be of value to teacher educators and even the teachers themselves for better understanding of what professional identity entails in teaching and teacher education, what it feels like to be a teacher in schools, where a wide range of educational issues or reforms are changing rapidly, or how teachers cope with those changes In brief, understanding of this can make a significant contribution to language teacher education and development The example for this is the excerpt from the words of Bullough (1997):

“Teacher identity - what beginning teachers believe about teaching and learning as self-as- teacher-is of vital concern to teacher education; it is the basis for meaning making and decision making (…) Teacher education must begin, then, by exploring the teaching self” (p 21)

That is to say, understanding of the EFL university teachers’ professional identity can enable the competent authorities to put forward a variety of language teaching education projections or conferences reasonably that partly contributes to supporting teachers of improving the effectiveness of teaching and addressing a number of restrictive facets in their teaching contexts Over the last few years, the theme of teacher professional identity has generally attracted many Vietnamese researchers (Dang, 2012; Le, 2014; Nguyen, 2001; Nguyen, 2017; Pham, 2021; Phan, 2008; Phan et al., 2006); however, few studies have concentrated on investigating teacher professional identity in a Vietnamese police institution context In addition, most studies are recognized to have paid little attention to spontaneously investigating three types of teachers, comprising novice teachers, experienced teachers and expert teachers For my awareness of the status, I aspired to partially address such gaps in this study which was conducted to investigate the (re)construction and (re)negotiation of professional identity of EFL university teachers The subjects, who were selected as the participants of this study, constituted three EFL university teachers working at the same police school (a novice teacher, an experienced teacher and an expert teacher) Identity in this thesis’s research development refers to the professional identity perceived by the self that means who the participating teachers think they are Specifically, this study can contribute to dealing with a number of research gaps, including conceptual gaps (representing the (re)construction and (re)negotiation of the participating teachers’ professional identity as ongoing, dynamic process and product over time and space in different ways); empirical gaps (identifying the participating teachers’ professional identity and influencing factors through the teachers themselves over the different stages of their teaching life); methodological gaps (employing three research instruments, comprising guided reflective writings, semi-structured interviews and classroom observations to explore the participating teachers’ professional identity and influencing factors); theoretical gaps (constructing a new framework from the adaptations of Olsen and Wenger); and practical gaps (identifying the participating teachers’ professional identity and influencing factors through their current teaching, like classroom teaching practice).

Aims and objectives

The study is aimed to investigate the professional identity of EFL university teachers working at the same police school in Vietnam, highlighting the multi- faceted, dynamic and fluid nature of this identity as formed via (re)construction and (re)negotiation through different stages; besides, the study seeks to identify the external and internal factors that significantly influence such (re)construction and (re)negotiation Identity in this thesis’s research development is the professional identity perceived by the self that implies who the participating teachers think they are Making sense of teacher professional identity helps the teachers gain more insights into the way how the teachers perceive themselves, their roles, positions and their lived work experiences Understanding of their professional identity enables the teachers to perceive and associate with each other in the improvement of their effective teaching practices that support and promote students’ active learning Also, the study can be useful for stakeholders in education to expand upon their vision for teacher professional identity as process and product Thanks to it, the stakeholders in education have a clearer understanding of the teachers’ reflections on teaching (e.g., thoughts, aspirations, beliefs, attitudes, teaching philosophies or struggles/challenges) that contributes to increasing teacher effectiveness and teacher collaboration for a purpose of jointly building up effective and dynamic teaching and learning environments

To achieve the above-mentioned aims, the objectives of this study are:

- Investigating the (re)construction and (re)negotiation of professional identity of the EFL university teachers as process and product; and

- Analyzing the external and internal factors that significantly exercise their influence on the (re)construction and (re)negotiation of their professional identity as process and product.

Research questions

With the said aims and objectives, this study was carried out to give responses to two research questions as listed:

Research question 1: How do the EFL university teachers (re)construct and (re)negotiate their professional identity?

Research question 2: What factors significantly influence the

(re)construction and (re)negotiation of their professional identity?

Scope of the study

This study places focus on investigating three EFL university teachers’ professional identity as process and product Three participating teachers involve a novice teacher, an experienced teacher and an expert teacher Since the time of research participation until date, these participants have worked as the EFL university teachers at the same police school The study targets at giving a detailed account of each participating teacher’s professional identity in the route of their (re)construction and (re)negotiation at different stages of a teaching cycle ranging from their biography (e.g., family or schooling) to future career plans (e.g., career plans or teacher retention) These accounts contribute to the showing of the EFL university teachers’ professional identity as dynamic and ongoing, not fixed, process and as product that are (re)constructed and (re)negotiated in socio-cultural contexts through the interpretations and negotiations of subjective views of the participating teachers themselves In addition, this study also concentrates upon analyzing factors significantly influence such (re)construction and (re)negotiation of their professional identity In this study, these three EFL university teachers’ (re)construction and (re)negotiation of their professional identity as process and product and the dominant factors influencing such (re)construction and (re)negotiation are perceived by the teachers themselves and interpreted by the researcher.

Significance of the study

This study makes a useful contribution to language teacher education and teacher development theoretically and practically

Theoretically, this study contributes to providing a general overview of identity- related aspects (e.g., identity, teacher identity, language teacher identity, teacher professional identity, relevant frameworks or studies) Besides, this study helps to have a good grasp of its own framework adapted from the previous frameworks of Olsen (2008, 2016) and Wenger (1998) The framework of this study, named

“Teacher Professional Identity Model”, has a part in the insights into the (re)construction and (re)negotiation of the EFL university teachers’ professional identity as process and product through different stages of their teaching life

Practically, the EFL university teachers have a better understanding of themselves as a means to make sense of the (re)construction and (re)negotiation of their professional identity, gain more insights into their working positions (e.g., roles, responsibilities or duties) and promote their professional development goals (e.g., teacher learning programs, teaching practices or professional workshops/seminars) Understanding teacher identity is not only beneficial for classroom practice but also for teachers’ own professional development (Varghese, Morgan, Johnston, and Johnson, 2005) Also, such understanding can contribute to encouraging the participating teachers to bravely reflect on their minds or thoughts regarding their rights, duties and roles Thanks to such teachers’ reflections, stakeholders in education can provide support to their own professional development This study offers a general background of issues concerning language teacher professional identity as well as the EFL university teachers’ professional identity Moreover, this study can be suggested as a medium of approaching further studies on teacher identity-related issues (e.g., teacher professional identity or teacher emotional identity) in the upcoming time In general, making sense of teacher professional identity contributes to enhancing the ways in which teacher education programs are conceived (Beauchamp and Thomas, 2009, p 176) Nonetheless, it is important to emphasize the acquired findings herein as a source of reference (e.g., possibly for teacher educators or novice researchers), but not as a representative of the whole EFL teachers in a Vietnamese higher education context.

Research methodology

The research paradigm of this study is grounded in constructivism, which holds a relativist ontology and subjectivist epistemology This study advocates constructivism’s view of the world’s reality as holistic, multidimensional, and ever- changing, but not a single, fixed, objective phenomenon waiting to be discovered, observed and measured (Merriam, 1998) Within the constructivist paradigm, the research design employed in this study is qualitative case study that contributes to producing real insights into the EFL university teacher’s (re)construction and (re)negotiation of their professional identity In this study, case study methodology is used for investigating the (re)construction and (re)negotiation of professional identity of three EFL teachers working in a Vietnamese higher education context; and analyzing factors that significantly influence such (re)construction and (re)negotiation in a cycle of a teacher’s professional life The theoretical framework of this study, which follows the school of socio-cultural theory (Engestrửm, 2001; Mockler, 2011; Olsen, 2008, 2016; Vygotsky, 1978; Wenger, 1998;), was constructed drawing upon the combined frameworks of Olsen (2008, 2016) and Wenger (1998), named “Teacher Professional Identity Model” The research instruments used for gathering data involve guided reflective writings, semi-structured interviews, and classroom observations In the analysis process, this study utilized Braun and Clarke’s (2006) thematic analysis as a method for data coding with an intent to identify, analyze and report patterns (themes) within data.

Structure of the study

This study is systematically organized into eight chapters as follows:

Chapter 1 (Introduction) provides an overview of the study Chapter 1 begins with rationale of the study and statement of the problem Also, this chapter covers such other key points as aims and objectives, research questions, scope of the study, significance of the study, research methodology and structure of the study respectively

Chapter 2 (Literature Review) offers a detailed review of literature perspectives on identity Chapter 2 starts with identity and identity-related issues, including identity, teacher identity and language teacher identity and teacher professional identity Following is the account of factors influencing teacher professional identity (re)construction and (re)negotiation Next, it covers theoretical foundation in teacher identity studies, including an overview of theoretical frameworks in teacher identity studies, critique of theoretical frameworks This chapter concludes with the showing of previous studies

Chapter 3 (Research Methodology) discusses the methodology and methods employed for collecting and analyzing the data This chapter begins with positioning the study within qualitative case study relying on the “constructivism” research worldview through the representation of research paradigm, theoretical framework of the study, case study and preliminary study Following this, it also gives information about research setting, research participants, data collection tools, the procedures for data analysis This chapter concludes by the representation of trustworthiness and ethical considerations

Chapter 4 (Teacher Professional Identity as Process) represents the EFL university teachers’ (re)construction and (re)negotiation of professional identity as process by the showing of the process of becoming and being The chapter begins with the accounts of the process of becoming and the process of being respectively Chapter 4 concludes with a summary of teacher professional identity as process (case- by-case)

Chapter 5 (Teacher Professional Identity as Product) demonstrates the EFL university teachers’ (re)construction and (re)negotiation of professional identity as product This chapter proceeds with the accounts of their professional identity as product (the cases agglomerated), followed by the details of their professional identity as product (case-by-case)

Chapter 6 (Factors Influencing Teacher Professional Identity) analyzes the external and internal factors that significantly exercise their influence on the EFL university teachers’ (re)construction and (re)negotiation of professional identity as process and product Chapter 6 begins with the external factors, comprising family, neighborhood, influential teachers, knowledge sources and school culture This chapter ends with the internal factors, including self and investment

Chapter 7 (Discussions) discusses the EFL university teachers’ (re)construction and (re)negotiation of professional identity as process and product through Wenger’s modes of belonging - engagement, imagination and alignment Also, this chapter discusses the significance of the findings by means of statement of the findings

Chapter 8 (Conclusion) provides a brief summary of the findings of the study first Following this, chapter 8 represents such other aspects as implications, limitations and suggestions for further research This chapter ends with the showing of concluding remarks

Followed by the concluding chapter are List of Published Studies, References

(the sources of citations) and Appendices (supplementary materials).

LITERATURE REVIEW

Identity and identity-related issues

Although identity is considered a vague and nonfigurative term, it has received much attention from many aspects (e.g., psychology, philosophy, linguistics, socio- culture, discourse) Some believe that identity means identification with something or a means of distinguishing one individual or group from another (Nguyen, 2017) whereas the others think that identity is associated with “self” or “image” (Mead,

1934) or even relates to “discourse /Discourse” to explore the mutual interplay (e.g., how language constitutive of identity or how language affects the identity formation) (Gee, 2011)

Psychologically, psychologist Erikson (1968) defines “identity” as something that develops during one’s whole life, but not something one possesses In his view, an identity is rooted in the very core of one’s being, involves being true to oneself in action, and is associated with respect for one’s understanding of reality Likewise, Davey (2013, p.26) positions “identity” as internalized mental models or ideals, located within individuals From his own perspective, identity is inclined to focus on more about how individuals recognize themselves than how they are seen by others

Mead (1934) connects “identity” with “the self” and an individual’s self-concept, expanding from the inner sense of self to social and external factors He implies the self develops in an interplay between the “I” (the self) and “me” (the social world) through transactions with the environment Similarly, “identity” refers to “our understanding of who we are and who we think other people are” (Danielewicz, 2001, p 10) The review of identity from this perspective implies psychological (the self), cognitive (the other) and sociological (perhaps, gender, historical and cultural factors) understanding “Identity” can be viewed as the unique set of characteristics associated with a particular individual relative to the perceptions and characteristics of others (Pennington, 2015, p 16) Dimensions of identity derived from differences among humans can be described by a simple listing of specific physical characteristics (e.g., personality characteristics, special abilities or talents), social characteristics (e.g., profession, socio-economic status), group classifications (e.g., peer groups or communities of practice) and a reflection of the individual’s socially-situated engagement Moreover, “identity” is the sense which a person has of the self as an individual, including the person’s self-image and self-awareness as may be captured in the stories which the person tells about her/himself and also as this is projected to and understood by others (Richards, 2015, p 117-119) In his opinion, a person’s self-image and sense of identity is based on values and beliefs about how people should conduct their lives and behave in front of others Even though those ideas stress the inner side of individuals, they entirely contradict the influence of social contexts in shaping the self This seems to be a shift from psychological processes towards contextualized social processes (Miller, 2009, p 173)

Socio-culturally, the new understanding of identity can be developed on three principal premises On the one side, “identity” is freshly understood as “not a fixed, stable, unitary, and internally coherent phenomenon but is multiple, shifting, and in conflicts” (Varghese, Morgan, Johnston, and Johnson, 2005, p 22) On the other side,

“identity” is context-bound, therefore, it is crucially related to social, cultural, and political contexts-interlocutors, institutional settings, etc (Duff and Uchida, 1997;

Varghese, Morgan, Johnston, and Johnson, 2005, p 23) Besides, individuals construct, maintain, and negotiate their identities to a considerable degree “through language and discourse” (Morgan, Johnston, and Johnson, 2005, p 23) Taking these premises into consideration, Miller (2009) also defines “identity” as relational, negotiated, constructed, enacted, transforming, and transitional (p 174) Additionally, she attaches importance to the facet of discourse in identity processes and the role of the “other” (whether/how individuals are recognized by surrounding community members) in negotiation and legitimation of one’s identity work In order to advocate these definitions, Tsui (2007) maintains that “identity” is not only relational (e.g., how one talks or thinks about oneself, or how others talk or think about one) but also experiential (e.g., it is formed from one’s lived experience) Similarly, Wenger (1998) proposes that one’s identity does not live only in the way one talks or thinks about oneself, or only in the way others talk or think about one, but in the way one’s identity is lived daily

On the whole, identity is conceptualized differently by plenty of different scholars in the general literature What those meanings have in common is the idea that identity is not a fixed attribute of person, but a relational phenomenon (Beijaard et al, 2004) Identity, which is developed through interaction with the environment in social contexts or in an intersubjective domain, can be characterized as an ongoing process, a process of interpreting oneself as a certain kind of person and being recognized as such in a given context (Gee, 2001) Although there has existed a repertoire of different definitions of identity, it would seem that there has existed the inconsistence in the concept of identity This suggests that identity as an abstract and ambiguous term has various meanings in different contexts, so producing clear insights into the concept of identity accurately is quite hard

2.1.1.2 Identity (re)construction and (re)negotiation

Identity, as a whole, relates to not only the personal dimensions of self but also incorporates the various responses to the external world One’s sense of self (identity) may develop when he/she is a child within a particular sociocultural context (e.g., family, ethnic group) but may change due to contact with others and desire or willingness to open up to new environments and ideas (Jackson, 2008, p 33) Hence, many researchers, especially social constructionists, approve of the assumption that identity is (re)constructed and negotiated in social contexts (Burns and Bell, 2011; Burns and Richards, 2009; Norton Pierce, 1995; Olsen, 2008; Wenger, 1998) According to Burns and Richards (2009), identity reflects how individuals see themselves and how they enact their roles within different settings (p 5) Burns and Bell (2011) points out that one’s identity is constantly constructed and reconstructed in interaction with the others in socially-valued activities (p 958) In other words, the (re)construction and (re)negotiation of one’s identity in various settings is viewed as a major aspect of growing and maturing as a human being and of defining one’s place in society Naturally, individuals possess multiple identities which they continuously negotiate, reconstruct, and enact through discursive tools as they enact with other individuals in different contexts Norton Peirce (1995) believes that it is the conceptualization of identity as positioning within representation that permits people to transform and reconstruct their given or produced identities within a new cultural and historical situation, and to imagine new subjectivities and positionalities As stated by Danielewicz (2001), individuals are constituted subjects and their identities are produced through participation in discourse (p 11) Identity is constructed, maintained, and negotiated to a significant extent through discourse (or language) and Discourse (Gee, 2012) Norton (2009) argues that discourse (or language) is the tool through which representations and meanings are (re)constructed and negotiated, and a primary means through which ideologies are transmitted (p 32) For instance, in language classes, discourse (or language) is not only the subject matter which teachers use as a means of language instruction but also the linguistic and cultural medium through which classroom Discourses are constructed

Wenger (1998, p 149) thinks that identity is closely related to practice and the construction of one’s identity is a dual process of identification and negotiation of meanings Wenger (1998) proposes that identities are formed amid the tension between our investment in the various forms of belonging and our ability to negotiate the meanings that matter in those contexts (p 88) He explores identity construction based on three modes of belonging as the sources of identification: engagement, imagination, and alignment Also, he investigates identity formation as the negotiation of meanings within a social configuration In his sense, identification constitutes the investment of self in building associations and differentiations Identification is not only reificative (self-identify or being identified as belonging to socially-organized categories, roles, etc.) but also participative (the lived experience of belonging that constitutes who individuals are) Wenger (1988) thinks that identity is thus construed as a mass of negotiations in which the individual attempts to reconcile perceptions of self with those of others, including the broader social and cultural communities in which he/she practices To put it simply, as people widen their social networks and the contexts in which they live and work, they continue to construct and negotiate their identities over time that relates to not only the new individuals and groups with whom they interact but also the new roles they take on in such contexts or communities of practice (Lave and Wenger, 1992; Wenger, 1998)

In brief, the foregoing provides some general discussions of identity (re)construction and negotiation Given the said discussions, I am, herein, in favor of these researchers’ common idea that identity is (re)constructed and (re)negotiated in socio-cultural contexts (Burns and Bell, 2011; Burns and Richards, 2009; Norton Pierce, 1995; Olsen, 2008; Wenger, 1998) It is such advocacy that contributes to orienting myself in the implementation of this study

2.1.2 Teacher identity and language teacher identity

2.1.2.1 Teacher identity and language teacher identity conceptualization

The term “teacher identity” in general and “language teacher identity” in particular is also vague, so lacking a clear definition of “teacher identity” and

“language teacher identity” is considered a challenge to understand the impact of identity on teacher education practices (Beauchamp and Thomas, 2009; Beijaard et al., 2004; Mocker, 2011) The researchers attempt to offer a comprehensive understanding of “teacher identity and “language teacher identity” mostly show how teacher identity/language teacher identity is characterized, what it influences and is influenced by, and how it is theorized rather than explicitly defining teacher identity/language teacher identity (Beauchamp and Thomas, 2009; Beijaard et al., 2004; Mocker, 2011) Teacher identity and language teacher identity has been understood in different ways in teacher education literature; however, the view of teacher identity is relatively associated with the study of language teacher identity Teacher identity has been used in academic research to describe how teachers seem to understand themselves as teachers (Ball and Goodson, 1985) whereas language teacher identity refers 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 (Morgan, 2004; Pavlenko, 2003) Also, teacher identity is used to mention “the influence on teachers, how individuals see themselves, and how they enact their profession in their settings” (Varghese, 2006, p 212); to show “instantiations of discourse, systems of power/knowledge that regulate and ascribe social values to all forms of human activity” (Morgan, 2004, p 173); to be “relational, constructed and altered how I see others and how they see me in our shared experiences and negotiated interactions” (Johnson, 2003, p 788); to refer to “individual’s knowledge and naming of themselves as well as others’ recognition of them as a particular sort of person” (Clarke, 2008, p 8); to be “an organizing element in teachers’ professional lives” (Beauchamp and Thomas, 2009, p 175) and “a resource that teachers can use to explain, justify and make sense of themselves in relation to others, and to the work at large” (MacLure, 1993, p 311) Besides, teacher identity is multidimensional, situated, varied and shifting according to the sociocultural context in which a teacher works and lives (Le, 2010) The situated nature of teacher identity is related to the stories to live by (Connelly and Clandinin, 1999, p 4) This implies that teachers’ stories to live by are informed by the ways teachers make sense of their role according to the socio-cultural contexts of teaching In reality, teaching is a complex procedure which concerns the whole person and is affected by personal and social processes

(Olsen, 2012) Teacher identity is not a fixed property and is a dynamic process which is socially situated and is differentiated from a teacher’s role (Olsen, 2012) This process is affected by the socio-political context and culture in which teachers work and live At face value, identity is not fixed property of a teacher but rather a process that evolves, changes, or is resisted as teachers gain experience through classroom practice, consolidate professional and experiential knowledge, and negotiate forms of participation in a teacher community as well as adopting plans for personal and professional development The following is an overview of the gathered conceptualizations of teacher identity in the current teacher education literature

“Teacher identity should be defined as an ongoing process of negotiating and interrelating multiple I-positions in such a way that a more or less coherent and consistent sense of self is maintained throughout various participations and self-investments in one’s (working) life”

Teacher identity is continuously changing, not a fixed process

“Teacher identity refers not only to the influence of the conceptions and expectations of other people, including broadly accepted images in society about what a teacher should know and do, but also to what teachers themselves find important in their professional work and lives based on both their experiences in practice and their personal backgrounds.”

Teacher identity can be explored from conceptions and expectations of selves and other people

“What beginning teachers believe about teaching and learning as self-as- teacher”

Teacher identity can be explored from beginning teachers’ beliefs in their job

4 Cohen (2010, p 473) “How teachers view themselves as professionals in the context of changing work situations, often driven by changes in education policy”

Teacher identity can be explored from contexts and education policies

5 Hsieh (2010, p 1) “The beliefs, values, and commitments an individual holds toward being a teacher (as distinct from another professional) and being a particular type of teacher (e.g., an urban teacher, a beginning teacher, a good teacher, an English teacher, etc.)”

Teacher identity can be explored from teachers’ beliefs, commitments, and values

6 Kelchtermans (1993, “Teachers’ conception about Teacher identity can be

No Sources Definitions Critique p 447) themselves as a teacher and a system of knowledge and beliefs concerning

‘teaching’ as a professional activity” explored from teachers’ knowledge and beliefs

7 Lasky (2005, p 901) “Teacher professional identity is how teachers define themselves to themselves and to others [and is] a construct of professional self that evolves over career stages and can be shaped by school, reform, and political contexts.”

Teacher identity can be explored from teachers’ career stages and contexts

Factors influencing teacher professional identity (re)construction and (re)negotiation

The process of identity (re)construction and (re)negotiation can be influenced by a variety of factors, such as the social relationships and interactions with others within a sociocultural, historical, and institutional context; emotions; values; beliefs; traditions; educational background; discourses; and job and life experiences; among many others (Beauchamp and Thomas, 2011; Coldron and Smith, 1999; Palmer, 1997; Zembylas, 2003) A wide range of external and internal factors have been identified from many different perspectives

From a cognitive perspective, the unobservable mental dimensions of teachers’ work that affects teacher professional identity can involve reflection, relationship with students, colleagues, as well as parents, sense of agency, self-awareness, critical conciseness, teacher voice, confidence, and cognitive knowledge (Borg, 2003, p 82) From a personal perspective, teacher identity construction involves reflections, emotions, discourse, agency, context and the self (Beauchamp and Thomas, 2009; Beijaard, Meijer, and Verloop, 2004) Multiple selves are associated with different voices of discourse: the personal, the professional, and institutional (Roberts, 2000, cited in Beijaard et al., 2004, p 114) Meanwhile, Antonek et al (1997) identifies reflection as a key component associated with the concept of self This is to say, to develop the self as a teacher, he emphasizes the need to develop reflective skills Through self-reflection, teachers relate experiences to their own knowledge and feelings, and are willing and able to integrate what is socially relevant into their images of themselves as teachers (Korthagen, 2001) Another aspect worth mentioning is agency as an important component in teachers’ identity formation (Danielewicz, 2001) He believes that agency is the “power or freedom or will to act, to make decisions, to exert pressure, to participate or to be strategically silent” (Danielewicz, 2001, p 163) In his sense, the term “agency” is understood that individuals act on their own rather than repeating others’ practices From a social perspective, it involves influences of the context, traditions, experiences, social interactions, and positioning (Beauchamp and Thomas, 2009; Coldron and Smith, 1999; Kelly, 2006; Miller, 2009) Teachers’ sense of developing their professional identity can contextually depend on their developing notions of the professional community Hence, it is the harmonious mixture of those personal and social factors that can assist teachers in constantly negotiating and reshaping their identities in communities through social interactions and experiences Influencing factors in shaping teacher identity relate to personal biography, gender, culture, social relationships, working conditions, age, school culture, curriculum, policies, teaching resources, and access to professional development (Beauchamp and Thomas, 2009; Johnston; 2012; Miller, 2009; Richards, 2009) For example, when it comes to one of those influencing factors, Knowles (1992) recognizes the importance of a teacher’s biography in the process of identity As Knowles (1992) writes about early childhood experiences, early teacher role models, previous teaching experiences, and significant or important people and significant prior experiences as relevant biographical categories Similarly, the factors that influence the (re)construction and (re)negotiation of teacher professional identity include teachers’ competence in their academic subjects (Clandinin et al., 2009; Trent, 2010; Tsui, 2007); their self-image, self-esteem, job motivation, and satisfaction; their perception of their own jobs; their expectations for future job prospects (Day et al., 2006); workplace environment (Beauchamp and Thomas, 2009; Burns and Bell, 2011); personal history, social interactions and psychological and cultural factors (Cooper and Olson, 1996) Besides, there is also an emotional component of identity (e.g., appraisal, subjective experience, physiological change, emotion expressions or action tendencies) as the foundation for positive or negative feelings that explores teacher change and teacher identity (Coldron and Smith, 1999; Day, 2012; Day et al., 2006; Zembylas, 2003) Aside that, language is also an important factor in teacher identity since identity can be narrated By means of language, individuals’ accounts of themselves, their practices, and discourses in which they engage can reveal the process of identification of the person Stories are conceived to express and construct identity via discourse (Beauchamp and Thomas, 2009; Norton, 2006; Trent, 2013)

Professional identity is not only influenced by teachers’ personal characteristics, learning history and prior experiences, but also by their professional contexts, including colleagues, knowledge, skills and educational attitudes (Beauchamp and Thomas, 2009; Beijaard et al., 2014; Olsen, 2010) Goodson and Cole (1994, p 88) regard teachers as persons and professionals whose lives and works are influenced and made meaningful by factors and conditions inside and outside the classroom and school And it is thought by many that teacher professional identity involves the interaction between the teacher as a person and the teacher as a professional, operating in a particular (educational) context (Beijaard et al., 2004; Olsen, 2011; Wenger, 1998) or the outcome of the interaction between the personal experiences of teachers and the social, cultural, and institutional contexts in which they function on a daily basis (Van de Berg, 2002) Teacher identity is configured and reconfigured as they utilize the resources and discourses in those contexts, socialize with their colleagues and students, and navigate the system of activities For instance, Singh and Richards (2006) focus on the “course room” (in which teacher education courses take place) as an influential context By means of the “course room”, teacher identity is (re)shaped in connection with socially situated activities which are performed in teacher education classrooms (Singh and Richards, 2006, p 170) Teachers often find themselves under the influence of context when making interpretations and decisions about their teaching (e.g, how teachers make instructional decisions, what theories they hold about teaching and learning, how they conceive their subject matter, and how they handle critical situations or unexpected teaching situations throughout the class) According to Miller (2009, p 175), teachers’ thoughts, knowledge beliefs, and activities are part of teacher identity which is continuously performed and transformed through interaction in classrooms Their thinking, speaking, and doing manifest the negotiation and enactment of their emerging identity and as they develop their identity, the kind of teacher they imagine being and becoming shapes their instructional beliefs, values, and priorities Various facets of contexts contribute to adjusting framing and enactment of teaching identity they envision for themselves

On the whole, a large number of distinct factors have been identified by various scholars in teacher identity studies In other words, every research has revealed a range of distinctive factors from many different aspects This motivated me to investigate what external and internal factors, in this study, significantly influence the EFL university teachers’ (re)construction and (re)negotiation of professional identity as process and product.

Theoretical foundation in teacher identity studies

2.3.1 An overview of theoretical frameworks in teacher identity studies

In the domain of teacher education, many educational researchers have taken a number of theoretical frameworks into consideration with the intent to explore teacher identity formation (Dewey, 1938; Engestrửm, 2001; Gee, 2012; Kaplan, Garner and Semo, 2015; Lave and Wenger, 1991; Mead, 1934; Meijers and Hermans, 2018; Mockler, 2011; Olsen, 2008; Wenger, 1998; Vygotsky, 1978; Wertsch, 1991) Below is an overview of the theoretical underpinnings used in teacher identity studies; however, not all of them were adopted in this study

“Vygotsky’s social constructivism” as a source of socio-cultural and socio- cognitive theoretical propositions provides the theoretical foundation for a wide variety of current studies, especially the study of identity Although Vygotsky is concerned with identity, he views human mental development as originating in participation in socio-cultural processes

“Vygotsky's sociocultural theory views human development as a socially mediated process in which children acquire their cultural values, beliefs, and problem-solving strategies through collaborative dialogues with more knowledgeable members of society Vygotsky's theory is comprised of concepts such as culture-specific tools, private speech, and the Zone of Proximal Development” (Vygotsky, 1978)

Within the socio-cultural environment, “higher mental functions” refer to such abilities as memory control, problem solving, or interpreting, which are developed and acquired through mediation (language learning) and internalization (language learning in social interactions with the more knowledgeable members of society or the process of learning from social to individual) It is culturally mediated and internalized functions that result in an individual’s personal behavior, emotions, and self-control The individual develops his or her inner by giving meaning and internalizing the symbols present in the social, cultural, and political environment that shape his/her identity (Penuel and Wertsch, 1995) Vygotsky's theory highlights the fundamental role of social interaction in the development of cognition (Vygotsky,

1978), as he believes strongly that community plays a central role in the process of

"making meaning” Social interaction is referred as a main process of learning component According to Vygotsky (1978), “learning is a necessary and universal aspect of the process of developing culturally organized, specifically human psychological function” (p 90) In other words, Vygotsky emphasizes the collaborative nature of learning by the construction of knowledge through social negotiation, which rejects Piaget’s assumption that it is possible to separate learning from its social context Besides, if Piaget maintains the idea that language depends on thought for its development, Vygotsky underlines the internalization of language developed from social interactions for communication purposes that drives cognitive development Vygotsky views language as a very powerful tool of intellectual adaptation which refers to methods of thinking and problem-solving strategies that are internalized through social interactions with the more knowledgeable members of society, and even as a means communicating with the outside world One of the most important aspects of Vygotsky’s socio-cultural theory is the concept of Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) defined as “the distance between the actual developmental level as determined through problem-solving under adult guidance or in collaboration with more capable peers” (Vygotsky, 1978, p 86) In his opinion,

ZPD is seen as the gap between what an individual knows and what he/she can do in collaboration with others or with the guidance of more experienced people Nevertheless, Lambert and Clyde (2000, p 29) critiques that “we feel…that Vygotsky’s ZPD presents a restricted view of learning processes and reduces the learner’s role to one of passivity and dependence upon the adult.” The critique of Lambert and Clyde is similar to the previous idea of Piaget’s discovery learning While Piaget places focus on self-initiated discovery that encourages each individual to work more independently, Vygotsky stresses more on social interaction and the more knowledgeable other that leads to the unavoidable status of passivity and dependence As opposed to such, Vygotsky’s socio-cultural theory is rated as one of the most significant theories (e.g., B.F Skinner’s theory of behaviorism, Chomsky’s theory of universal grammar, or Krashen’s five hypotheses of second language acquisition) that contributes to changing people’s mind of language learning In his theory, he emphasizes the importance of language learning in social interaction Thus, Vygotsky has developed a socio-cultural approach as a form of social constructivism based on the idea that cognitive functions are the products of social interactions Through social interactions within the sociocultural environments, individuals’ identities are constructed, negotiated and reconstructed in their communities As for me, I feel that Vygotsky emphasizes the social contributions to the process of development and consider the development of the integrated perspective on teacher identity, but he does not refer to the stages of development of each teacher

“Activity theory” has origins in Kant, Hegel, Marx, and the Soviet Russian socio- cultural psychology of Vygotsky, Leont’ev, Luria and Ilyenkov Activity theory has experienced variations that are made in three principal stages or generation The initial generation based on Vygotsky’s theory of cultural mediation views human actions from individual perspectives (Engestrửm, 2001) Human consciousness develops within practical social activity settings in which relations between human agent and environmental objects are mediated by tools and signs (Engestrửm, 1987) Next is followed by human activities from collective standpoints based on Leont’ev’s notion of activity system (Engestrửm, 2001; Leont’ ev, 1978) This means, the unit of analysis is the collective activity system The third generation is contradictions within activity theory (Dang, 2013; Engestrửm, 1987, 2001), which are defined as

“historically accumulating structural tensions within and between activity systems”, are considered the driving force behind transformations and innovations (Engestrửm,

1987, p 137) Activity theory explores the ways sociocultural historical contexts shape human activity Activity theory views activity (human practices mediated by tools) not as a simple individual action (individual activities) but as being culturally and historically located (social interactions) In other words, activity theory stems from the fundamental view of purposeful activity in a cultural historical context as the fundamental unit for the study of human behavior Activity theory is an approach which underpins the complex and dynamic human problems of research and practice Hence, activity theory is geared towards a practice which embodies a qualitative approach that offers a different lens for analyzing learning processes and outcomes

It mainly focuses on human activities in areas such as those in the field of education Therefore, activity theory can be used as a theoretical framework in the study of teacher identity based on Engestrửm’s Expended Activity Theory Model (Figure 2.1) The model demonstrates the interactions between various parts of the social systems (Subject, Object, Instrument, Rules, Community, and Division of Labour) towards a particular objective (Outcome)

Engestrửm’s Expended Activity Theory Model

Note This model was produced by Engestrửm in 2001 From “Activity theory: a framework for qualitative analysis,” by N H Hashim and M L Jones, 2007, 4 th International Qualitative Research Convention

Copyright 2007 by Nor Hazlina Hashim and M L Jones

“Positioning theory” is broadly used as a theoretical framework in teacher identity studies Positioning theory is a post-structuralist theory, in which “a given person’s identity is equated to her discursive position” According to Davies and Harré (1990), individuals position themselves either interactively (by how others position them) or reflexively (i.e self-positioning) Positioning is one way to uncover how individuals construct and enact identities during moment-to-moment interactions (Vetter et al.,

2013, p 233), or also is a “discursive process whereby selves are located in conversations as observably and subjectively coherent participants in jointly produced storylines” (Davies and Harré, 1990, p 91) In this sense, the positioning theory focuses on the construction of identities through discourse The term

“discourse” has various meaning and is used different across disciplines, but its common use is related to “language-in-use” Basically, social realities as a way of being in the world are constantly generated by, in and through language, in many forms (i.e., talk shows, thoughts, emails, workshops or conversations) From another perspective, Gee (2012) explains discourse beyond language-in-use is understood as big “D” Discourses that relates to “who you are and what you are doing” (p 2) In his opinion, Discourses refer to “ways of behaving, interacting, valuing, thinking, believing, speaking and often reading/writing, that are accepted as instantiations of particular identities (Gee, 2012, p 3) This is to say, identities, which are constructed by individuals through discursive acts, are shaped by discourses Not only do individuals create discourses by engaging in those practice associated with them, but individuals are also constructed by the discourses in which they participate (Danielewicz, 2001, p 137) Generally, every social interaction can be described as discourse, which is the environment where identities develop, the method used by individuals to construct identities, and the process that acts upon individuals to shape identities In other words, discourse is regarded as the medium in which and through which identities arise and evolve, since it plays a particularly significant role in post- structuralist understandings of teacher identity formation (Bitzman, 2003;

Danielewicz, 2001) In the study of teacher identity, not only does discourse refer to language in use (Fairclough, 2003), but discourse is also covered with ways of acting, interacting, valuing, feeling, dressing, thinking and believing in combination with speaking/listening and reading/writing (Gee, 2012, p 3) This means individuals make their own storylines on the basis of every position during discourse and negotiate their identities during professional development experiences Thus, the positioning theory can be used as a framework for the study of teacher identity in and through discourse

“Mockler’s theoretical framework” can be used for exploiting the formation and mediation of teacher professional identity within particular social-cultural contexts Concurring with some scholars (Cross, 2006; Engestrửm, 2001; Varghese, Morgan, Johnston, and Johnson, 2005), Mockler stresses the importance of understanding teacher identity as an integral aspect of understanding teachers as learners of teaching and their professional learning This is because learning to teach is learning to think, know, and feel like a teacher (Feiman-Nemser, 2008) In favor of this perspective, Mockler (2011) says, “an understanding processes by which teacher professional identity is formed and mediated is central to understanding the professional learning and development needs of teachers and advancing a richer, more transformative vision for education” (p 517) If Pennington (2015, p 17) focus on exploring the interrelation between both personal and professional sides of teacher identity, Mockler (2011) pays attention to distinguishing three dimensions of teacher identity She demonstrates a framework for understanding teacher identity formation that consists of three main aspects In details, Mockler (2011) develops a model, named

“The Formation and Mediation of Teacher Professional Identity”, in which teachers’ lives and work is constituted across and out of the three key domains of their personal experiences, professional context and the external political environment (Figure 2.2) This model shows the overlapping and entwined nature of three domains (personal development, professional learning and teacher activism) in the constitution of teachers’ lives and work (“being a teacher”) The domain of teachers’ personal experience relates primarily to those aspects of their personal lives (e.g., gender, schooling, education or family context, like parenthood and child raising) that exist outside of the professional The domain of teachers’ professional context relates to those aspects of their experience (e.g., career histories, professional learning, professional development experience, particular school and system contexts which are framed within an education context, or processes of accreditation, registration and recognition of professional competence and achievement), of which teachers’ careers and professional learning are seen as the main features Teachers broaden their professional experiences and career histories through “involvement in professional associations, unions and networks on small and large scales” (Mockler, 2011, p 521) This idea resonates with the communities of practice developed by Wenger (1998) where teacher identity is shaped while engaging in various professional communities The domain of the external political environment comprises the discourses, attitudes and understandings surrounding education that exist external to the profession experienced by teachers largely through the mass media or the recognition of society, but also through the development of government policy which relates to their work and the ways in which political ideology impacts upon their work as a result of government policy Three domains work in a dynamic, shifting manner, such that the impact of each upon an individual’s sense of professional self and decision-making processes changes in intensity and significance dependent upon the circumstance and context Professional learning lies at the intersection of professional context and personal experience, requiring both professional and personal relevance to be effective in enhancing or changing practice The intersection of professional context and external political environment is teacher activism, which may be performed inside or outside of the classroom or school, sees teachers engage actively in political environment The remaining is personal development at the intersection of personal experience and external political environment that contributes to enhanced engagement and understanding of the self, the field of practice or the political dimension On the whole, Mockler’s (2011) model can be used as a framework for the study of teacher identity

The Formation and Mediation of Teacher Professional Identity

Previous studies

Studies on teacher identity have begun to flourish since the 1980s, contributing to the development of teacher professional identity as an emerging field of teaching and teacher education Over the last decade, teacher professional identity has emerged as a separate research area (Beauchamp and Thomas, 2009; Beijaard, Meijer, and Verloop, 2004; Bullough, 1997; Connelly and Clandinin, 1999; Erikson, 1968; Knowles, 1992; Mead, 1934; Olsen, 2008) Taking this area into consideration, it can be recorded that researchers conceptualize professional identity differently (Gee, 2000; Knowles, 1992; Mead, 1934; Mockler, 2011; Olsen, 2008; Tsui, 2007; Wenger

1998) Moreover, in those studies, researchers pursue a diversity of goals pertaining to distinctive emphases from numerous perspectives, such as teachers’ life experience (Morgan, 2004; Tsui, 2003); teachers’ personal practical knowledge (Connelly and

Clandinin, 1999; Morgan, 2004); teachers’ roles (Goodson and Cole, 1994; Volkmann and Anderson, 1998); teachers’ images of self (Knowles, 1992); teachers’ thoughts, knowledge beliefs and activities (Miller, 2009); teachers’ cognitive knowledge (Borg, 2003); teachers’ professional lives in sociocultural contexts (Cohen, 2010; Le, 2013; Olsen, 2008; Wenger, 1998); teachers’ moral roles (Johnston, 2003; Phan et al., 2006); teacher professional identity construction and negotiation through discourse (Danielewicz, 2001; Gee, 2000); teacher identity change in the wave of educational reform or curriculum reform (Liu, 2011; Sachs, 1999); beginning teachers’ professional identity tensions (Alsup, 2006; Meijer, 2011; Olsen, 2010; Pillen, Beijaard, and Brok, 2013); student teachers’ experiences during the practicum (Le, 2014); or teacher professional identity in relation to job satisfaction (Chen, 2010; Yan, 2008) Additionally, when researchers carry out a multitude of studies on teacher identity in general and teacher professional identity in particular, they investigate a great deal of varying themes within such theoretical frameworks as social constructivism (Vygotsky, 1978), activity theory (Engestrửm,

2001), positioning theory (Danielewicz, 2001; Gee, 2012), and social-cultural theories (Davey, 2013; Johnson, 2009; Kaplan et al., 2015; Meijers and Hermans, 2018; Mockler, 2011; Norton, 2006; Olsen, 2016; Tsui, 2007; Wenger, 1998) For further understanding, here is the detailed account of several previous studies on teacher professional identity in particular and teacher identity in general that can be viewed as one of the most prominent or representative studies undertaken by many Vietnamese and international well-known scholars or researchers

Previous studies on teacher professional identity abroad

The study of teacher professional identity can gain deep insights into the professional development of teachers (e.g., pre-service/ student teachers, novice/ beginning teachers, in-service or expert/experienced teachers) from a variety of perspectives (e.g., personal, professional, social, emotional or discursive perspectives) based on different theoretical frameworks (e.g., positioning theory, a theory of social learning, communities of practice or activity theory)

Afrianto (2014) undertakes research on the complexities of pre-service English teachers’ identity construction during the teaching practicum in Riau University, Indonesia Drawing on Olsen’s framework, the study explores the motivations behind participants’ decisions to become English teachers Participants are a small number of pre-service English teachers Qualitative data are gathered from the in-depth one- to-one interviews and the focused-group discussion The findings of the study demonstrates that motives to be an English teacher in Indonesia were varied, including altruism, moral and religious values, life experience and the influence of significant others, the status of English as an international language and a suitable profession for females Also, the findings reveals that these motivations originated from childhood, schooling, and the familial experiences of participants The implication for further research about teaching in Indonesia would be inclined to design longitudinal research for a purpose of investigating changes in the motivation of English teachers, especially older teachers, as they move through their careers Beijaard et al (2004) reconsiders research on teacher professional identity over the span of 1988 - 2000 by means of systematically analyzing 22 studies on teacher professional identity that are classified into three categories, involving (1) studies in which the focus was on teacher professional identity information, (2) studies in which the focus identity was on the identification of characteristics of teacher professional identity, and (3) studies in which professional identity was (re)presented by teacher professional identity In the studies reviewed, the concept of professional identity was defined differently or not defined at all (Coldron and Smith, 1999; Connelly and Clandinin, 1999; Goodson and Cole, 1994; Sugrue, 1997; Volkmann and Anderson,

1998) Many of the reviewed studies were inclined to emphasize the teachers’ personal practical knowledge (i.e., stories or narratives); however, only a few studies made the relationship between such knowledge and their professional identity explicit (Bakhtin, 1981; Gee, 2001; Giddens, 1991) Based on the studies reviewed, Beijaard et al (2004) identified four features that may function as a general framework for future research on teacher professional identity, including the relationship between relevant concepts “self” and “identity”; the role of the context in professional identity formation; what counts as professional in professional identity; and research perspectives other than the cognitive one Some studies places focus on describing the process of identity formation of different subjects, like of student teachers (Antonek et al., 1997; Volkmann and Anderson, 1998); of special groups of teachers (Goodson and Cole, 1994; Mawhinney and Xu, 1997) Some other studies target at describing the tension between person and context in the process of professional identity formation from theoretical and practical perspectives (Coldron and Smith, 1999; Samuel and Stephens, 2000)

Buchanan and Olsen (2018) present a situated view of teacher identity by means of taking the reform landscape of teacher education and examines its effect on two beginning teachers in California into consideration Teacher identity is treated as a social practice-based analytic highlighting how a teacher’s self is made, and continually re-made, inside the flow of contextualized practice (Akkerman and Meijer, 2011; Beauchamp and Thomas, 2009; Mockler, 2011; Olsen, 2008, 2014) In this way, teacher identity is both a process and a product It is the process of self, others, and multiple contexts interacting to create a person’s understandings of and for herself (Olsen, 2014) And it is the always-under-construction product that results (Alsup, 2006; Beauchamp and Thomas, 2009; Beijaard, Verloop, and Vermunt,

2000) By viewing the two student teachers, Buchanan and Olsen (2018) provides a grounded discussion of teacher identity that demonstrated three primary themes (including teacher education program’s goals, the centralizing of the student teaching practicum, and the larger landscape of teacher education), and simultaneously illuminate what it means to participate in teacher education today

The study of Cheung (2014) reviews a total of 28 selected journal papers published between 2003 and 2013 that are related to the topic of language teacher identity and narratives The reviewed papers that focus on pre-service and in-service teachers are classified into two categories, including understanding teacher identity and narrative as a lens to explore a teacher identity It is worth pointing out that the number of papers related to experienced in-service teachers is small compared to those concerning newly qualified teachers Among the selected papers, most of the papers reviewed are concerned with narratives and language-teacher identity in tertiary institutions The study concludes that the selected papers revealed a consistent understanding that identity is a multifaceted and dynamic concept that should be defined according to context and purpose (Beauchamp and Thomas, 2009; Burns and Bell, 2011; Lee, 2013; Tsui, 2007) Also, the reviewed papers show that it is important to study teachers’ stories to learn about their challenging experiences in their study and work environments, since their experiences play a significant part in constructing and reconstructing their professional identity as teacher (Bilgen and Richards, 2014; Burns and Bell, 2011; Frank, 2000; Smith and Squire, 2007) The study highlights gaps in existing works that future research on professional teacher identity needs to address, including the factor of teacher emotions; a need for more studies involving experienced language teachers, teachers of diverse including special backgrounds, immigrant teachers, and primary school teachers; the use of longitudinal approaches

Nguyen (2017) works on a study “Negotiating contradictions in developing teacher identity during the EAL practicum in Australia” The study reports on how Maria, a non-native English speaker (NNES) and preservice teacher (PST) of English as an additional language (EAL), developed her professional identity during the practicum in an Australian secondary school Drawing on Engestrửm’ s active theory, the study identities contradictions in Maria’s practicum activity and examines how Maria’s professional identity developed through her negotiation of the contradictions Data are collected from interviews with Maria before, during and after the practicum, her reflections, and an interview with her school mentor (Ms Davies), and relevant documents The findings reveal that Maria experienced contradictions between her multiple identities of NNES, students, becoming teacher, and classroom teacher, between her mentor’s teaching approach and that of her own, and between her practice and rules Some implications for researching teacher identity and supporting preservice EAL teachers in developing productive teacher identities during the practicum are also provided

Othman and Sultan (2021) carry out a study “Factors Influencing Non-Native EFL Teachers’ Identity Construction at a Saudi School in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia” The study is aimed to investigate how contextual factors influence the professional identity construction of three EFL teachers in a Saudi School in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, based on Wenger’s (1998) communities of practice framework Data collection tools, used in this qualitative case study, include in-depth interviews and classroom observation The results indicate that identity formation is a complex and highly contextual process These EFL teachers, who demonstrated how professional identity is a dynamic and socially situated construct, constructed their identity through their engagement in teaching environment, shared practices with their peers and student-parents relationship, and professional development Therefore, the participating teachers’ identity may be transformed by the global educational settings in which they work This study contributes to understanding of the importance of a conducive professional environment in supporting teachers of developing their professional identity

Salinas and Ayala (2018) carry out a study “EFL Student-Teachers’ Identity Construction: A Case Study in Chile” The objective of the study is to explore two undergraduate EFL female student-teachers’ identity construction processes at a Chilean university, adopting a sociocultural theoretical lens based on Vygotsky’s theory Data collection tools, used in this qualitative case study, involve narratives, semi-structured interviews, and a focus group session The results show that the process of student-teachers’ professional identity construction is unstable and dynamic, and is shaped by inter-related personal and external factors such as self- image, learning environment, and practicum experience The study also suggests a few topics for further research in Chile, including exploring the role of supervisory teachers and mentor teachers as a contextual factor in language teacher formation or reflection on their first teaching practices

Tsui (2007) works on a study to explore the complex processes of teacher identity formation through a narrative inquiry of the professional identity of an EFL teacher, Minfang Data are gathered from face-to-face storytelling, Minfang’s reflective diaries and intensive face-to-face conversations Drawing on Wenger’s (1998) social theory of identity formation as a dual process of identification and negotiation, the researcher examines the lived experience of Minfang as an EFL learner and EFL teacher throughout his 6-year teaching career, the processes that were involved as he struggled with multiple identities, the interplay between reification and negotiation of meanings, and the institutional construction and his personal reconstruction of identities The findings of the study indicates that the stories of Minfang emphasized the complex relationships between membership, competence, and legitimacy of access to practice; between the appropriation and ownership of meanings, the centrality of participation, and the mediating role of power relationships in the processes of identity formation

Varghese, Morgan, Johnston, and Johnson (2005) reviews ways of theorizing language teacher identity by presenting three data-based studies of teacher identity and juxtaposing the three different theoretical frameworks they use: Tajfel’s (1978) social identity theory, Lave and Wenger’s (1991) theory of situated learning, and Simon’s (1995) concept of the image-text Johnson’s study draws on the social identity theory of Hogg and Abrams (1998) based on the work of Tajfei (1978) to investigate the language teacher identity of a new teacher - a non-native English- speaking graduate student in an MA TESOL program Social identity theory approves of the concept of identity based on social categories by society (e.g., nationality, race or class) that are relational in power and status Individuals derive identity, or understanding of self, “in great part from the social categories to which they belong” (Hogg and Abrams, 1998, p 19) Varghese’s ethnographic study investigates language teacher identity formation of a group of bilingual teachers (preservice and in-service) in the United States through situated learning - as a process of becoming part of a community of practice (Lave and Wenger, 1991; Wenger, 1998) Morgan’s study investigates the notion of a teacher’s identity as a form of pedagogy Through self-reflection and participant observation notes collected over several months in a community-based ESL program, Morgan gains insights into the perceptions his students had of him- an “image-text” (Simon, 1995) - and how these perceptions, in many ways, underpinned both the relaxed and mostly positive atmosphere of the classroom and the types of language learning that took place within After review, it is concluded that teacher identity is, on the one hand, a profoundly individual and psychological matter because it concerns the self-image and other-image of particular teachers On the other hand, it is a social matter because the formation, negotiation, and growth of teacher identity is a fundamentally social process taking place in institutional settings, such as teacher education programs and schools It is considered a process that inextricably intertwined with language and discourse, in so far as all identities are maintained to a significant degree through discourse; however, it is also very much a real-world phenomenon that impacts teachers’ standing in their communities as well as affecting their wages and working conditions Several suggestions are to take account of the way teachers’ identities are discursively constructed, recognize the real social pressures being brought to bear on the teachers themselves; capture the social and institutional settings in which identities are formed; acknowledge the effect of such processes on individual minds or need the concept of knowledge and understandings as socially constructed

Previous studies on teacher professional identity in Vietnam

Looking back, it can be acknowledged that a multitude of general education studies have been conducted in the field of teacher identity by a multitude of scholars or researchers worldwide Nonetheless, when it comes to Vietnamese EFL teacher identity, there has seemingly recorded a limited source of previous studies on this domain in Vietnam Only a few domestic scholars considered Vietnamese teacher identity as the core of their researches (Dang, 2012; Le, 2014; Le and Phan, 2013; Nguyen, 2017; Nguyen, 2021; Pham, 2021; Phan et al., 2006; Phan, 2008) Several below-mentioned studies can illustrate this

Chapter summary

This chapter gives a brief account of the literature on teacher identity in general and teacher professional identity in particular (e.g., definitions, characteristics or previous studies) My working definition of this study is “Teacher professional identity is defined as ongoing process and product to be (re)constructed and (re)negotiated in socio-cultural contexts” It also provides deeper insights into a number of theoretical frameworks for the studies on teacher identity and teacher professional identity (Engestrửm, 2001; Mockler, 2011; Olsen, 2008, 2016; Vygotsky, 1978; Wenger, 1998) and an overview of previous studies on teacher identity and teacher professional identity This study follows the socio-cultural theory (Davey, 2013; Johnson, 2009; Mockler, 2011; Olsen, 2008, 2016; Wenger,1998) because its aims are to investigate the EFL university teachers’ (re)construction and (re)negotiation of professional identity as process and product as well as to analyze factors that significantly influence such (re)construction and (re)negotiation of their professional identity More specifically, the frameworks of Olsen (2008, 2016) and Wenger (1998) was selected as the theoretical foundation for building up the framework for this study, named “Teacher Professional Identity Model” The details of the framework are presented in Chapter 3 (Research Methodology).

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Research paradigm

The research paradigm adopted in this study is grounded on “constructivism” that is associated with the world’s reality through interactions (Creswell, 2014; Crotty,

1998) The constructivist paradigm is regarded as a philosophical worldview that supports this study of investigating the EFL university teachers’ professional identity as process and product as well as the influencing factors from their personal opinions or subjective interpretations of the world with which they engage through interactions Following the constructivist paradigm, this study is relied on relativist ontology, subjectivist epistemology and qualitative methodology

Research paradigms or worldviews are viewed as a general philosophical orientation about the world and the nature of research that brings to a study Researchers are guided by “a basic set of beliefs that guide action” (Guba, 1990, p

17) or as “a basic set of beliefs and feelings about the world and how it should be studied” (Denzin and Lincoln, 2005, p 22) Research paradigms are characterized by three main theoretical premises: ontology, epistemology, and methodology (Crotty, 1998; Neuman, 2009; Guba, 1990) Constructivism is one of four principal worldviews as per Creswell’s classification (Creswell, 2014, p 36) Constructivists believe that the world is socially constructed through interaction with others and the meaning of different phenomena are socially generated - that is, to make sense of (or interpret) the meanings others have about the world (Creswell, 2014) or to construct meanings as human beings engage with the world they are interpreting (Crotty, 1998)

To put it simply, individuals seek their own understanding or interpretation of the world in which they live and work In the constructivism paradigm, the ontological and epistemological beliefs are considered a means to explore various realities, knowledge constructed from participants’ experiences, contexts and process of meaning negotiation through social interaction Such social realities are, then, described and interpreted by means of qualitative research methods

Constructivism is selected as the philosophical worldview for this study because the perspectives being studied are compatible with the whole characteristics of the constructivist paradigm (e.g., understanding, multiple participant meanings, social and historical construction, or theory generation) Specifically, this study seeks to gain deeper insights into the EFL university teachers’ professional identity as process and product as well as the factors affecting such (re)construction and (re)negotiation

To fully understand, in-depth data from multiple participant meanings - that is, the participating teachers’ subjective views and interpretations - was used Furthermore, these teachers’ professional identity cannot be investigated without their individual views or subjective interpretations of the world in which they live, study and work through interactions Following the constructivist paradigm, this study is based on the relativist ontology, the subjectivist epistemology and the qualitative methodology This is to say, within relativism, the participating teachers’ professional identity is a dynamic and ongoing, not stable and fixed, process and a product that is (re)constructed and (re)negotiated through interactions with each other in the study About the epistemology, this study refers to the subjective views of the participating teachers This implies that the participating teachers’ professional identity is (re)constructed and (re)negotiated through the interpretations of subjective views of such teachers Meanwhile, the qualitative methodology is characterized by the inductive approach through which meanings and understanding emerge from many different sources of collected data from research instruments (including guided reflective writings, semi-structured interviews, and classroom observations) Below is a short summary of the relativist ontology, the subjectivist epistemology, and the qualitative methodology of the constructivist paradigm as adopted in this study

Ontological beliefs (the nature of reality)

Epistemological beliefs (how reality is known)

Methodological beliefs (approach to inquiry)

Constructivism The EFL university teachers’ professional identity is a dynamic and ongoing, not stable and fixed, process and a product that is (re)constructed and (re)negotiated through interactions with each other

The EFL university teachers’ professional identity is (re)constructed and (re)negotiated through not only the interpretations but also the negotiations of subjective views of such teachers

This study follows the inductive approach, through which meanings and understanding emerge from three different sources of collected data (including guided reflective writings, semi-structured interviews, classroom observations).

Theoretical framework of the study

Vygotsky’s theory is considered a foundation for the development of Olsen’s

(2008, 2016) and Wenger’s (1998) frameworks To resonate with Vygotsky, both Olsen and Wenger emphasize constructs through social interactions or negotiations

In this study, the participating teachers’ professional identity as process and product has been (re)constructed and (re)negotiation through their interpretations and negotiations (Olsen, 2008, 2016; Vygotsky, 1978; Wenger, 1998)

The frameworks of Olsen (2008, 2016) and Wenger (1998) are regarded as two typical representatives of the socio-cultural theory The theoretical framework for this study, named “Teacher Professional Identity Model”, was constructed based on the combined frameworks of Olsen (2008, 2016) and Wenger (1998) as stated in Figure 3.1 Olsen (2008, 2016) concentrates upon examining the process of teacher identity development that is manifested by the interdependent stages of a teaching career Olsen’s frameworks are also exemplified as a lens that demonstrates the interrelation of a teacher’s past, personal and professional lives, the interaction between a teacher’s self and the context and the mediation/the suffering of being mediated between a teacher and the others Meanwhile, Wenger (1998) focuses on examining identity from social participation that is characterized by learning as becoming and being in the context of communities Also, Wenger developed three modes of belonging - engagement, imagination, alignment - as a framework for understanding identity formation as a dual process of identification (a teacher’s ways of identifying with communities) and negotiability (a teacher’s corresponding ways of communicating with others) Taking these frameworks into consideration, the focus of Olsen and Wenger was relatively similar to the aims of this study Hence, the new framework for this study from the adaptation of Olsen and Wenger’s frameworks was created to investigate the EFL university teachers’ (re)construction and (re)negotiation of professional identity as process and product and influencing factors

The new framework for this study, named “Teacher Professional Identity Model”, represents six interdependent stages of a teacher’s life from their past, present, and future in a circle connected by interrupted lines: one’s biography (prior personal experience (incl family, schooling), prior work (prior professional experience (incl work w/kids), entry into teaching (reasons for entry), teacher ed experience (teacher education experience), being a teacher (current teaching context/practice), and future career plans (career plans/ teacher retention) Each of these stages is associated with Wenger’s (1998) modes of belonging - engagement, imagination, and alignment - as the framework for understanding the (re)construction and (re)negotiation of the participating teachers’ professional identity as process and product Each mode of belonging creates relations of belonging that develop teacher professional identity over time and space in different ways The interrupted lines indicate the accounts of interrelated stages in the non-chronological order across the context while the inside arrows represent the interconnectivity of stages that means each stage is continuously influencing and being influenced by the others The concepts of “transculturation” - enculturation, acculturation, deculturation, neoculturation - and “liminality” are used to explore teacher professional identity as process and product through the different phases of the transition process from one culture to another or from one state to another (the process of becoming and being) In this study, three EFL university teachers (re)constructed and (re)negotiated their professional identity when they have transitioned into liminal spaces in their teaching life.

Case study

The qualitative case study methodology, in this study, is employed to investigate the EFL university teachers’ (re)construction and (re)negotiation of their professional identity as process and product as well as analyze factors significantly influence such (re)construction and (re)negotiation of their professional identity The participants of the study involve a total of three EFL teachers working in a Vietnamese higher education context Each participating teacher is considered a single case that means this study contains more than a single case and a multiple case study is required In other words, the multiple case study is corresponding to this study In the multiple case study, the professional identity of every teacher is a dynamic and ongoing, not stable and fixed, process and a product that is (re)constructed and negotiated within a specific context (each setting) and various contexts (across settings) Also, it can make an in-depth study of professional identity that contributes to emphasizing the unity (unique product) and wholeness (general product) of professional identity of the EFL teachers working in a Vietnamese higher education context (Creswell, 1998; Gall et al., 2003; Merriam, 1998; Stake, 1988) For further understanding, here are a number of other fundamental aspects of the qualitative case study approach

Relying on the constructivist paradigm, qualitative research is designed to gain deeper insights into how people interpret their experience, how they construct their worlds, and what meaning they attribute to their experiences” (Merriam & Tisdell,

2015, p 15) Qualitative research, which is defined as a situated activity that locates the observer in the world, aims at interpreting social realities in their natural settings (Creswell, 2014; Denzin & Lincoln, 2008) In this sense, qualitative research goes over the phenomenon from different perspectives that contributes to constructing a multiple view of reality to the study Also, qualitative research allows researchers to gain a repertoire of rich and in-depth data via employing a range of such different data tools as interviews, observations or documentations when conducting the study in the settings where participants live and work Qualitative researchers place focus on the subjective meaning of what participants say (interviews) or do (observations)

To carry out qualitative studies, case study, which is considered a type of research design (Creswell, 2014) or a method, a “strategy” (Yin, 2003a) The case study researcher develops an in-depth analysis of a case as a bounded entity (or instance), often a program, event, activity, process, or one or more individuals In other words, a case is a unit of analysis (e.g., a learner, a teacher, a class, a group, a school, an agency) or a single entity that usually exists in its naturally occurring environment Cases are bounded by time and activity, and researchers collect detailed information using a variety of data collection procedures over a sustained period of time (Stake, 1995; Yin, 2009, 2012) Creswell (1998) and Merriam (1998) interpret the definition of case study distinctively

“A case study is an exploration of a “bounded system” or a case over time through detailed, in-depth data collection involving multiple sources of information rich in context” (Creswell,

“The qualitative case study can be defined as an intensive, holistic description and analysis of a single entity, phenomenon, or social unit Case studies are particularistic, descriptive, and heuristic and reply heavily on inductive reasoning in handling multiple data sources” (Merriam, 1988, p 16)

Taking such definitions into account, it is recognized that most definitions of case study places focus on boundedness (the “bounded”) or singularity (singular nature of the case), contextualization (the importance of context), multiple perspectives or triangulation (the availability of multiple sources of information or perspectives on observations), in-depth study (the in-depth nature of analysis), particularity, and interpretation The qualitative case study can be defined as the process of actually carrying out the investigation, the unit of analysis (the bounded system, the case), or the end product” (Merriam, 1998, p 34) Therefore, compared with other research designs, the qualitative case study is evaluated as one of the most effective options to investigate the EFL university teachers’ (re)construction and (re)negotiation of their professional identity as process and product as well as influencing factors.

Preliminary study

The preliminary study offered me a general picture of some relevant aspects of theoretical framework (Wenger, 1998), data collection (reflective writing), data analysis under Braun and Clarke’s (2006) thematic analysis, and findings discussion This is really useful for the implementation of this study The preliminary study took place during the first semester of the 2020-2021 academic year The participant of the preliminary study constituted one female EFL university teacher at a police academy; however, this teacher did not participate in the official study The research instrument to be employed was the involved teacher’s reflective writings She looked back on past experiences on classroom practice and shared her thoughts on a number of personal aspects (e.g., dream, education, teaching method) in various stages The acquired data in this preliminary study was analyzed on the basis of Braun and Clarke’s (2006) thematic analysis framework and discussed based on Wenger’s

(1998) modes of belonging The results uncovered a number of the research participant’s professional identities, including (i) the development of the consciousness as an EFL university teacher; (ii) a responsible, innovative and creative teacher; and (iii) self-identification in teaching practice Considering the first mode of belonging - engagement - from Wenger’s framework, she directly participated in teaching practice in the class For example, she used her own teaching styles to control her classes or put her preferring teaching methods “communicative and task- based approaches” into practice Taking the second mode of belonging - imagination, she was conscious of imagining the way about how to deal with those unexpected issues For instance, she immediately proceeded to think about how to solve the relationship between the teacher and students upon receipt of feedback or envisioned the most appropriate solutions to motivate students’ learning in ESP Regarding the remaining mode of belonging - alignment, she was appointed as one of the teachers who directly engaged in the scheme on ESP curriculum design and materials development at the request of the academy To the best of her knowledge, she spent more time on and made great efforts to coordinate and cooperate closely with other teachers with a view to designing the academy’s own ESP coursebooks In brief, the use of Wenger’s modes of belong - engagement, imagination, and alignment - is of benefit to the exploitation of teacher identity formation Generally, the preliminary study was like a pilot, which captured a “snapshot” of her professional identity at a certain moment in time It was limited in terms of a number of participants, research framework, research time, or even research instruments to cover further aspects of teachers’ professional identity in a more prolonged time thoroughly Despite the limitations, this preliminary study partially contributes to constructing a longitudinal, qualitative, and in-depth investigation which employed “a case study” as a research approach In addition, it continuously reinforces the use of Wenger’s (1998) framework Braun and Clarke’s (2006) thematic analysis in this study.

Research setting

The participants of the study have worked as the EFL university teachers at a police school so far As a multi-disciplinary educational training institution, its main duties are to educate professional cadres with bachelor, master and doctoral degrees, and spontaneously forming a source of key cadres as the spearhead of the police forces of Vietnam Besides, more attention has been paid to conducting foreign affairs and international education cooperation with other foreign police schools through established conventions or conferences on education and training issues Furthermore, the school has attached importance to creating effective teaching and learning environments by various means, for instance constantly upgrading school facilities (e.g., most standardized classrooms equipped with state-of-the-art supporting devices, including a smart board, a projector, wireless speakers, a loudspeaker system and air conditioners) and infrastructure (e.g., a digital library, an environmentally-friendly campus, a versatile sports hall, a spacious sports field, or a shooting range); and particularly stimulating teacher professional development activities (e.g., independent research or investigation, short-term or even long-term training courses, domestic or international education conferences, peer learning initiatives, or even face-to-face socialization with a colleague in the staffroom or meeting room Nonetheless, by dint of confidentiality and the police forces’ strict rules and regulations accompanied with severe discipline, accessing to Internet connection and social platforms is restricted inside the school, except for certain accessible areas with Internet provided by the school This means, pursuant to these stipulations, teachers and students are not permitted to utilize mobile phones and Internet connection inside classrooms, lecture halls or libraries in the school

The school has trained many groups of students; however, two major groups are regular training and in-service training The majority of students are non-English major students, who are required to gain intermediate proficiency level in English (equivalent to B1 in the CEFR framework) before their graduation Hence, English is regarded as a prerequisite for all of the students who have studied at the school Currently, the school has covered thirteen academic faculties in police major, for instance economic police, traffic police, criminal detection, criminal investigation, forensic science, environmental police, foreign languages or drug crime investigation In order to keep pace with the era of industrialization and modernization, the police students in particular and the police forces of Vietnam in general are required to be good at not only professional knowledge but also foreign language proficiency Given such importance, the board of directors has paid more attention to cultivating English language proficiency for police students To do this, the EFL university teachers have a part in fostering the development of English language proficiency for their police students because they directly or even indirectly get involved in the process of their in-class or out-of-class teaching of English In certain cases, the EFL university teachers are counted as a driving force or even a great source of inspiration to motivate their students’ interest in English learning Accordingly, the directorate attaches significance to the development of the contingent of EFL university teachers One of the most effective ways is understanding of the EFL university teachers’ professional identity, encouraging the directorate to come up with wise decisions in language teaching education programs towards supporting such teachers of their professional development Therefore, the research setting contributes to exploring data for the implementation of this study.

Research participants

This study utilized the strategy of the criterion sampling (Dửrnyei, 2007) and the purposive sampling (Cohen et al., 2011) This strategy was adopted in this study because it enabled me to select participants who satisfied some specific

“predetermined criteria” (Dửrnyei, 2007, p 128) and “a specific purpose” (Cohen et al., 2011) Accordingly, the criteria for sampling selection applied to the study involved (i) being my colleagues, (ii) being EFL university teachers at the same police school, (iii) teacher competence (teacher qualifications, teaching experience, research activities, teacher contests and compilations of coursebooks and teaching materials), and (v) expressing enthusiasm and readiness for assistance Relying on such criteria, only three EFL university teachers were selected

The Department of Foreign Languages has got 25 English teachers (20 females and 5 males) Most of them graduated from the outside institutions while only a few graduated from the police school One of the requirements for all the teachers graduated from the outside institutions is to complete training courses in law and police profession as well as military and martial art skills for the police forces, or otherwise to register a second-degree certificate training Three female EFL university teachers were selected as participants who were suitable for the above- mentioned criteria, especially their enthusiasm for this study By the time the teachers joined in the research, they were colleagues who worked at the same school Up to now, they have still worked as English teachers at the Department of Foreign Languages directly governed by one of the key higher education institutions in the police forces of Vietnam In terms of their qualifications, T2 and T3 had the similar education and training courses in English language teacher education Specifically, both were awarded the Degree of Bachelor by VNU-ULIS (formerly College of Foreign Languages) and then offered the Degree of Master jointly run by VNU-ULIS and Southern New-Hampshire University (the USA) after the fulfilment of four-year bachelor and two-year full time master training courses respectively In addition, they were conferred Certificates in law and police profession as well as military and martial art skills for the police forces By contrast, T1 graduated from the police school with the Degree of Bachelor in English for police Then, she did a short-time training program with the Certificate of foreign language pedagogy by VNU-ULIS prior to being conferred the Degree of Master in English language teacher education by VNU-ULIS All have had no intention to pursue their studies as Ph.D students towards the receipt of the Doctor’s Degree until date Their highest qualification is, therefore, the Master’s Degree in English language teacher education Regarding the length of teaching experience, at the time of the study, the participating teachers have various experience in their teaching profession, ranging from 6 (six) to 22 (twenty- two) years In this study, the teachers were generally divided into groups by pedagogical expertise associated with years of teaching based on the classifications of Berliner (1988) and Huberman (1989, 2001): novice teachers (novice + advanced beginners, 1-6 years), experienced teachers (competent + proficient teachers + mid- career teachers, 7-18 years), and expert teachers (expert + late-career teachers, 19-40 years) In details, T1, who has possessed 6 (six) years of teaching experience, is labelled as a novice teacher Meanwhile, T2 has undergone their own teaching for 16 (sixteen) years, as she is recognized as an experienced teacher The remaining teacher, T3, has spent more time on her teaching than her colleagues, especially more experiences of teaching at the police school She has devoted 22 (twenty-two) years of life to her teaching career, so she is rated as an expert teacher

The classification of teachers was in line with the statements of Huitt (2007), John Hattie (2003) and Trotter (1986) Trotter (1986) suggests a five-step process for the development of expertise in any area: novice, advanced beginner, competence, proficient, and expert According to Trotter, it generally takes 10 to 15 years to move from novice to expert, no matter what the field To resonate with Trotter, Huitt (2007) affirmed moving from a novice teacher to an expert teacher generally demands 10-

15 years of teaching experience Meanwhile, Hattie’s (2003) study examined the differences between experienced teachers and expert teachers in three dimensions (e.g., challenge, deep representation, and monitoring and feedback) Compared with an experienced teacher, Hattie rated an expert as a teacher who is more likely to set challenging rather than completed goals only, who is better at stimulating students’ deep learning, and who seeks and provides more and better feedback Besides, this study also relied on other teacher competence in the classification of teachers, including information technology, political theory, research activities, teacher contests and compilations of coursebooks and teaching materials Taking these criteria into consideration, T3 has been recognized to get the better of the two remaining teachers and deserved to be an expert teacher As opposed to T1 and T2, she obtained advanced certificates in foreign language pedagogy, information technology and political theory Also, she participated in more compilations of coursebooks, teaching materials and more teaching contests with the different roles as both the candidate and the consultant In reality, she won many high prizes (even the first prize) and supported novice teachers by imparting her practical teaching experience to novice teachers towards the highest award of the teaching contests As to the research activities, T3 has had more experience in carrying out research projects and taking part in other research activities (e.g., guiding and evaluating students’ graduation papers, or taking part in some national and international conferences)

Teachers Age Gender Teacher Competence Teaching experience

- Bachelor’s degree (English for police - Police School)

- Master’s degree (English language teacher education - VNU-ULIS)

- Certificate of foreign language pedagogy

- Basic certificate in information technology

- Certification of intermediate-level political theory

Teacher contests: - None Compilations of coursebooks and teaching materials:

- Joined in designing reference material for listening skills

- Joined in designing exam tests

- Bachelor’s degree (English language teacher education - VNU-ULIS &

- Master’s degree (English language teacher education - VNU-ULIS)

- Certificate of law and police profession - Police School

- Certificate of military and martial art skills for the police forces - Police School

- Basic certificate in information technology

- Certification of intermediate-level political theory

Research activities: - None Teacher contests:

Compilations of coursebooks and teaching materials:

- Joined in designing reference material for listening skills

- Joined in designing exam tests

Teachers Age Gender Teacher Competence Teaching experience

- Joined in designing a workbook for English Unlimited A2

- Joined in compiling professional coursebook “English for police A2”

- Bachelor’s degree (English language teacher education - VNU-ULIS &

- Master’s degree (English language teacher education - VNU-ULIS)

- Certificate of law and police profession - Police School

- Certificate of military and martial art skills for the police forces - Police School

- Certificate of foreign language pedagogy

- Higher certificate in information technology

- Certification of advanced political theory

- Joined in undergraduate paper defense with the different roles as a supervisor and examiner

- Joined in various teacher contests with different roles as both a candidate (high prizes) and a consultant

Compilations of coursebooks and teaching materials:

- Joined in compiling a professional dictionary

- Joined in compiling professional coursebooks “English for police A2 and B1”

- Joined in designing reference material for four language skills

- Joined in designing exam tests

In short, three EFL university teachers have got enough qualifications (e.g., academic standard, professional ability, or military knowledge), much teaching experience and other relevant criteria that cater for their teaching profession at the police school Accordingly, these three teachers can be considered the most suitable participants of this study.

Data collection tools

In order to gather multiple data sources, three research instruments utilized in this study were guided reflective writings, semi-structured interviews, and classroom observations The acquired data from these instruments were analyzed, triangulated and collated to investigate the EFL university teachers’ (re)construction and (re)negotiation of their professional identity as process and product and influencing factors and to avoid being restricted to the description or interpretation of the phenomenon from only one single perspective The following parts depict a complete picture of these instruments associated with the procedures for gathering the data All these data-gathering techniques assumes that data are manifested in discourse and discourse provides “the pivotal link…between the unseen mental worlds of the participants and the public world of the research process” (Freeman, 1996, p 367) The following section gives a detailed account of data collection tools that were employed in this study

This study employed “guided reflective writings” as the first research instrument to collect the data The use of guided reflective writings constitutes the telling and

Observations documenting of teachers’ own lived experiences (Coffey, 2014; Olsen, 2016) or, in other words, the profound understanding of teachers’ private or unique worlds (Pavlenko, 2007; Le, 2018), which contributes to investigating the EFL university teachers’ (re)construction and (re)negotiation as process and product and the influencing factors throughout a teacher’s life

The procedure for gathering the data was made with the following steps The initial step was to set up an account of particular perspectives by a guidance worksheet to assist teachers in reflecting on their lived experiences This guidance worksheet was adapted from Olsen’s (2016) worksheet of teacher identity Olsen’s worksheet comprises two parts, of which the first part (Part One) provides brief summaries of the categories (e.g., aspects of personal history, entry into teaching, teacher-preparation program accompanied by experience) when reflecting on teachers’ lived experiences and the remaining part (Part Two) considers the ways in which a teacher’s personal history and professional preparation have combined to become the teacher (e.g., life themes, connections to teacher preparation, aspects of current teacher identity to be adjusted or improved) Relying on Olsen’s (2016) worksheet of teacher identity, the guidance worksheet for this study was constructed with a total of six principal categories and each category was considered a part of guided reflective writings (see Table 3.3)

A guidance worksheet on guided reflective writings

An overview of a teacher’s personal history

- Family / Neighborhood(s) growing up/ Friends and others

- Schooling experiences (elementary, secondary school)

- When did the teacher access to English? How? Can the teacher describe the process of English study (textbooks, reference materials, EFL teachers, teaching methods/ lifestyles, learning styles/ motivation/ attitudes)

(GRW2): University student’s learning experiences

Reflections of a student teacher’s college or university experiences in learning or extracurricular activities regarding learning or professional performance

- Student life/ classmates/ interaction with other students or partners/ extra-curricular activities/ overtime jobs/ EFL teachers (teaching styles/methods…)

- Curriculums & syllabuses (subjects/ theory/ practice): any similarities or differences when entering the university?

Note Showings of any of the most impressive or important or influential matters when the teacher was at university

(GRW3): Post-graduate student’s learning experiences

Reflections of a teacher’s post-graduate experiences in learning or extracurricular activities regarding learning or professional performance

- Post-graduate student life/ classmates/ interaction with other students or partners/ extra-curricular activities/ official or overtime jobs/ EFL teachers (teaching styles/methods…)

- Curriculums & syllabuses (subjects/ theory/ practice): any similarities or differences when entering the post-graduate courses? Note Showings of any of the most impressive or important or influential matters when the teacher was at a post-graduate school Guided Reflective Writing 4

(GRW4): Past and current professional experiences

An overview of a teacher’s past and current professional experiences

- Feelings/ emotions/ behaviors/ a sense of self as a teacher inside and outside classrooms (learning attitudes/ behaviors/ interaction…)

- Sharing of any of the most impressive or important or influential matters when the teacher officially taught at a school, had the initial working experience and has worked as an EFL teacher (students/ colleagues/ school …)

- Any reasons for entry into teaching/ Any reactions for the teacher’s decision on entry into teaching/ Any requirements/standards from her workplace? (knowledge/ methods/ proficiency/ competence)/ professional meetings or workshops/ scientific researches/ Any predictions for future teaching / Any changes to teaching

An overview of educational and professional training courses or workshops/conferences

What were those courses or workshops/conferences? / What were they about? Was the teacher participants or non-participants? / What did the teacher share or learn from those? / Did they positively or negatively impact on the teacher’s teaching knowledge/methods? / Did the teacher try applying such knowledge/ methods to in-class teaching performance? How?

An overview of a teacher’s teaching philosophy

Beliefs and values about education/ Beliefs and values about learning/ Beliefs and values about teaching

Note Adapted from Teaching for success: Developing Your Teacher Identity in Today’s Classroom (2nd ed., pp 143-145) by Olsen, 2016, Routledge Copyright 2016 by Brad Olsen

The next step was to see teachers and talk about this guidance worksheet Due to fact that they regularly occupied in doing more marginal works rather than teaching and research, I had difficulty seeing a group of three teachers at the school concurrently So, I contacted every teacher to make appointment with each and explicitly explain it They hesitated for a while when having the first look at this guidance worksheet and were really afraid of writing these papers As I managed to further explain the rationale of such writings and apply sound reasonings on this point until the receipt of their acceptance In the end, they looked reluctant to approve of writing up their own reflective writings; however, they didn’t make sure of the time of completion because they thought this work would be time-consuming For this reason, I did not dare to fix any specific dates for their submission, replaced with the sharing of scheduled process of completion Lastly, more details about each category were given considerately to each individual Depending on every teacher’s convenient time, I fixed an appointment with them to go into such details prior to the start of their writing The detailed contents as written in the guidance worksheet are considered a reference only because they are subject to every teacher This is to say, the particulars can be expanded, or modified, or even shortened depending on the teacher’s flexibility The participants began with the initial writings in early November 2021 and finished this work in mid-June 2022 I felt that they were so strenuous because they occupied themselves in simultaneously working to their hectic schedules and doing the writings While doing the writings, I seldom asked them about the progress because I would not rather make them suffer the sensation of strain as well as lose the feelings of their self-reflection during the period of their writings All these papers were written in English by the teachers themselves They completed all their writing papers within over 8 months (November 2021 - June 2022) and then sent to me via their personal emails (Appendix B) The teachers wrote their entries of writing papers according to the order of aspects in Table 3.3

Semi-structured interviews were selected as the second research instrument for collecting the data in this study One-to-one interviewing were made to have better access to the involved teachers’ backgrounds, perceptions and experiences throughout their teaching career (Dửrnyei, 2007; Kelchtermans 1994; McNamara, 1999; Merriam & Tisdell, 2016; Richards, 2003) The interviews were immediately made upon collecting all the writing papers from the participants In reality, teachers’ daily schedules were relatively occupied, since the official interviews were conducted without any preliminary interviews

According to the guidance worksheet in Table 3.3, an interview protocol for this study was designed and constructed of 20 questions written in English in Table 3.4

1 How did you first encounter English language?

2 What does English mean to you personally and professionally?

3 How did you make sense of yourself as an English teacher? What factors or incidents encouraged you to become an English Language teacher? How did the people around you react to your career decision?

4 Can you share any of the most impressive or important or influential matters when you were at high school? Did those matters affect your career decision?

5 Can you share any of the most impressive or important or influential matters when you were at university? Did those matters have influence on a sense of self as a teacher or any other significant changes (behaviors, attitudes or cognitive aspects)? How did you adapt or improve them in your teaching?

6 Can you share any of the most impressive or important or influential matters when you were at a post-graduate school? Did those matters have influence on a sense of self as a teacher or any other significant changes (behaviors, attitudes or cognitive aspects)? How did you adapt or improve them in your current teaching?

7 Can you share any of the most impressive or important or influential matters when you officially taught at a school or had the initial working experience as a EFL teacher? What are some of problems you could face in the first years of teaching?

8 When someone asks you what you do, what would you say? / What do you understand what you do? / How do you interpret your position?

9 What kind of teacher are you? What or who has influenced those views?

10 What are your teaching philosophies/ teaching beliefs / future aspirations / teaching ideals (values)?

11 What do you think of your current workplace? How can teaching contexts/ working environments (i.e relationships with colleagues and administrators, policies/ standards…) affect the way you perceive yourself as a teacher and change your teaching styles (behaviors, attitudes and cognitive aspects)?

12 Could you please share your experiences as a teacher (i.e classroom management, teaching practice/ performance, teaching expertise, scientific research) and teaching methods?

13 How have they dealt with students and practiced English language teaching in the classroom? What are some aspects of your teaching that you wish to adjust or improve?

14 Are you actively or passively engaged in other activities (i.g workshops/ conferences or scientific research activities or training courses) apart from teaching? What professional workshops/ conferences / research activities / training courses are they? What did you learn from those? Have they positively or negatively impacted on your teaching knowledge/ methods? Have you tried applying them to in-class teaching performance? How?

15 Are there any other factors (i.e marital status, children, social issues) that can affect your teaching? How have you tackled or adapted them?

16 Do you have any expectations for your professional development in the future (short term and long-term goals or plans)? Why are they so significant to you?

Analytical procedures

This study used Braun and Clarke’s (2006) thematic analysis to analyze the collected data, which were broken down into codes and themes The thematic analysis of Braun and Clarke (2006) is a process of analysis or a method for identifying, analyzing and reporting patterns (themes) within data through six phases In this section, I described the six-step process through which I coded the data, generated my themes and interpreted my findings Here is an overview of the process of analysis through six steps in Table 3.7

The Procedures for Data Analysis

1 Familiarizing myself with my data: Transcribing data (transcribing), reading and re-reading the data (repeated reading), taking note of initial ideas or general notes (note-taking) → NOTES

2 Generating potential codes: Coding interesting features of the data in a systematic fashion across the entire data set (Manual Coding), then collating data relevant to each code → CODES

3 Searching for potential themes: Collating codes into potential themes, gathering all data relevant to each potential theme

4 Reviewing the potential themes: Checking if the potential themes work in relation to the coded extracts and the entire data set, combining in each group → SUB-THEMES

5 Defining the sub-themes and naming the potential final themes

Ongoing analysis to refine the specifics of each sub- theme, and the overall story the analysis tells, collating and combining in each group → POTENTIAL FINAL

6 Producing the report Final analysis Selection of vivid, compelling extract examples, final analysis of selected extracts, relating back of the analysis to the research question and literature, producing a scholarly report of the analysis

Note Adapted from “Using thematic analysis in psychology,” by V Braun, and V Clarke, 2006,

Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77-101 Copyright 2006 by Virginia Braun and Victoria Clarke

The diagram sketching the targets of each step in the analytical procedures (Figure 3.3) and detailed account of the process of analysis under the thematic analysis of Braun and Clarke (2006) are presented below

Step 1: Familiarizing myself with my data

In the first step, “repeated reading”, “transcribing” and “note-taking” were, therefore, used to identify potential notes from initial analytic interests or thoughts to the collected data All the acquired data from the interviews were completely

“transcribed” before familiarizing with the data (Lepadat & Lindsay, 1999; Riessman, 1993) and some parts in Vietnamese were also translated into English (if necessary) Whenever I got the data, I immediately read through such entire data at least once or even purposefully skip over them to possibly visualize the general contents of the data in advance Then, I used the “repeated reading” strategy to repetitively read such data for my profound thoughts before I initiated my coding I broke the collected data into meaningful units of analysis, which can be words, phrases, sentences or larger bodies of language data (Mavetera & Kroeze, 2009) and simultaneously use “note-taking” to define initial identification of possible notes via highlighters, colored pens or underlines and interpretations during the process of my reading and re-reading Table 3.8 below is an example how data extracts were noted down before the initial coding

Sample of the Note-taking Process

I was born and grew up on the outskirts of

Hanoi city in a family of four people, including my parents, my younger brother and me My father is a carpenter who owns a small woodshop at home He, a careful and hardworking man, is always a good example with me and my brother and supports us to do what we want My mother is a primary teacher who is passionate about her job Also, she inspired this love for me and it seems to be one of the inspirations that impact on my decision becoming a teacher

- Her father: a good example with her + supported her to do what she wanted → Note 1:

- Her mother: a primary teacher + passionate about job + inspired this love for her + inspiration + impacted + her decision + becoming a teacher → Note 2: Her mother

→ Note 1 [Her father] + Note 2 [Her mother] =

In the second step, I began with the “coding” process that played a part in the fundamental analytical process (Charmaz, 2006; Glaser & Strauss, 1967; Saldaủa, 2013; Strauss & Corbin, 1998) This study applied “manual coding” to generating an initial list of ideas about what was in the data and what was interesting about them (Braun & Clarke, 2006, p 88), contributing to the production of potential codes I coded directly onto word-processed data via Microsoft Word’s basic functions by using highlighters or colored pens to indicate initial or potential codes (Braun & Clarke, 2006; Strauss & Corbin, 1990) All data were initially coded and then collated together within each code I made a long list of the different initial/ possible codes that were identified across the whole data by using highlighters, colored pens, underlines and interpretations Coding, then, continued to be developed and defined throughout the entire analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006, p 87) that helped me search the data more thoroughly Here was a short extract of the sample of the initial coding process (Table 3.9)

Sample of the Initial Coding Process

I was born and grew up on the outskirts of Hanoi city in a family of four people, including my parents, my younger brother and me My father is a carpenter who owns a small woodshop at home He, a careful and hardworking man, is always a good example with me and my brother and supports us to do what we want My mother is a primary teacher who is passionate about her job Also, she inspired this love for me and it seems to be one of the inspirations that impact on my decision becoming a teacher

- Her father: a good example + support her to do what she wants → Code 1: Father influence

- Her mother: a primary teacher + love of her mother’s teaching job → This love is nourished from her mother as a child→ Motivation in choosing teaching job → Code 2: Mother influence

→ Code 1 (Father influence) + Code 2 (Mother influence) = Code (Family influence)

Step 3: Searching for potential themes

In the third step, I started to search for potential themes by sorting the different codes into potential themes, and collating all the relevant coded data extracts within the identified potential themes (Braun & Clarke, 2006) I focused more on thinking about the relationship between codes, between themes, and between different levels of themes (e.g., sub-themes within them) during this phrase Aside from the identified potential codes, there existed some codes that were not identified under any potential theme To solve these unidentified codes, I created a “theme”, called “miscellaneous” to house such codes temporarily In brief, the outcome of this phase was ended with the build-up of the table, named “Identification of the potential themes”, in which potential codes and themes were demonstrated (Appendix A) Here was a short extract of the sample of the initial identification of the main themes (Table 3.10)

Sample of the Identification of Potential Themes

Potential Themes T1: My father is always a good example with me and my brother and supports us to do what we want

My mother is a primary teacher who is passionate about her job Also, she inspired this love for me and it seems to be one of inspirations that impact on my decision becoming a teacher

T1: I live in a countryside… work as farmers…despite the difficult circumstance… encourage their children to learn as much as possible Therefore, my friends and I…strive not to disappoint our parents All my friends are really kind-hearted and hardworking people…

They share what they know for me and help me a lot in my study and life whenever I need

T1: In the primary and junior secondary school, I studied well and my learning results were always at the top of classes…By comparison, my results at high school were not as good as those at the elementary and secondary school…Gradually I got more accustomed to the learning environment and adjusted myself to changes in…Thanks to such adaptation, my learning outcomes

As shown in the coding, I realize that

- T1 always received support from her family and friends, especially mother influence

T1’s mother inspired the love of teaching job for her

I think she seemed to be motivated by such inspiration And she appeared to have preliminary thoughts of the teaching job

- Her motherland is synonymous with studiousness and traditional fondness for learning She seemed to inherit this tradition from her social environment So, she was always self-aware of her study with her positive learning attitudes And even when her learning outcomes at high school were poor, she maintained her positive learning attitudes by putting more efforts into the change of her learning achievements For better, she gradually got acquainted with the new learning environment & knowing the way how to acquire the volume of fresh knowledge, especially English learning

Potential Themes were significantly improved

T1: I first learnt English…at grade

3…I thought it’s really cool when I can talk to other people in English

English language, she felt that talking to other people in English was really cool She seemed to have preliminary thoughts of English

Step 4: Reviewing the potential themes

The fourth step focused on refining the potential themes, making connections between the potential themes, and expanding the potential themes Initially, I reviewed the potential themes by repeatedly reading all the collated extracts for each potential theme to consider whether they appear to create a coherent pattern or not Next, I refined such themes by reading all the entire data set to consider whether the validity of each potential theme relates to the whole data set Then, I reviewed unmarked data to see if any new themes (possibly concepts or categories) emerged and also to see if the identified potential themes would make sense within the whole data set After that, these themes were combined in each group, from which sub- themes could be identified

Step 5: Defining the sub-themes and naming the potential final themes

In the fifth step, I further defined and refined the sub-themes for a purpose of identifying the essence of what each sub-theme was and the entire sub-themes were about, and determining what aspect of the data each sub-theme referred to For each sub-theme, I had to write a detailed analysis associated with identifying the “potential final theme” that each sub-theme tells Then I considered whether it fitted into the overall “potential final theme” as a conceptualization related to this study’s research questions and theoretical framework From this, the potential final themes could be captured before being further collated and interpreted If such theme is unsuitable, further refinement would be made In this phase, I started to think about the names that related to the content of the themes

Trustworthiness

The issue of trustworthiness of research is central to every research Guba and Lincoln (1994) have proposed a set of criteria to judge the trustworthiness of interpretive research Research is considered to be of good quality if it has credibility (internal validity), transferability (external validity), dependability (reliability) and confirmability (objectivity) (Guba & Lincoln, 1994, p 114) As to this study, several strategies were used to ensure the trustworthiness of the findings

Triangulation is used as a method to verify the validity and reliability of data (Creswell, 2014; Morse, 2015) According to Morse (2015), the use of triangulation increases the scope or depth of the study As stated above, the data was collected through the teachers’ guided reflective writings, semi-structured interviews and the researcher’s classroom observations Each research instrument produces the richness of data that contributes to gaining more insights into the involved teachers’ professional identity While the vast amount of data was obtained from the teachers’ guided reflective writings, the particulars from interviews as stimulated calls and from classroom observations added more credibility to the reflective writings This implies that multiple sources of data provided similar findings which manifest the validity and dependability of the study Colleague relationship is also another strategy of ensuring the trustworthiness of the findings In reality, my role inside this study is the researcher whereas another outside the study is the teacher of English as the colleague of the participants Therefore, I could gain insights into the acquired data and check on the authentication of data from there Thanks to this method, the involved teachers placed great trust in me as a colleague during their research participation Since, this made the participants feel safe and trustworthy when they shared their lived experiences through their reflective writings and interviews freely More importantly, the interpretation of findings by myself, as the researcher, was thoroughly reviewed by the EFL university teachers themselves through their repeated readings that contributes to achieving the conformity with the perception of these teachers

A further strategy of ensuring the trustworthiness of the study is my supervisors

In my mind, I consider my supervisors as the reviewer who constantly checking the documentation (e.g., the reflective writings, the interview/observation scripts and the observation notes) and the findings for consistency and accuracy In reality, to avoid any unexpected matters (e.g., typing data mistakenly or providing biased information), the whole analyzed data were handed over to my supervisors for their cross-check in advance All data reviewed by my supervisors was examined and modified by myself again and again These reviews reinforced the dependability and confirmability In addition to this, seminar participation also enabled me to check my interpretations of the findings and enhanced my further understanding of the data Thanks to such involvement, I had face-to-face or online interactions and critical discussions with other both scholars and research students, which encouraged me to review and validate the data

In brief, the trustworthiness of the study was ensured based on various strategies (the participating teachers themselves, triangulation, colleague relationship, my supervisors, and seminar participation) This contributed to enhancing the validity and reliability of the study.

Ethical considerations

Ethical issues are seen as one of the essential prerequisites for every research that supports researchers of reducing the risks over participants Specifically, when carrying out research and collecting data, it is important for researchers to give heed to their participants’ autonomy and privacy because ethical issues relate to the participants who directly determine the reliability of the collected data Due to my consciousness of their necessity, I paid attention to ethical issues while carrying out the research In this study, I directly socialized with the involved teachers to ask for their consent and then provide them with the details of study-related aspects (e.g., the purpose of the study or the participants’ roles and rights) prior to the collection of data While conducting the study, every scheduled or even potential aspects were informed and explained in advance For example, to get the involved teachers’ consent to their reflective writings, I had to contact every teacher to fix an appointment and explain the rationale of such writings Likewise, in order to gather interview data, I initially talked to the involved teachers about the aim of such interviews as well as the purposive use of interview protocol just preliminary prior to handing over it to each Following this before the official interviews, I contacted the teachers directly or even indirectly (e.g., messages, phones or even emails) for several times to schedule interviews with the most convenient times because they were regularly busy with numerous things Apart from this, I also explained the reasons why interview data was recorded and gave them my promise about data confidentiality Similarly, prior to my classroom observations, I had to have talks with each teacher about the aim of such observations, the procedure for my classroom observations and the promise for not using video recorder All the observations for this study were made upon the involved teachers’ consent to my observations Also,

I promised my participants to use pseudonyms to assure their anonymity in the thesis and in any publication that might be out of this study (Sarandakos, 2013).

Chapter summary

This chapter discusses the methodology and methods employed for data collection and analysis from the start of research paradigm to the rationale behind the choice of the methodology This study is situated within the qualitative case study methodology and draws on the constructivist worldview Also, it generates an in-depth discussion on the formulation of theoretical framework for this study, named “Teacher Professional Identity Model”, based on the adaptations of Olsen’s (2008, 2016) and Wenger’s (1998) frameworks Also, this chapter mentioned the research setting (an overview of current workplace), research participants (three female EFL university teachers, including a novice teacher, an experienced teacher and an expert teacher) working in a Vietnamese higher education context, preliminary study, and data collection tools (guided reflective writings, semi-structured interviews and classroom observations) Aside from this, this chapter also provided the detailed explanations of data analytical procedures (Braun and Clarke’s thematic analysis) The end of the chapter refers to the trustworthiness of the findings and the ethical consideration of the study The following four chapters will give a detailed account of the findings and discussion.

TEACHER PROFESSIONAL IDENTITY AS PROCESS

The process of becoming

Referring to this study’s theoretical framework, named “Teacher Professional Identity Model”, this part considers the process of becoming throughout six interconnected-interdependent-interactional stages (Figure 3.1) Yet, the process of becoming, in this study, was explored mainly in the early four stages of the model, involving their biography (stage 1), prior work (stage 2), entry into teaching (stage

Theme 1: Having prior teaching consideratio ns

Theme 2: Having training perceptions: learning to teach

Theme 3: Having prior teaching perceptions

Theme 1: Having current teaching perceptions

Theme 2: Having future professional goals

- Having initial teacher education: university training perceptions

- Having continuing teacher education: post-graduate training perceptions

- Having continuing teacher education: other professional development programs

Having preliminary thoughts of choosing teaching →Thinking about becoming a teacher → Making a final decision to become an English teacher

- Entering the official phases of teaching

3), and teacher education experience (stage 4) Taking the process of such stages into consideration contributed to identifying three main themes, including having prior teaching considerations, having training perceptions: learning to teach, and having prior teaching perceptions Each theme was uncovered from the sub-themes associated with interpretations and illustrative examples

Prior teaching considerations was identified as the initial theme of the process of becoming This theme was generalized from reviewing and collating the sub-themes (having preliminary thoughts of choosing teaching, thinking about becoming a teacher, and making a final decision to become an English teacher) This part represented the evolution of the participants’ professional identity from their preliminary thoughts to teaching to their official entry into teaching Table 4.1 gives a short account of the initial theme

Sub-theme 1: Having preliminary thoughts of choosing teaching

- Feeling her mother’s love of teaching T2 - Perceiving family background

- Making sense of her mother’s teaching profession T3 - Feeling pride in her family’s teaching tradition

- Regarding her mother as the role model Receiving social inheritance

T1 - Making sense of her difficult hometown

- Having her awareness of learning T2, T3 - Inheriting the traditional fondness for learning

- Having her sense of learning Having initial thinking about English

T1 - Regarding English only as a means of communication T2 - Recognizing the importance of English language

- Feeling the love for English language T3 - Having the growing sense of the love for English

- Having her passion for English

Sub-theme 2: Thinking about becoming a teacher

T1 - Expressing no desire to teach T2 - Expressing no desire to teach T3 - Expression her desire to teach

Sub-theme 3: Making a final decision to become an English teacher

T1 - Satisfying family members’ desire T2 - Showing her dependence of judgement in career choice T3 - Having her liking for her mother’s teaching profession Thinking about former English teacher

T1 - Having her reflections on university teachers T3 - Having her reflections on first English teacher

T2 - Having her reflections on first English teacher Realizing the importance of English

T1, T2, T3 - Feeling the need for work

Expressing self-desire T1 - Aspiring to use English for employment

- Making sense of stability T2 - Making the sudden decision

- Making the sole choice T3 - Aspiring after the teaching career

- Making her effort and determination

4.1.1.1 Having preliminary thoughts of choosing teaching a) Following family tradition

Family tradition can be seen as an inspiration or an incentive to opt for teaching

In this study, therefore, family tradition was defined as one of the fundamental aspects that affected the participating teachers’ preliminary thoughts of choosing the teaching Family tradition or family members’ entry into teaching offered opportunities for the participating teachers not only to grasp the meaning of teaching at an early stage but also to reflect on their initial thoughts and aspirations for their future career All of the participating teachers have always received support from their family members; however, the most influential person in their life and career is their beloved mother In case of T1, parental support is considered a practical way to motivate her T1’s father is a good example to her and her sibling He always supports and satisfies the demands of her and her sibling Meanwhile, T1’s mother has worked as a teacher at a primary school so far Her mother really loves her teaching job Another way to motivate her is her mother’s love of teaching Her mother is the first person who inspired the love of teaching in her thought It was such love that was counted as an aspiration to her or in other words, she drew her inspiration from her mother’s love of teaching She had initial thoughts of developing a sense of teaching from her mother since when she was young

T1: My father is always a good example with me and my brother and supports us to do what we want My mother is a primary teacher who is passionate about her job she inspired this love for me and it seems to be one of inspirations that impact on my decision becoming a teacher…(T1-GRW1)

Likewise, T2 was born and grown up in a poor family Her mother raised the family alone because of her father’s early death Her mother is a retired teacher who used to teach literature at a secondary school It was her sense of family background and her mother’s teaching profession that motivated her thinking on her professional orientation in the future As for her, the mother is like her friend She feels free to share happiness and sadness as well as to receive useful life advice from her beloved mother Her mother is the most influential person in her life Her mother affected her thought of the manner to build friendship and inspired her to serious aspirations for the future as well Her mother is a great source of inspiration to her, so she had preliminary thoughts of the teaching job from her mother Nonetheless, her teaching job didn’t arouse her interest and she didn’t feel like teaching Therefore, she had no intention of becoming a teacher like her mother as a child.

T2: I was born and raised in a poor family…My mother was a literature teacher at a secondary school The most influential person in my life is my mother who is like my friend

I feel free to share happiness and sadness with as well as receive useful life advice from my beloved mother Aside from that, she inspired me to serious aspirations for the future In my eyes, she has been an inspiration to me to date Although we live far away from each other, we keep in touch via phone on a daily basis…Despite the fact that my mother was a great source of inspiration to me, her teaching job didn’t arouse my interest I didn’t totally feel like teaching, since I had no intention of being a teacher like my mother…(T2-GRW1)

Similarly, T3 was born and grown up in a beloved large family where she stayed with my parents, three sisters and my brother Among her family members, her mother and sister follow the teaching job that made her have a sense of their teaching profession Her mother is a retired primary teacher whereas her sister is a lecturer at a higher education She has always received strong support from her family members, particularly her mother who has always taken care of and supported her unconditionally Her mother is the role model who is the most influential person in her future career She recorded the impressions of her mother’s teaching methods, work attitudes, and professional images that formed the alignment with her profession at the early stage She observed her mother’s teaching lessons Her mother followed translation and explanation approaches via clear explanation, familiar illustrations and positive feedback Her work attitudes were relatively positive When correcting mistakes, she tried to give positive feedback towards constructive and sensible advice She was active in establishing working schedules flexibly and preparing for lesson plans thoroughly She gave her students a sense of excitement about lessons through her casual clothes, especially white T-shirts like student uniform Her mother’s professional images were a responsible, diligent, friendly teacher in casual clothes Her mother was regularly worried about the teaching issues She constantly saw her mother staying up late and sitting silently next to the desk for many hours to think of possible solutions to the enhancement her students’ learning status To her mind, her mother, therefore, was the stereotype of her teaching model that motivated her decision about the future teaching career and developed the shaping of her professional identity.

T3: In my family, the person I am very closest to is my mother who takes care of and support me unconditionally And of course, my mother is the role model who is enormously influential in opting for my future career In my mind, the thing that made a strong impression on me is her teaching method and attitudes Apart from her teaching methods, the feature mother’s attitudes in everyday life as well as in the class What I was really impressed by was her appearance in casual clothes, especially white T-shirts associated with the symbol of students As a diligent teacher, she frequently worried about available or newly- incurred teaching issues after class Following in her footsteps, I made up my mind to become a teacher… (T3-GRW1) b) Receiving social inheritance

Social inheritance does not seem to directly refer to the involved teachers’ thoughts of the teaching; however, it is like the foundations of or aspirations for their future career In this study, social inheritance can be understood as the inherited traditions from the participants’ social environments or hometowns on the alignment with the profession at the early stage For instance, T1’s hometown is, in her mind, a difficult countryside where most of them people surrounding her are farmers In spite of such difficulties, families always motivate their children’s learning as much as possible Her friends, who have tried their best in their study and life, are kind-hearted and hardworking She seemed to inherit this tradition from her social environment that made her develop the sense of learning with her positive attitudes Focusing on study was regarded as a means of her personal investment to achieve successful learning outcomes The illustration for this was that she always obtained high-ranking learning results at primary and secondary schools And even when her learning outcomes at high school were worse, she maintained her positive learning attitudes by putting more efforts into the change of such learning achievements For better, she gradually got acquainted with the new learning environment and knew the way how to acquire the volume of fresh knowledge, especially English learning

T1: I live in a countryside where most of people around work as farmers However, despite the difficult circumstance, they always make best efforts to encourage their children to learn as much as possible Therefore, my friends and I always learn by heart and strive not to disappoint our parents All my friends are really kind-hearted and hardworking people who continuously try their best in their study and life They are willing to share what they know for me and help me a lot in my study and life whenever I need…(T1-GRW1)

T2’s hometown is widely known as a cradle of knowledge, a land of heroes as well as a great number of successful or talented persons The land is quite synonymous with traditional fondness for learning that promoted her aspirations to succeed in life with aprosperous career for the future As for T3, she is really proud of her hometown because it is a land of heroes as an inspiration to her study The same as T1, inheriting such traditions like this encouraged both T2 and T3 to heighten the consciousness of learning with positive attitudes Like T1, these two teachers also understood that concentrating upon their studies was regarded as a way of profitable investment to get satisfactory learning outcomes

T2: The place in which I grew up was regarded as a cradle of knowledge and a land of heroes and successful people As for me, it was a great source of inspiration or aspiration to succeed in life with a prosperous career …(T2-GRW1)

T3: …I am so proud of my hometown because it is a land of heroes as a great source of aspiration to my study…(T3-GRW1) c) Having initial thinking about English

Initial access to English created a distinct impression on the personal feelings for this new language This aspect also contributed to shaping the involved teachers’ early thinking on the English language For example, T1 first encountered the English language when she was the elementary school student Her fresh thinking of the English language was simply understood as a means of communication As for her, such communication, at that time, was really marvelous

T1: I first learnt English…at grade 3…I thought it’s really cool when I can talk to other people in English (T1-Interview-Time 0:19 Record 1)

The process of being

Referring to this study’s theoretical framework “Teacher Professional Identity Model”, the same as the process of becoming, this part also considers the process of being throughout six interconnected-interdependent-interactional stages (Figure 3.1) Nonetheless, the process of being, in this study, was explored mostly in the two remaining stages of the model, including current teaching context/practice (stage 5), and future career plans (stage 6) Taking the process of such stages into account contributes to identifying two themes (Table 4.4), including having current teaching perceptions and having future professional goals

Sub-theme 1: Gaining teacher knowledge

Having teacher ideologies, beliefs and values about education

T1 - Recognizing the importance of education

- Considering learners as the most important factor in education

- Constructing the meaning of education

T2 - Helping people to behave better and recognize what is right and wrong

- Giving people to broaden knowledge

T3 - Educating people in all fields which helps to develop the society

- Helping people have good understanding about what should be done and what should not be done

Having teacher ideologies, beliefs and values about teaching

T1 - Being like a correct-directed teaching

- Accelerating the process of learning

T2 - Bringing learners much knowledge that makes their lives better and better

T3 - Transmitting knowledge to other generations that helps people build up knowledge and deal with social problems

- Appreciating mixture of practical and theoretical teaching Having teacher ideologies, beliefs and values about learning

T1 - Recognizing value of learning in personal development as the core element in society development

- Appreciating the value of self-study/self-awareness

T2 - Recognizing the importance of learning in improving self

- Highlighting further investment of time and efforts in learning/self-study

- Appreciating the value of various learning sources

T3 - Achieving knowledge and practical skills

- Emphasizing the process of learning a language

- Appreciating the value of practical learning Creating teacher professional images

T1 - Being an educator: monitoring and supervising the teaching in the right way

- Being a good teacher: giving students good marks and transmitting knowledge to them as quickly as possible

- Being a role model: creating trust for students by their sayings

T2 - Being an educator: instilling students with a great source of inspiration for the importance of learning English

- Being a good teacher: possessing good professional knowledge and motivating students’ interest in learning

- Being a motivator: motivating students’ learning

T3 - Being an educator: encouraging & motivating students to engage in lessons and gain knowledge

- Being a good teacher: mastering pedagogical knowledge Sub-theme 2: Having teaching-related aspects

Gaining teaching experience T1 Having little experience in practical teaching

T2 Having much experience in practical teaching

T3 Having much more experience in practical teaching Having interaction and relationship with colleagues and students

T1 - Raising awareness of learning from colleagues and students

- Observing teaching lessons and asking for advice from colleagues

- Caring about students’ learning preferences

- Expressing the readiness for change in teaching methods to cater to her students

- Establishing boundaries between teachers and students

- Showing the readiness for change in teaching methods to fit for each level of students

T3 - Emphasizing importance of learning from other people

- Demonstrating willingness to listen to students’ sayings about their knowledge or experience of English learning

- Gaining hands-on teaching experience from her colleagues by observing their teaching lessons

- Expressing the readiness for the renovation of existing teaching methods

T1 - Having good and convenient school infrastructure

- Emphasizing the particular characteristic of the current school (the obedience of strict disciplines)

- Having a sense of pride in the school

T3 - Being a great university with well-equipped infrastructure

Showing a sense of teaching T1 - Preparing for lessons carefully before class

- Instructing students how to learn

- Self-correcting if any basic mistakes

T2 - Knowing students’ strengths and weaknesses

- Knowing what could be good for her students

- Making sense of difficulties in teaching

- Focusing on students’ short targets to support them of getting good learning outcomes

T3 - Asking students to focus what they have learnt

- Motivating students’ active engagement in the classroom interactive activities

- Assuming the responsibility for the management of classroom activities

Theme 2: Having future professional goals

T1 - Making more careful preparation in teaching

- Paying attention to development of teacher self-knowledge

- Expressing the need for professional support

T2 - Having no future plans for teaching and learning

- Getting ready for change if necessary

- Continuing learning from other people

Teacher knowledge as the groundwork for every teacher’s teaching practice and development refers to teacher ideologies, beliefs and values about education, teaching and learning as well as teacher professional images The shaping of teacher knowledge seems not fixed, on the contrary, variable in the teaching process Three cases herein exemplify this

T1 affirms that education plays a very key part in the development of the society without any discrimination She views learners as the most important factor in education and highlights self-education All learners can study well when they want and realize the useful or practical purpose of learning She constructed the meaning of education (e.g., developing people’s consciousness in examining the phenomenon, differentiating the good and bad things, motivating learners’ critical thinking to see the world) Also, she constructed the meaning of teaching and learning She regards the value of learning in personal development as the core element in society development Teaching as a catalyst or even a correct-directed teaching can contribute to accelerating the learning process She highly appreciates “self- study/learning autonomy” and “self-awareness”, so she hopes her students can learn without teacher She thinks students’ awareness of the mistakes is the process of self- study She thinks monitoring and supervising the teaching in the right way are the main roles of an educator In her mind, a good teacher is a person who gives the students good marks and transfers knowledge to students as quickly as possible In students’ thought, teachers are considered as role models, so students trust their teachers’ sayings

T1: I believe education…role in heightening people's awareness of their responsibility for society development Learners are the most important elements in education… purpose of education is to develop people's consciousness in examining the phenomenon in our life to know how to differentiate the good and bad things…encourages leaners' critical thinking…see society in a new light…broaden our mind and see the world afresh… learning in personal development…core element in society development…teaching is like a catalyst helping to accelerate the learning process…a correct-directed teaching…an educator plays the role in monitoring and supervising the teaching in the right way…a good teacher is a person who gives my students good marks and transfers knowledge to students as fast as possible…teachers are one of the best sources of learning…(T1-GRW6)…education is a process that students know how to self-study and students is the center of education…(T1-

Interview-Time: 07:38 Record 2)…the process of learning is a process of the students’ self- awareness and vice versa(T1-Interview-Time: 18:04 Record 2)

As for T2, she holds the belief that education helps people to behave better and recognize what is right and wrong, bring people knowledge and give people to broaden knowledge She emphasizes the importance of learning that plays an important role in improving ourselves She thinks nothing can be done without learning She believes that teaching brings learners a great deal of knowledge that can make their lives better and better As a motivator, she motivates her students to study English despite their low English proficiency levels Nevertheless, English is something they cannot do it perfectly overnight She believes that anyone acted as any roles (a teacher or a learner of English) can study English provided that they have to spend more time and a lot of efforts to study it She highlights further investment of time and efforts in learning/self-study She thinks all students can learn provided that they spend enough time on and have a liking for their study She hopes her students will achieve learning outcome standards immediately after the end of the course All students can learn best when they are equipped with a wide range of learning sources She can learn more things from her students Using books and library on the internet can be regarded as the best sources to support the learning of her students She is ready to change the way of teaching relying on her students’ learning attitudes She agrees to enhance herself to satisfy her students’ demands for their learning As an educator, she aspires to instill the importance of learning English language into her students with a great source of inspiration In her opinion, a good teacher is a person who possesses good knowledge of their major as well as motivates her students’ interest in their learning

T2: …education…helps people to behave better and recognize what is right and wrong, bring people knowledge…give people to broaden knowledge …learning…value to improving yourself…nothing can be done without learning…teaching is to bring learners a vast amount of knowledge…make their lives better and better…all students can learn provided that they spend enough time on and have a liking for their study…learn best when they are equipped with a wide range of learning sources…using books, library or internet…learn many useful things from my students…quite active in their study…cultivate myself to satisfy their demands…an educator…aspire to instill my students with a great source of inspiration for the importance of learning English…a good teacher…possesses good knowledge of their major, motivate his/her students’ interest in their learning (T2-GRW6)…I always tell my students…you can do what you want and you are not good at English It’s not because you are not good at it…because you don’t spend what’s time on it…(T2-Interview-Time 9:37)

T3 is of the opinion that education plays a part in educating people in all fields, which helps to develop the society The purpose of good education is to help people have good understanding of what should be done and what should not be done Her belief about learning is to achieve knowledge that contributes to landing a decent job with handsome salaries and to a good grasp of general knowledge and practical skills as well She emphasizes the process of learning a language She thinks learning a language is a long process that requires day-by-day and even hour-to-hour practice to improve English If not, knowledge will be reduced She believes all of her students can learn X and Z generations have more chances to gain knowledge from primary school and high school while they are able to adapt and achieve a large amount of knowledge at tertiary education She aspires to improve her students’ knowledge, instruct them how to use knowledge in practical situations and support them of passing the exams successfully She thinks students learn best by going in for the lessons regularly; being quite willing to energetically give ideas, do the pair work and groupwork; making careful preparation for new lessons; regularly doing self-study as well as further study She believes that the most excellent source that supports the learning of her students comes from teachers who pass the knowledge to students Her belief about teaching is to transfer knowledge to other generations that helps people build up knowledge and deal with social problems In the teaching practice, she often mixes practical teaching with theoretical teaching because she realizes that English is so different from other subjects Studying English requires much more practice, so practice is most frequently used in her teaching She thinks her students can learn theories from practice Likewise, she regularly combines some methods with each other (e.g., traditional method with modern method; student-centered with teacher-centered method) that match the levels of students and students’ attitudes As an educator, the main duties are to encourage students to join in the lessons and gain knowledge As a good teacher, she has to master pedagogical knowledge

T3: … education…role in educating people in all fields…develop the society…good education…have good understanding about what should be done and what should not be done…learning…achieving knowledge…land a decent job with handsome salaries…have general knowledge and practical skills…teaching…transfer knowledge to other generations…build up knowledge and deal with social problems…all students can learn…aspire to improve my students’ knowledge, instruct them how to use knowledge in practical situations…support them of passing the exams successfully…students learn best…lessons regularly…energetically give ideas…the pair work and groupwork, careful preparation for new lessons, regularly self-study… encouraging and motivating students to take part in the lessons and gain knowledge are also the main duty of an educator (T3-

GRW6)…mix between practical teaching and theory teaching because you know teaching

English is a quite different with other subject…practice is the more you practice for students…(T3-Interview-Time 11:32)…often mix some methods to each other…no method is better than the others…(T3-Interview-Time 16:05)…become a teacher…master this knowledge if they want to become a good teacher (T3-Interview-Time 23:09)…a language learner…earning a language…a long progress…try day-by-day, hour-to-hour to improve my English if you pause or you stop study in a period of time…knowledge will be reduced…(T3-

Teaching-related aspects refers to teaching experience, interaction and relationship with colleagues and students, teaching environment as well as a sense of teaching These aspects also have a part in forming the stronger sense of teaching during the process of teaching practice Here is an account of such aspects given by the participants

T1 has a little experience in the practical teaching She changes her teaching methods depending on mostly her students She is always conscious of learning from her colleagues by observing their teaching lessons to see the way they teach and see the teaching methods they use She needs support from them to further develop her pedagogical knowledge She cares about students’ learning preferences and focuses more on her students She can find out which learning styles are suitable for her students through learning activities and can follow all of the students at all different classes with different levels of learning She uses a lot of visual aids (e.g., short videos/films containing the contents related to lessons) in her lessons because she realizes that most of them fancy learning from such visual aids If students are so silent, she will give repeated warnings in both languages or ask for teamwork Also, if low-level students do not understand what she says or why she is saying Employing the mother tongue of Vietnamese is the best choice for her She emphasizes the meaning of “cultural identity” Using bilingual classroom language motivates students’ classroom interaction more conveniently, or in other words, helps encourage students to feel motivated in interactive tasks (individual + group works, talk or peer correction) Personally, she appreciates the importance of her interaction with students; however, she always forms clear boundaries between her students and herself to make her voice stronger In other words, she has power to develop self- confidence in her students She explains why she has to maintain the boundaries because she teaches different classes with mixed students (even most are older students) If not, the students’ interactive attitudes in class can be affected Specially she only cares (or share with or talk to) the students only in class She thinks teaching environment (school infrastructure/teaching conditions/working conditions) is generally quite good and so convenient She emphasizes the school at which she has currently taught is a particular one She uses the word “here” to compare her school with the outside schools She has to obey strict principles (no phone and no internet in class, only use of interior internet) Indeed, most things acquired from other schools are unapplicable to her current teaching She realizes the restriction of training programs or the lack of teacher training courses in her school All teachers have to prepare for lessons carefully before class and instructs students how to learn If any mistakes related to basic knowledge, she will self-correct in class or ask for other teacher’s help in the next lesson

T1:…experiences also have a little bit value to the teaching…(T1-GRW5)…learn many evaluable things from my students and other relevant things…(T1-GRW6)…the boundaries between the teacher and students are quite important…make my voice stronger…(T1-

Interview-Time: 27:33 Record 2)… My colleagues and I have to prepare for lessons (e.g., visual aids + videos downloaded from the internet) carefully before class…(T1-Interview-

Time: 11:39 Record 2)…teaching environment is quite good with enough school infrastructure…obey strict principles…things to be learned from other schools seem unapplicable…a lack of teacher training courses at this particular school (T1-Interview-

Time: 09:40 Record 2)…wearing police uniform, preventing the students from using phones in the class, following the starting and ending time… (T1- Observed)

T2 has had much experience in the practical teaching Her work has remained unchanged, so everything goes smoothly Obviously, she is sometimes stressful because she has to do many things beside the teaching She can deal with professional matters advantageously and enjoy work-life balance harmoniously, relieve stress, keep control of pressure and maintain the compliance of rules and regulations seriously without any influences For instance, no phone or no internet has had no effects on her teaching Sometimes, camera as a barrier has negatively impacted on her psychological perspectives that makes her feel distracted; however, this matter is unimportant She herself can control everything smoothly Her colleagues are quite friendly They are eager to help other people The school has trained many different training courses with the generations of different students Regular training students are so active and eager to study English By comparison, students from other training courses seem to be a little bit poor at English.We [her colleagues and her] had to care more about students with low English proficiency levels by spending more time talking to them about one problem in learning They look like friends, desire to understand them and motivate their interest in study As for her, students are the same as not only learners but also friends The way she deals with situations in class seems really gentle and flexible As for her, the act which some students talk a lot is like a way of chatting with their friends In her mind, everyone wants to talk to other people and as for herself, she desires to share their things with other people To deal with this, she usually calls them to do the work directly at that time or sometimes stops for a moment and says something to them Acted as their friend, she can support them of their study and even exam by sharing her experience as one of way of learning English or providing them with a number of useful languages them or even let them chat in the class or even stop chatting She can be like their friend in class sometimes; however, everything has to be right This means she affirms her position as teacher with the saying “teacher is teacher and students are students” What students talks to her in class, they have to use formal languages as a way of expressing their respect for her There have existed many unexpected situations in teaching lessons; however, she can manage them For instance, if students do not understand the lesson, she can support them in class by spending more time explaining again or asking them to work in groups or in pairs or asking students can help each other or in other words, supporting them after class by exchanging emails About the workplace, it is a really big university Everyone wants to be a member of this university As a teacher, she knows students’ strengths and weaknesses and knows what could be good for her students She has difficulty in obeying the school policies of teaching schedule or training programs An example for such difficulty is to follow the routine and the progress of students’ leaning because she teaches a class today but teaches another one tomorrow Hence, she always concentrates upon main points for some short targets for learners and engages her students to get such learning outcomes

T2: No change! Everything goes smoothly…colleagues …quite friendly and eager to help other people…(T2-Interview-Time 12:27)…I don’t want to consider students as the learners…maybe my friends…(T2-Interview-Time 17:52)… know what is the strength and the weakness of our students…find out what could be good for each student…follow the teaching program and teaching syllabus…quite difficult for me to follow the route of their studying…(T2-Interview-Time 16:01)…usually focus on some main points for some short targets for learners…always engage my students to get their studying point…sometimes if I can be your friend but everything has to be right: “Teacher is teacher Students are students”

(T2-Interview-Time 24:02)…a really big university …everyone wants to be a member of that university…the working environment here sometimes quite stressful… (T2-Interview-Time

Teacher professional identity as process (case-by-case)

The acquired results acknowledged the professional identity of the participating teachers - three cases - as a dynamic and ongoing, not fixed or stable, process of becoming and being EFL university teachers that has changed over time and space in different ways In this study, the process of every case was manifested by the process of becoming and the process of being The process of becoming was identified by the showings of prior teaching considerations, training perceptions: learn to teach, and prior teaching perceptions whereas the current teaching perceptions and future professional goals were visible in the process of being Through such process, many hidden dimensions relating to the (re)construction and (re)negotiation of professional identity were recorded (e.g., the reconciliation of the personal and professional sides becoming and being a teacher; the acquisition of knowledge sources and competencies; the sense of social roles and positions, the struggles for variations and adaptations in such teaching-related aspects as teaching methods, working conditions, job requirements or teacher-student/student-teacher boundaries) Here are the brief discussions of the involved teachers’ professional identity as process (case-by-case)

Case One: Teacher 1’s professional identity as process

Teaching was not really T1’s dream, but she opted for the official entry into teaching without hesitating Her mother was the person who was most influential in her decision of becoming a teacher of English She felt very satisfied with her mother’s choice Although she did not worry too much about choosing teaching as her future job, she encountered a lot of difficulty in teaching (e.g., suffering the psychological matters, worrying about the method of teaching, or confusing the way of solving in-class situations) The reason was her graduation with the Bachelor’s Degree in English for police, not English language teacher education, with the result that she had no pedagogic knowledge and no practical teaching experience So as to overcome the difficulties, she attempted to develop her English proficiency and cultivate her pedagogic knowledge by various means (e.g., participating in a number of training course in pedagogical knowledge, self-studying a variety of reference materials, asking for other people’s advice or learning more from experienced teachers’ lessons) Also, she had to register for a master training course in English language teacher education with an intent to consolidate and further acquire pedagogic knowledge Accordingly, her initial involvement in her official teaching at the school where she had attended the university was very challenging to her At that time, she had much trouble in the teaching (e.g., suffering a state of psychological tension, feeling confused about how to deal with unexpectedly in-class situations or how to face up with large classes or how to impart knowledge or how to promote students’ engagement) After the periods of struggle, she became accustomed to the teaching job and was always self-aware of her job position - an English teacher - with her growing sense of teaching responsibility She gained little-by-little practical experience of teaching, for example knowing how to apply a range of teaching methods to her teaching lessons and how to deal with the unexpectedly in-class situations, heightening her consciousness of disciplinary compliance, or raising her voice as a teacher via the maintenance of teacher-student/student-teacher boundaries Currently, she continues teaching many different classes with the flexible use of teaching strategies/techniques, enjoys the confidence of controlling the class, and keeps self-studying as well as learning more from other teachers’ lessons She shows a readiness for change in her way of teaching provided that such change can motivate her students’ interest in learning or cater to their learning needs

Case Two: Teacher 2’s professional identity as process

As for T2, she was not really into the teaching job, so she had no intention of being a teacher like her mother She always dreamed of working for a professional foreign workplace to make a living with high salary to enhance her living standards Despite this, eventually, she herself decided to pursue teaching career simply due to the fact that she had no other choice but to become an English teacher at the time of decision making She was quite keen on learning (especially English learning), so she regularly devoted most of her time to her study towards the development of self and her better future She found that learning as one of the best means of investment could contribute to developing herself for a purpose of ensuring a brighter future career and make her life better Besides, she was active in working overtime as an English tutor to cover her every day expenditures partly due to her unconditional family background (the suffering of her father’s death and the image of her mother’s burdensome) and partly due to her personal aspiration to experience the realities of daily life as well as accumulate her teaching experience gradually To become a teacher, she succeeded in her attempt to get the Degree of Bachelor and the Degree of Master in English language teacher education Accessing to the early stages of her official teaching at the NEU was not really challenging for her At that time, she had no trouble in the teaching and everything went smoothly Even when leaving for a new school - moving from the NEU to a police school - she quickly became accustomed to the fresh work environment She demonstrated her willingness to adjust herself to necessary changes in the teaching-related aspects (e.g., time management, teaching aids, rigid principles or teacher training programs) In spite of such changes, everything has gone smoothly without any hindrances She is always conscious of her social roles as well as the sense of teacher responsibility She has achieved much experience of teaching English, expressed her confidence of solving all professional matters advantageously (e.g., accessing to modern teaching aids, employing a range of teaching methods flexibly, maintaining teacher-student/student- teacher boundaries, complying with the rules and regulations seriously, or dealing with unexpectedly in-class situations) and enjoyed work-life balance harmoniously (e.g., accomplishing the assigned works, investing time in her self-study or with her family members) that contributed to increasing the effectiveness of teaching periods, motivating the students’ active engagement, or controlling the psychological matters (e.g., relieving stress or even keeping control of pressure) Throughout her teaching life, she has devoted a great deal of hard effort to further develop herself by cultivating her knowledge of English and professional pedagogy (e.g., developing her English proficiency, keeping her updated with many other advanced teaching methods, continuing her teaching performance, or registering for short-time or necessary training courses in English or pedagogics) Also, she will be quite willing to adjust herself to changes in her way of teaching if she thinks that such really need for the students’ learning

Case Three: Teacher 3’s professional identity as process

Compared with the two said teachers, becoming a teacher - following in her mother’s footstep - was always T3’s dream She was really impressed with her mother’s professional image that shaped her early thinking on the teaching Aside from her aspiration for the teaching and her passion for English, her mother and high school English teacher were also regarded as the role models who were enormously influential in her official entry into teaching - becoming a teacher of English Actually, becoming a teacher was her high-ranking career orientation, so she did not have to waste too much time and effort on her thinking about her future job In order to make her dream come true, she fully completed the 4-year bachelor and master training programs in English language teacher education with effort and determination Accessing to the early stages of her official teaching was relatively advantageous to her because her first workplace was the high school where she had ever participated in the university practicum course Afterwards, she has moved to the other workplaces twice (a technical police college and a police school) Every time she changed, she adjusted herself to such new schools very quickly She demonstrated her willingness to alter her opinions about a number of teaching- related aspects for a purpose of catering to such fresh work environments (e.g., using the mixture of bilingual languages with body languages more lissomly, employing the integrated teaching methods more flexibly, improving her knowledge and understanding of specialized English, developing ICT skills or designing a variety of tasks /situations more practically) In spite of such changes, everything has gone smoothly without difficulty She has always raised her awareness of the many roles (teacher, partner, guider/instructor, supervisor) as well as the sense of teacher responsibility Of these three involved teachers, she is recognized to accumulate the most teaching experience She enjoys her confidence of dealing with all teaching-related issues effectively (e.g., knowing how to motivate the students’ active engagement, how to apply technology applications - iMovie/Movie Maker or CorelDraw - to designing more exciting E-learning lessons, how to evaluate speaking and writing exam papers or how to give feedback) Throughout her teaching life, she has attempted to further better herself by increasing her knowledge of English and pedagogics in various forms (e.g., studying a repertoire of materials for specific purposes, watching foreign channels, constructing a range of diversified tasks thoroughly, attending other teachers’ lectures, practicing more English skills, updating various modern teaching methods, or taking part in short-time or necessary training programs in English or teaching pedagogy) In the future, she will continue improving herself, performing her teaching, and adapting herself to changes in teaching if she feels that such are essential for her students’ learning.

Chapter summary

Chapter 4 discussed the findings of this study that contributed to addressing the first research question “How do the EFL university teachers (re)construct and

(re)negotiate their professional identity?” This chapter demonstrated that the EFL university teachers’ (re)construction and (re)negotiation of their professional identity as process has changed over time and place in various ways The processes of becoming and being EFL university teachers were perceived by the teachers themselves and interpreted by the researcher Chapter 4 provided in details the EFL university teachers’ (re)construction and (re)negotiation of professional identity as process represented by the process of becoming (from having prior teaching considerations, having training perceptions: learning to teach to having prior teaching perceptions) and process of being (from having current teaching perceptions to having future professional goals) The EFL university teachers’ engagement (e.g., attending university education and post-graduate training courses, taking part in teaching practicum, working overtime or teaching practice), imagination (e.g., creating professional images through participation and interaction, like a good teacher, an educator, an experienced teacher) and alignment (e.g., joining in some of seminars/conferences within and/or beyond school, or other communities of practice online towards the development of professional self) throughout their teaching life contributed to investigating the (re)construction and (re)negotiation of their professional identity as process.

TEACHER PROFESSIONAL IDENTITY AS PRODUCT

Teacher professional identity as product (the cases agglomerated)

Teacher Professional Identity as Product (the cases agglomerated)

Here are the details of the EFL university teachers’ professional identity as product (the case agglomerated) in Table 5.1

Professional Identity as Product (the cases agglomerated)

Cognitive Developing a clear awareness of school disciplines and policies

Developing the sense of discipline alignment by complying the rules and regulations of both the police forces and of the school seriously Developing self-awareness and self-knowledge

Behavioral Taking over numerous roles T1 - Being a monitor

- Being an observer and a supervisor

- Being a material compiler Affective Showing the feelings of unsuitability for scientific research

T1 - Regarding research works as a challenge

- Conducting only one research project (until date)

- Showing signs of silence, little talk and little attention

- Conducting no research projects (until date) T3 - Regarding research works as a challenge

- Reflecting on the unsuitability for scientific research;

- Possessing much more experience in research than T1 and T2 (until date): conducting 02 research projects and some research activities (evaluating students’ graduation papers, instructing students how to carry out a graduation paper as a supervisor)

5.1.1 Developing a clear awareness of school disciplines and policies

All the participants have worked as not only university English teachers but also official members in the police forces This has strongly affected the inner and outer thoughts of these three teachers about the teaching which includes but is not limited to the sense of discipline alignment The implication is that the teachers have to strictly abide by the rules and regulations of both the school and police forces In other words, aside from the teaching responsibility, the teachers have to increasingly develop their awareness about the regulatory compliance and execution (e.g., their awareness of confidentiality and data protection regulations or their individual responsibility for satisfying job requirements) The case of three involved teachers exemplifies this

T1’s awareness of such compliance has been built since when she was at the university As a police student, every learning activity and student life were strictly controlled by disciplinary stipulations When she took part in her regular learning as well as extra-curricular activities, she had to comply with the stipulated disciplines seriously As an EFL teacher at a police school, she was always conscious of her teaching at a particular workplace that requested every teacher to have positive attitudes, good manners or physical behaviors (e.g., facial expressions, gestures, body postures or eye movements) abided by the rules and regulations of the police forces in general and the school in particular Several striking illustrations of her compliance were manifested by her changes in the teaching (e.g., classroom interaction with students, classroom movement, classroom gestures and postures, or police uniform) or her involvement in tests and courses at the request of the school (e.g., courses on pedagogic knowledge or English proficiency tests) Also, the recent classroom observations proved that she has remained her consciousness of not only being a teacher (e.g., controlling the class, transmitting knowledge, and stimulating her students’ learning) but also a person with a sense of discipline alignment (e.g., complying with the principles of the police forces in general as well as obeying the rules and regulations of the workplace in particular, such as wearing police uniform, preventing the students from using phones in the classroom, following the starting and ending time as stipulated)

T1: …All of my learning activities and student life happened in the college campus where disciplines were enforced strictly…(T1-GRW2)…In my university er…not only teachers but students also have to follow the strict rules…regulations…(T1-Interview-Time

14:16_Re2)…The difference here is to obey strict principles that is not the same as that in outside schools…(T1-Interview-Time 9:40_Re2)…no phone or no internet was used in class…(T1-Interview-Time 10:47_Re2) … continuously asking for the students’ voices or gently warning a few students of their lack of attention…wearing police uniform, preventing the students from using phones in the class, following the starting and ending time… (T1-

Compared with T1, the two remaining teachers graduated from the outside university Accordingly, when they began with their teaching at a police school, they had to spend more time familiarizing themselves with the rules and regulations that had a bit difficulty in their teaching (e.g., designing lessons without practical illustrations, suffering such a few psychological problems as stress due to fear of shooting or camera surveillance) Gradually, they have had strong awareness of their conformity to such disciplinary stipulations earnestly Specifically, it is compulsory for T2 to follow the teaching syllabus closely, complete all the training courses as requested (e.g., law and police profession, military & martial art skills, or speaking

& writing examiners with VSTEP.2 format) or get involved in exam tests/competitions (e.g., teacher competitions or English proficiency tests, like IELTs or TOEFL) Aside from the teaching, she has to control the whole in-class activities under the school rules For example, she regularly warns her students of possible penalties if they break such ones in the classroom (e.g., using phones or solving personal matters) T2 strictly follows the attendance of students who are not allowed to go out of the class for over five minutes Another rule relates to “no phone and no internet” in the classrooms According to T2, the students are permitted to go out and take their phone calls; however, no phone is used when coming back To deal with the teaching without the use of phone or internet, T2 has to invest much time in preparing for lessons thoroughly before class (e.g., designing plenty of interactive tasks associated with lively images/examples) Likewise, as a police teacher, not only does T3 fully undertake to follow the five oaths of the forces and Uncle Ho’s six teachings, but she also has to abide by school disciplines strictly Practically, she has reminded herself to obey the rules and regulations seriously during her working and teaching time (e.g., wearing police uniform, manifesting standard behaviors, following the syllabus closely, controlling the students’ learning environment or completing the training courses as requested) For instance, she is not allowed to put any electronic devices in practice and must be present at the workplace in time She strictly manages the class by means of compulsorily internal rules (e.g., warnings or even penalties will be given if a few students are late for class or forget doing homework or show aggressive behaviors or negative attitudes) Therefore, she has to perform her non-stop learning and self-study to enrich her knowledge by numerous means, like applying updated software to convey knowledge to her students interestingly or selecting or mixing flexible teaching methods to create useful lessons Aside from this, she has to not only take up training courses in regulations, military affairs and marital arts but also get engaged in professional conferences (e.g., a workshop in Vietnam, named

“Improving the teaching of English as a second language” by ULIS, or a conference in Singapore, named “Improving English teaching” by an IT Singapore School) to broaden her professional knowledge

T2:…the rigid principles…abide by all the rules and regulations…violations would be punished…conform to such principles earnestly…no phone and no internet…difficulty… more time to familiar myself with these principles…more time upon preparing for my lessons very thoroughly…before the class…English proficiency tests…school’s requirements…course on law and police profession…military and martial art skills…quite problem…follow the teaching program and teaching syllabus, quite difficult follow the route of their studying (T2-GRW4)…talk to them …the rules when they are at school…not allowed to come back to the class…5 minutes…(T2-ObsInterview-Time 4:18)… a disciplinary person…use rules flexibly…in the class…(T2-ObsInterview-Time 8:08)

T3: …the school also attached special importance to disciplinary problems…forced to strictly comply with rules and regulations, teachers were conscious of having a greater sense of responsibility…(T3-GRW4)…working in the police forces, I have to obey the rules and regulations…in both working time and teaching time…not allowed to use any electronic devices in the lessons…must be present at the workplace in time…non-stop studying and self-study to enrich my knowledge…(T3-GRW6)… wearing police uniform, manifesting standard behaviors/attitudes, following the syllabus closely, controlling the students’ learning involvement…(T3-Observed)

5.1.2 Developing self-awareness and self-knowledge

The involved teachers’ initial thinking of teaching was shaped since their childhood In the process of becoming and being a teacher, every teacher’s self- awareness and self-knowledge has been gradually developed in their social-cultural contexts through interaction At first, the teachers’ preliminary thoughts or imagination of the teaching was constructed Progressively, the teachers’ self- awareness and self-knowledge has been extended through interaction in their teaching life, which originated in the construction of their teaching philosophies (e.g., education, learning, teaching, professional image or ideology)

Throughout her teaching life, T1’s teaching philosophy has been established step by step She believes that education plays a part in raising people’s awareness of their responsibilities for society development, differentiating the good and bad things, motivating learners’ critical thinking, broaden learners’ mind and see the outside world as well In her view, teaching is like a catalyst that contributes to accelerating the learning process more smoothly and faster Also, teaching is regarded as a correct- directed teaching - that is, teaching in such a wrong way can badly impact on learners and their learning as well She thinks an educator plays the role in monitoring and supervising the teaching in the right way About learning, she believes that learners are the most important elements in education because the values of learning in personal development is as the core element in society development She believes that all people can learn well when they want and realize the useful or practical purpose of learning As for her students, she hopes they can know the values and purposes of their learning by determining what they learn for, what they need to learn and know how to learn effectively Therefore, she constantly organizes a wide range of learning activities in various ways, such as pictures, videos, games, individual- pair-group activities Through such activities, she can find out which learning styles are suitable for her students and follow the whole students at all different classes with different levels of learning Regarding teachers’ professional images, the image of the English teacher in her imagination was formerly portrayed as a well-qualified person with good professional knowledge, enthusiastic, energetic, humorous, industrious and passionate about learning everything Through her practical teaching experience, she changes to another view that a good teacher is a person who gives students good marks and transfers knowledge to students as fast as possible In reality, the majority of her students regards teachers as one of the best sources of learning They believe in their teachers’ sayings and take note of what their teachers say Her students seem to not have much free time to learn English after class because they have to back to their work, even till the next class Thus, the careful preparation of teaching lessons before class is highly appreciated because she thinks this work is really helpful to herself and her students While preparing for lessons, she can discover a wide range of sources of interesting materials and grasp the volume of fresh knowledge and learn more about other useful things As a teacher, she is always self-conscious of broadening her pedagogical knowledge by means of her involvement in professional activities (e.g., taking part in professional meetings, performing mock and practical teaching lessons, registering for some short-term training courses in pedagogical competence inside and outside the school or observing other teachers’ lessons) Such participation contributes to gaining more insights into the strengths and weaknesses of herself and getting the advantages and disadvantages of those professional activities For example, she can accumulate more practical teaching experience (e.g., the way how to control her psychological matters or how to deal with the unexpectedly in-class situations) from regularly not only practicing her teachings with different classes but also observing her colleagues’ ways of teaching

As for T2, she believes that education helps people to behave better and recognize what is right and wrong, bring people knowledge, and give people to broaden knowledge as well Her belief about teaching is to provide learners with the volume of knowledge that can make their lives better and better The example for this is that the teaching can help students reach their targets on language About learning, she highly appreciates the value of learning that enables people to enhancing themselves because nothing can be done without learning For instance, in order to improve speaking skills, people need to invest much time and effort in seeking out a variety of data sources (e.g., searching information from the internet, or asking professors to share learning experiences about speaking skills) She believes that all students can learn provided that they spend enough time on and have a liking for their study She thinks that all students can learn best if they are equipped with a wide range of learning sources She realizes the use of books, library or internet as the best sources that can aid her students’ learning As for her students, she hopes her students can achieve learning outcome standards immediately after the end of the course Regarding teacher professional images, the image “a good teacher” in her mind is a person, who possesses good knowledge of their major, motivate his/her students’ interest in their learning As an educator, she aspires to instill her students with a great source of inspiration for the importance of learning English language As a teacher, she thinks that she needs to concentrate on her students’ learning targets and engage them to achieve such About herself, she is always aware of developing her English proficiency and improve her pedagogical knowledge through her self-study and her work-study engagement For instance, through the process of her teaching and self- study, she recognizes the necessity to maintain the performance of English skills on a regular basis For such awareness, she constantly invests time in listening to the news, watching films enclosed English subtitles as well as reading English newspapers/magazines on foreign channels (e.g., BBC, CNN, VOA, the New York Times) Thanks to her participation in the VSTEP.2 speaking and writing rater training course, she can have exposure to the rating of speaking and writing papers based on a set of assessment criteria After the course, she adjusts herself to changes in the grading methods of speaking and writing skills relying on a set of assessment criteria Accessing to the police-related courses (i.e., the 6-month training course on law and police profession and the 45-day training course on military and martial art skills for the people’s police forces) contributes to her acquisition of firsthand knowledge of specialist aspects (e.g., law documents, ways of collecting evidence, regulations, surveillance, or martial art skills) Owing to this, she can achieve the practical mastery of specialized English (e.g., specialized words/phrases and knowledge of academic subjects) and know how to accurately report to supervisors in line with the force’s regulations As a result, she feels more confident to perform her teaching of English for specific purposes by the showings of the satisfactory explanations of professional words/phrases or even professional knowledge associated with illustrative examples more precisely

T3 holds the belief that education plays a part in educating people in every field, which contributes to the development of the society Also, she thinks that the purpose of good education is to help people have good understanding about what should be done and what should not be done Her belief about teaching is to transfer knowledge to other generations, which helps people build up knowledge and deal with social problems Her belief about learning is that achieving knowledge not only gives her opportunities to land a decent job with handsome salaries but also helps her have a good grasp of general knowledge and practical skills She believes that all students can learn This implies that X and Z generations have more chances to gain knowledge from primary school and high school, so at tertiary education they are able toadapt and achieve a large amount of knowledge She thinks students learn best by taking part in their lessons regularly and interactively (e.g., delivering their speeches enthusiastically or working in pairs or groups positively), preparing for new lessons carefully before class (e.g., self-studying regularly or expending much time for further studying in the library) She believes that the most excellent source that supports the learning of her students comes from teachers who pass the knowledge to students Teachers can guide students several or authentic and believable sources, like websites made by native speakers (BBC, VOA, CNN, TED…) Regarding teacher professional images, she creates the different images of “a teacher” and “an educator” in her mind The image “a teacher” refers to a person who transfers knowledge and guides students in the educational system whereas the image “an educator” is a person who encourages and motivates students to get involved in the lessons and gain knowledge As a teacher, she aspires to improve her students’ knowledge, instruct them how to use knowledge in practical situations as well as support them of passing the exams successfully About herself, she has attempted to enhance her English language as well as develop her pedagogical knowledge through her self-study and her work-study engagement On a daily basis, she spends time having access to a variety of English documents and websites She readily renovates the way of her teaching to motivate her students’ interest in her teaching periods by applying flexible methods to each level of students (e.g., the student-centered approach, the communicative approach or the mixture of traditional-modern methods), and gain hands-on teaching knowledge by observing other colleagues’ teaching lessons and consulting them about the teaching-related aspects Aside from this, she is willing to participate in the teaching-related activities (e.g., professional meetings, workshops, teacher contests or training courses), if necessary or requested For instance, it is the self-preparedness and real experience for the VSTEP/IELTS tests that makes a few changes to her way of teaching (e.g., using more natural expressions & idioms or employing explanation as one of the main teaching tools) Prior to the VSTEP.2 speaking and writing rater training course, no marking criteria was specifically outlined while evaluating speaking and writing exam papers She focused on her students’ pronunciation, grammar and spelling mistakes as well as highlighted the checking of writing format and content when evaluating the speaking and writing papers respectively Nonetheless, after this course, she further perceives the importance of criteria and know how to put such criteria in practice She adjusts herself to changes in the grading methods of speaking and writing skills relying on a set of assessment criteria While teaching such skills, she is often centered upon instructing the students how to enhance their writing and speaking based on the criteria (e.g., how to pronounce or write correctly, how to expend ideas logically, or how to connect ideas in paragraphs successfully) Accessing to other professional activities (e.g., teaching competitions or material designs) enables her to broaden her knowledge of specialized English (e.g., English expressions related to police, law, politics or religion), teaching pedagogy (e.g., updated teaching methods/techniques), and teaching material designs (e.g., understanding of the self-designed books; applications of information technology, like Corendal Wiki, Audio Media creating and editing software) To be considered a good teacher, she has to non-stop studying and further self-study to enrich her knowledge She always tries to apply the latest software to imparting knowledge to her students in such an interesting way; selects or mixes flexible teaching methods to create interesting lessons; and keeps updated of new information in the lesson In brief, she has continued developing her English and gaining more knowledge from self-study and colleagues in the future lessons

Apart from the teaching, these teachers have been involved in many other activities with various roles (e.g., a guide, a motivator, an assistant, a part of group or a police officer) In their views, such role also brings in a number of advantages and disadvantages that contribute to affecting or even changing their own thoughts about the current teaching

As an EFL university teacher, T1 is responsible for every teaching-related issue, like preparing for teaching lessons, enhancing her English proficiency skills, transmitting knowledge to her students, employing flexible teaching strategies/methods (e.g., student-centered or code-switching) or controlling every activity in the lessons Beside this teaching, she sometimes plays some of other explicit or implicit roles For instance, she sometimes looks like a monitor to supervise her students and support them of understanding what she has said or taught Sometimes, she is like an observer who directly observes her students (e.g., peer interaction, behaviors, attitudes, or learning styles) to possibly find out the best ways to help them learn better because some of them seem to have difficulty in understanding themselves Also, she is like a motivator who encourages passive or shy students to enthusiastically deliver their speeches and get engaged in in-class interactive activities As a teacher at a particular workplace, she has to comply with the rules and regulations of the school and the police forces earnestly For instance, the teachers here have to address their students as “Đồng chí”, not “Em”, or else no phone is permitted to be used in the classroom As a language learner, she puts herself in her students’ position that can contribute to gaining insights into what they need Sometimes, T1 was an assistant who supported teacher candidates of performing the administrative works in a teacher contest Thanks to this, she learned more about a great number of teaching ideas that seem theoretically interesting but factually impractical She sensed that such ideas sound unsuitable for real classes, except for ideal ones At present, as an ongoing assistant, she takes charge of doing the department’s administrative works with other selected assistants As for her, this role does not really support her teaching a lot, on the contrary, she thinks it is rather time- consuming For this reason, she wastes a vast amount of time preparing for lessons from time to time Despite some drawbacks, she grasps more details of subjects (e.g., subject curriculum or distribution) and school policies Sometimes, as a designer, her involvement in producing a reference material for listening kills, on the one hand, enabled her to discover a mass of exciting listening sources on websites or online platforms (e.g., BBC listening or listen-to-minutes), know how to search a variety of listening exercises, and especially further practice her listening skills during the whole process On the other hand, her participation in making exam tests as a designer helped her develop teamwork and design skills For example, a number of specific design-related rules were established from their group discussions (e.g., avoiding questions with many possible or confusing answers, ensuring the accuracy of each statement/question or eliminating questions with grammar or spelling errors)

Teacher professional identity as product (case-by-case)

The detailed account of the EFL university teachers’ professional identity as product (case-by-case) are shown in Figure 5.3

Teacher Professional Identity as Product (case-by-case)

5.2.1 Case One: Teacher 1’s professional identity as product

Teacher 1’s Professional Identity as Product

Being a novice EFL university teacher

While getting involved in this study, she has officially worked as an EFL teacher at university for seven years She senses that her teaching experience seems inadequate and she resembles a novice EFL university teacher A novice teacher typically is less familiar with subject matter, teaching strategies, and teaching contexts and lack an adequate repertoire of mental scripts and behavioral routines (Berliner, 1987, p 72) Likewise, she feels that she seems to have a limited knowledge of specialized English and lack a profound understanding of teaching pedagogy She is always conscious of improving herself by deepening her knowledge of English for specific purposes, grasping various fresh methods of teaching, learning from her colleagues through observing their teaching lessons or asking for their advice, finding out innovative ways to enhance students’ achievement, developing quality teaching, and motivating students’ interest In the past, she genuinely had no professional experience in teaching As yet, her current job has been viewed as the sole job of her life She has worked as an English teacher since she graduated from the university She got her degree with a major in English for police, so she lacked a theoretical knowledge of pedagogics or a practical experience in classroom teaching She reflected that the acquired university seemed unapplicable to the teaching job

To be specific, the majority of subjects were unrelated to the teaching and chiefly focused on general knowledge of police English language and even a variety of English-unrelated subjects In other words, she underwent no intensive training in pedagogic knowledge and absolutely had no practical experience in the teaching as well Also, she realized that her level of English proficiency sounded not good and she had a limited knowledge of English language Accordingly, such possible reasons could hold accountable for making her teaching career run into many difficulties When she proceeded with her teaching, the difficult thing she faced up to was the state of her confusion She felt so nervous that she neglected what she would say or sometimes imparted knowledge mistakenly Also, she was worried about the students’ comments on her teaching-related perspectives (e.g., her teaching behaviors, attitudes or even methods) From her memory, the first class she taught was to confront with the crowded one with over 80 in-service students She was initially overwhelmed with the large class, of which the majority of older students occupied most During her teaching periods, she felt that they seemed to not pay attention to the lessons, instead of sitting passively in class to observe her only She tried to visualize the reasons for such silence, possibly due to her being a fresh teacher or her young age She did not know how to face up with the situations effectively, but to continue her teaching until the end of the lesson The impression she recorded was to suffer the initial shocks of the teaching psychologically (e.g., a bit fearful, obsessed with her students by their silence and the lack of interaction) She thought a lot after class and even asked for experienced and expert teachers’ advice After the first teaching periods, she has continued teaching various classes with different generations of students Gradually, she has become accustomed to the teaching, controlled her psychological matters and accumulated more practical experience in the process of her teaching practice She knows how to prepare for lessons more thoroughly and design a variety of fascinating classroom activities She feels confident of asking the students, especially lazy students, to give their responses to her questions or write their answers on the board She can deal with in-class situations more effectively and employ a number of teaching methods more flexibly Nonetheless, she has seemed to mainly put traditional teaching methods in practice by means of the use of simpler language expressions and more Vietnamese language Her engagement in professional activities or programs (e.g., weekly meetings, mock teaching lessons, other teachers’ lessons or two-year master’s program) supports her of broadening her profound knowledge of English language as well as teaching pedagogy This can contribute to helping her gain further experience in the process of her teaching performance and make possible adjustments to her teaching profession as well The example is that the postgraduate training course offers her some changes to teaching-related issues, like identifying the students’ preferred learning styles (e.g., visual learning or strengths & weaknesses of such some language teaching methods as Grammar-Translation Method, Direct Method, Communicative Language Teaching Method), gaining deep insights into such language-related subjects (e.g., syntax, semantics or pragmatics), developing a number of modern teaching strategies or techniques (e.g., skill-building websites, or such interactive technologies for teaching and learning as Canvas, Google Classroom, CorelDraw Graphics, Adobe Illustrator/InDesign), transferring the teacher-student role, or managing the student-centered classroom In general, as a university English teacher, it is necessary for her to continue improving herself and accumulating further teaching experience With her inadequate teaching experience, she has, therefore, regarded herself as a novice EFL university teacher She needs to make more efforts, study more and teach more that can contribute to performing her teaching and satisfying the career’s demands

T1:… In the past, I genuinely had no professional experience in teaching yet…I have worked as an English teacher since I graduated from the university… the bachelor’s degree in English for police…so…not have any theoretical knowledge of pedagogy or any practical experience in classroom teaching…almost all of the university subjects seemingly unrelated to the teaching…The most impressive thing when I had initial classroom teaching experiences as an English teacher was the state of my confusion Even I felt so nervous that

I neglected what I would say or sometimes imparted knowledge mistakenly Also, I felt so nervous of the students’ comments on my teaching-related perspectives… accustomed to the teaching job, making me more confident…(T1-GRW4)…identifying the students’ preferred learning styles…deeper insights into such language-related subjects…developed a number of modern teaching strategies or techniques…I know the necessary in transferring the role from the teacher to students and managing the student-centered classroom…(T1-GRW3)

She is always conscious of her part as an EFL university teacher as well as her professional responsibilities She has made efforts to complete all the teaching-related works as effectively as possible (e.g., imparting knowledge, motivating the students’ interest, preparing for the lessons well, managing the students or updating the latest teaching methods) and develop herself to satisfy her teaching career When being asked, she has positioned herself, on the one hand as an active teacher, but on the other hand as an “inactive” teacher According to her explanation, her image as an

“inactive” teacher has been manifested differently in various aspects Regarding the classroom management, her “inactive” image can be identified as an “inflexible” teacher To be honest, she was originally not a kind of teacher who fancied applying rules to her students because she felt that the rules would make her classes more stressful She did not request the students to pay too much attention to or participated more in her teaching lessons Nonetheless, after some years of teaching, she realized that her active teaching sounded inappropriate to her students because they targeted their learning goals only Moreover, she observed that the students lacked concentration and interaction during her teaching lessons For her awareness of such status, she reflected that a number of possible changes in her teaching opinions would be made There was no need to be too active and the things to be taught would be simpler She tried applying the way of simple teaching to her teaching lessons to develop their ways of understanding and establishing a number of classroom rules to foster their learning Currently, she has considered to follow such teaching style and classroom rules has been used She hopes the students can know the value and purpose of their learning They can determine what they learn for, what they need to learn and know how to learn effectively In terms of professional ambition, her

“inactive” image can be visualized as an “unambitious” teacher She is self-identified as a friendly woman Like other women, she belongs to a model of woman who is prone to the family Thus, she spends most of the time with her family as the most important element in her life Accordingly, she is regarded as an unambitious teacher She only completes all the assigned tasks or fulfills the job requirements; however, she has never tried to do others beyond reach As for her, the majority of things have to be made at school She understands the value of the family, so she often expends much of the time on taking care of her husband and her children after school She only accomplishes the necessary training programs (e.g., the short-time training courses in pedagogics, or the master’s program) that meet the requirements of her career and her school She is not ambitious to pursue further learning, like the doctor’s program In light of research-related activities, her “inactive” image can be defined as an outsider teacher or a lazy researcher She has taken up research-related activities and teacher development programs if necessary or being requested; however, she plays a part as only a listener during the programs About herself, she feels less interested in and enthusiastic about participating in teaching-related workshops or scientific research activities The reason why she shows her disinterested attitudes towards such research activities and workshops can be due to her unawareness of their attractiveness In addition, the research works can be regarded as a big challenge to her because she has a limited knowledge of the research work She lacks confidence in carrying out any research projects, so she has possessed only one research paper as her master’s thesis until date

T1:… I think…I am an inactive teacher…I am not fond of this…(T1-Interview-Time: 7:07

Record 2)… I am a friendly woman … I spend most of my time with my family with my child and there the most important element thing …in my life …it affects a lot in…affect a lot in…teaching…and I always try to adapt in my teaching demands … I adapt enough demands … I never tried to overcome this demand… (T1-Interview-Time: 23:12 Record 2)… I am an inactive teacher as I said so not I construct and negotiate my professional identity… (T1-Interview-Time: 31:17 Record 2) … At first, I was a very active teacher and

I did not impose any classroom rules on my students During the teaching performance, I realized that my active teaching was inappropriate to my students because they targeted their learning goals Also, they lacked concentration in class I reflected that something needed be changed I applied the way of simple teaching to my lessons Classroom rules must be established (T1-Interview-Time: 35:05 Record 2) … I am a listener most of the time …(T1-

Being a teacher with dependence proneness and inferiority feelings

She positions herself as a dependent person who lacks self-determination She depends on chiefly her family members and colleagues in her life When she was small, she dreamt of becoming a student of Hanoi Academy of Theatre and Cinema Nonetheless, she changed her stance without hesitating by giving such dream up readily after being told that it was not a stable job She did not prepare any plans for her career orientations Alternatively, she followed her family members’ decisions and satisfied their aspirations Her husband gave her a lot of advice to her career choice He encouraged her to be a teacher because he always desired that someone of his family would become teachers who supported his children and grandchildren of career orientations Yet, among these people, her mother was considered the most influential person Her mother selected which university she would enroll in a police school and even which major she would register for English for police She believed in her mother’s choice and applied to the selected university without hesitating And in the process of becoming and being an English teacher, she has depended entirely on other people’s advice, chiefly from her colleagues, on her teaching Relying on such advice, she can be ready to change her teaching opinions without her thorough considerations For this reason, she takes account of further study from other people She regularly observes other teachers’ lessons to learn more about the way they teach in class as of the beginning of her teaching until now And even, she will continue develop herself by doing like such in the future

T1: … I dreamt of being a student of Hanoi Academy of Theatre and Cinema Nonetheless, it was due to the lack of job stability that made me give up it During or even after the high school, I did not think of or have any plans for my career orientations All I did was to follow my mother’s decision and satisfy her aspiration … she selected which university I would enroll in [a police school]…which major I would register for [English for police]…I felt quite satisfied with my mother’s choice … (T1-GRW2) I followed my parents’ decision

About myself, I thought that it was a stable job and I could spend more time with my family and children My husband also affected my career decision because he always desired that someone of his family would become teachers, supporting his children and grandchildren of career orientations (T1-Interview-Time: 2:58 Record 1)

When she was a young kid, she had no thought of choosing the teaching job And even as a university student, being an English teacher was not still her desire because she thought that English competence was not enough to teach this subject It was her limited English proficiency that contributed to shaping her initial feeling of inferiority And even during the process of becoming and being an English teacher, she has had a sense of inferiority beside her growing consciousness of her teaching job Her general knowledge of English language and teaching pedagogy has made her lack confidence and even feel inferior since her entry into teaching She is always aware of her professional identity in various contexts In everyday life, she normally says that she is a police officer if being asked When she takes part in a number of teaching-related workshops outside the workplace, she often positions herself as an English teacher Honestly, she is not confident of her self-identity as an English teacher in such education programs Besides, her superficial knowledge of research works and her unconsciousness of their attractiveness can be also considered a culprit of causing her feeling of inferiority

T1:…I did not undergo any intensive training in pedagogic knowledge to become a teacher and I absolutely had no practical experience in the teaching as well…I realized that my level of English proficiency sounded not quite good and I did not gain the sound knowledge of English language…(T1-GRW4) … It depends Normally, I often say that I am police However, in some …some workshops, specially that is related to teaching education, I will say that I am an English teacher but to be honest I am not very confident with that…(T1-

5.2.2 Case Two: Teacher 2’s professional identity as product

Teacher 2’s Professional Identity as Product

Being an experienced EFL university teacher

While participating in this study, she has official worked as an official EFL teacher at university for sixteen years With many years of teaching experience, she can be regarded as an experienced EFL university teacher In the past, she possessed about four-year experience of the teaching after graduation She worked overtime as an English tutor during her university and underwent the 6-month practicum course at the end of this program As an English tutor, she taught every learner from different levels (e.g., primary school students, secondary school students or even special students) in English for grammar consolidation, communication enhancement or examination Doing overtime helped her consolidate a volume of theoretical knowledge systematically and accumulate practical teaching experience gradually For example, when she worked as an English tutor, she had a sense of responsibility to motivate students’ learning In order to interest special students, she would need more patience or even spend a little time socializing with them to encourage them in their studies When participating in the 6-month practice course, she had access to the real teaching lessons that was of benefit to her practical experience and useful training period She learned more about teaching-related things (e.g., classroom management; teaching tactics or strategics, like pair work or teamwork or the medium of specific instruction; the way how to handle in-class problems, like making noise or forgetting doing homework) from many experienced teachers’ lessons and her teaching practice For instance, if some students were too lazy to do their homework, she could randomly split the class into groups that took turns checking those idle students’ assignments as a means of positive encouragement and mutual assistance If little or no change was recorded, she would nominate each excellent student as a tutor to support each poor individual or even sometimes she would directly teach them after class If some talked freely in the class, she could request them to raise their voices more frequently in order that they occupied themselves in strengthening their in-class learning attitudes With her bachelor’s degree, she immediately applied for a position as an English teacher at the NEU and spontaneously registered for a two-year full- time master training course jointly run by ULIS (VN) - Southern New-Hampshire University (USA) When she began with her teaching job at the NEU, she did not encounter a lot of difficulties in teaching English, except for the heavy duration of teaching practice (often the maximum time limit of 40 teaching periods per week, possibly due to her new teacher or single status) She taught a range of different classes and she had no trouble in the teaching Parallel to the teaching, her involvement in the master training program, especially her practical experience in the short-term practicum course, supported her of gaining deeper insights into teaching- related aspects She could better the performance of English skills, develop a number of advanced methods of practical teaching (e.g., student-centered teaching, communicative language teaching, task-based approach or presentation-practice- production framework), and broaden the pedagogical knowledge of teaching-related issues (e.g., how to teach pronunciation, how to teach writing, how to teach vocabulary, how to teach grammar, or how to teach listening) She applied evaluable knowledge from the post-graduate course to designing lesson plans and performing hands-on teaching lessons She placed the acquired methods of teaching from this course in practice, based on which she could identify the best ways to interest her students during English lessons For instance, she often used the communicative approach to encourage her students to get more engaged in interactive classroom activities (e.g., pair work or teamwork via exciting games, stimulating tasks or discussions) After leaving for the NEU, she took a position as an English teacher at another higher education The new workplace was quite different from her previous one (e.g., time management, teaching aids, distance, rigid principles, scientific researches or teacher contests) She had a bit difficulty in habituating herself to the new school in the early stages of change; however, she quickly became accustomed to this work environment As for her, this change had no effects on her teaching work and all the teaching-related things went smoothly She has continued her current job here so far She manifests herself as an experienced English teacher with her sound knowledge of pedagogy She is good at the procedures for teaching, ranging from checking class attendance, assessing students’ prior knowledge, organizing the new lessons logically, correcting mistakes and summarizing acquired knowledge Moreover, she expresses the confidence of dealing with every teaching aspect advantageously, such as caring about the students, knowing what is their strengths and weaknesses, following the teaching syllabus closely or varying teaching techniques flexibly For example, while teaching, she demonstrates her ability not only to control the class very well (possibly by observing or going around the class) but also to alter her way of teaching reasonably (e.g., utilizing “repetition” or “code- switching” as a technique for giving clearer instructions/explanations in English and Vietnamese or a way of motivating their active engagement For example, when she accidentally sees a student using mobile phones, she will not mention his name immediately, instead of giving a general reminder “If someone is using the phone in the class, so please don’t do it anymore Unless he stops using the phone, some punishments can be given” In case a few students seem silent all the time, she usually asks them to go to the board and do the job or move from the bottom of the class to the first row in the class and sit next to other students to share or to exchange their learning problems with other partners If she sees a student talking a lot in the class, she will call him to do the work directly at that time or sometimes she will stop for a moment and say something to him or ask him to speak English if he wants to chat with other classmates “please speak English no Vietnamese if you can do it” Aside from this, not only does she feel the confidence of maintaining her work-life balance harmoniously, but she also raises her consciousness of the compliance of rules and regulations seriously without any influences on her work as well In brief, until the time of her involvement in this study, she has worked as a EFL university teacher for

Chapter summary

Chapter 5 continued to interpret the findings of this study that contributed to address the first research question “How do the EFL university teachers (re)construct and (re)negotiate their professional identity?” This study indicated that professional identity as product was perceived by the teachers themselves, interpreted by the researcher, and (re)identified through their engagement, imagination and alignment in the liminal spaces of their teaching life (Turner, 1969) Such determined product has kept being (re)constructed and (re)negotiated over time and space in different thresholds of a teaching life Chapter 5 helped to find out the EFL university teachers’ professional identity as product (the cases agglomerated and case-by-case) has been (re)constructed and (re)negotiated in their teaching cycles The EFL university teacher’s professional identity as product (the cases agglomerated) was recognized as developing a clear awareness of school disciplines and policies (cognitive), developing self-awareness and self-knowledge (cognitive), taking over numerous roles (behavioral), and showing the feelings of unsuitability for scientific research (affective) Taking the EFL university teachers’ professional identity as product (case-by-case) into account, each teacher has been identified separately from the different perspectives For T1, her professional identity as product is established as a novice EFL university teacher, an “inactive” teacher, and a teacher with dependence proneness and inferiority feelings For T2, her professional identity as product is identified as an experienced EFL university teacher, a serious and outspoken, but sociable teacher, and a self-reliant and determined teacher Meanwhile, T3’s professional identity as product is recognized as an expert EFL university teacher, an enthusiastic and modern teacher, and a teacher with leadership styles.

External factors

One of the most important factors that affects the shaping of a person’s identity constitutes his/her family He is influenced by his family culture (e.g., habits, beliefs, values, traditions) that can contribute to the shaping of his identity, like ways of thinking, feeling, judging or acting Family can be, therefore, identified as a key factor that influence the EFL university teachers’ (re)construction and (re)negotiation of their professional identity as process and product (Borg, 2003; Olsen, 2008, 2016) The participating teachers come from the different family backgrounds and suffer the influences from their family’s side in various ways Generally, they always receive substantial assistance and engagement from their family

As for T1, her family always stays by her side and encourage her to do what she desires The image of her father is featured as a careful and hardworking man who always attempts to earns a living for the family, so he is always a good example to her Her mother is a primary teacher, who is passionate about her teaching, is the most influential person in her life In retrospect, it was her mother’s passion for teaching that inspired the love of teaching in her She depended on her mother’s decisions, ranging from the shaping of her initial sense of teaching to her official entry into teaching Specifically, her mother selected which university she would enroll in [a police school] and even which major she would register for [English for police] She felt quite satisfied with her mother’s choice and then applied to the selected university without hesitating Aside from her mother, her husband also affected her choice of teaching because he always desired that someone of his family would become teachers who could support his children and grandchildren of their future career orientations Accordingly, when she decided to be a teacher of English, all family members were very supportive to her During her teaching life, she has always received much great encouragement from her family’s side Family is very important to her, so she gives priority to spending plenty of time with her family after her work Therefore, she is not ambitious to pursue further learning (e.g., the doctor’s program) or achieve promotion prospects This can be considered a factor that influences the shaping of her professional identity as an unambitious or inactive teacher

In T2’s case, she also suffers many influences from her family’s side, chiefly family motivation and family background The most influential person in her life is her mother, who is like a friend and even inspirer, is not a kind of person who imposes her viewpoints on her She can feel free to share ups and downs with and gain useful life advice from her beloved mother; however, the person, who determines her own destiny, is herself, not her mother She has seemed to be given power to determine herself since when she was a child that contributes to shaping her sense of determination In retrospect, her decisions ranging registering for the major in teaching to becoming a teacher was made by herself without any influences or interventions from her mother or the others Besides, her mother is also the person who has affected her thoughts of the way to build friendship with the saying “friend in need is a friend indeed” She has expressed the deep admiration for her mother’s long-life friendships because they have always stood by her side throughout her ups and downs She aspires to mimic the way of her mother, so she is always conscious of building up and maintaining a network of amicable rapports every time This can explain why she can be identified as a sociable learner or a sociable teacher As a learner, she was enthusiastic in participating in a variety of after-class extra-curricular activities (e.g., English clubs, team building activities, sports days or school camps) that helped her to not only undergo enjoyable and evaluable educational experiences but also broaden her relationships As a teacher, not only is she eager to socialize with her students and colleagues every time, but she also gets engaged in the school’s activities with her enthusiasm (e.g., sports events, music contests or teacher contests) Beside her mother, she is also influenced by her husband’s views He instilled the saying “money is important, but not everything” into her mind that impacted her thought of the manner of work-life balance At that time, his words motivated her interest in identifying the way of harmonization that results in the shaping of self- awareness and self-regulation As a result, she succeeded in, on the one hand, regulating her work schedule reasonably for avoidance of feeling overwhelmed with work overload or pressured to work overtime On the other hand, she could spend much time staying with her family and refreshing herself (e.g., talking to her husband, playing with her children, seeing her friends or going on a picnic) Until date, everything has gone smoothly and she has enjoyed the confidence of sustaining the work-life balance harmoniously Apart from family motivation, she is also under the strong influence of her family background that contributes to the construct of self as a self-reliant person She was born and grown up in a poor family When she was a small child, she suffered the agony of her father’s death and witnessed her mother’s hard work for a living Therefore, she felt that she took the serious efforts into her learning, especially English, for a better future In retrospect, she herself dealt with everything independently (e.g., autonomous learning, daily expenditures or accommodation) without confusion or disturbance When she studied the university, she confronted with the burden of finance to pay for her own living expenses due to the unconditional family background She got a small allowance of VND200.000- 250.000 from home every month, so she managed to cover her further daily expenditures by working overtime as an English tutor Indeed, this can be seen as a factor that influences the formation of her professional identity as a serious and self- reliant teacher In a word, family is always the main motivation for supporting her Whatever she does, they always stand by her Without their unconditional assistance, she would not keep her mind on accomplishing all the tasks

Likewise, T3 is also influenced by her family, especially her mother All family members always stay by her side and support her every time, so she has always received the significant assistance from her beloved family Among her family members, her mother is the role model who is particularly influential in opting for her future career Despite her retirement, her mother’s professional image has been reminisced as a diligent teacher with the impressive teaching methods and attitudes

In retrospect, the teaching methods her mother used most were translation and explanation approaches For instance, she often provided her students with clear explanations enclosed with familiar illustrations/examples or gave them positive feedback towards constructive and sensible advice without any showings of negative attitudes Furthermore, her mother had the ability to set forth working schedules flexibly as well as was better at preparing for detailed lesson plans Thanks to those plans, she was able to know how to identify and design a multitude of diversified tasks that might be applicable to every class at different proficiency levels At that time, she was really impressed with the stereotype of her mother’s teaching model that has been in her deep mind until date This can partially explain why she has fancied applying her mother’s teaching methods to her real teaching lessons so far Having observed in the class for many times, she has also realized that such teaching methods have worked so well Apart from her teaching methods, the further feature that has left great impression on her was her mother’s attitudes in everyday life as well as in the class What made her really impressed was her mother’s appearance in casual clothes, especially white T-shirts associated with the symbol of students She regularly gave her students a sense of excitement about lessons and occasionally got a little bit of angry when they made noise or silence in class and forgot doing exercises As a diligent teacher, her mother frequently worried about available or newly-incurred teaching issues after class Since, she constantly saw her mother staying up late and even sat silently next to the desk for many hours for a purpose of finding out possible solutions to the enhancement of her students’ learning status She thought of the way how to motivate shy students in the class, how to encourage them to actively get involved in in-class activities, how to give feedback appropriately or how to evaluate students to apply the best teaching approach to the next lessons Indeed, her mother is the same as a great source of inspiration that instilled the love of teaching into her mind and encouraged her to follow in her mother’s footsteps So far, she has looked happily engrossed in her teaching work manifested by the development of self with efforts and way of teaching with enthusiasm that can bring about the construct of her professional identity as an enthusiastic and modern teacher

Another important factor that impacts on the shaping of a person’s identity is his/her place of birth, generally so-called “neighborhood” He is influenced by his living environment (e.g., lifestyles, social values, traditions, relations, attitudes, behaviors) that can contribute to the shaping of his identity, like learning styles, ways of acting or behaving Accordingly, in this study, the EFL university teachers expressed their great pride in their neighborhood as a great source of inspiration that influenced the EFL university teachers’ (re)construction and (re)negotiation of their professional identity as process and product

In T1’s mind, the image of her neighborhood was created as a studious land, but famous for traditional fondness for learning She has been always conscious of the place where she was born and grown up She lived in a countryside where most of people around work as farmers In spite of such difficult living conditions, all parents here always made the best efforts to encourage their children to learn as much as possible Accordingly, most children, including she, always studied very hard and strived not to disappoint their parents All of her friends are really kind-hearted and hardworking people who continuously try their best in their study and life They are willing to share what they know for her and support her whenever she needs The consciousness of such has encouraged her to make a great deal of efforts into her study and work Despite the feeling of inferiority, she has endeavored to enhance the knowledge of self by self-study, teaching performance or knowledge acquisition from many other sources Likewise, the two remaining participants are really proud of their own neighborhood which has a reputation for being a cradle of knowledge and a land of heroes Also, their places are synonymous with traditional fondness for learning as an inspiration to all inhabitants For such awareness, the majority of people always make a great deal of efforts to succeed in life with a prosperous career This explains why their hometowns are home to a great number of successful people It is the inheritance of learning tradition from her fatherland and understanding of the value of learning that contributes to the shaping of their professional identity as serious persons In their teaching life, they have always endeavored to cultivate themselves, including but not limited to enhance her knowledge of English language and pedagogy To achieve such targets, they have always raised her consciousness of both self-studying and acquiring more from others in such a serious way About themselves, learning is regarded as one of the most efficient ways of gaining a vast amount of knowledge that contributes to stimulate the development of selves Such development is really useful for their teaching job

In general, neighborhood as an external factor has nourished the spirit of their positive learning since when they were small Such spirit can be viewed as a driving force that can contribute to the shaping of professional identity as the EFL university teachers who are both responsible for and serious about their teaching

A further important place influencing the shaping of a person’s identity is his/her school He is influenced by his school environments (e.g., teachers, classmates/schoolmates, values, traditions, relations, learning attitudes, behaviors, learning/teaching styles) that can contribute to the shaping of his identity, like learning styles, ways of behaving or thinking One of the important external factors that strongly influences the participants’ professional identity is their influential teachers (Knowles, 1992) These participants were exposed to the different influences from their influential teachers’ side on the way of teaching

T1 was not really impressed by the high school English teacher’s teaching style, so she seemed to have a little talk about them Regarding her university English teachers, the thing that left a strong impression in her memory was her possession of diversified teaching methods Although such EFL university teachers regularly changed the methods of teaching in their teaching lessons, she felt that most of them generally gave more priority to employing the teacher-centered approach inside the classroom than the student-centered approach Of the influential teachers, they were the post-graduate EFL teachers who really impressed her best Through the post- graduate course, she gained deeper insights into such language-related subjects as syntax (grammar), semantics (meaning) or pragmatics (using language to achieve goals) that helped her to put the acquired knowledge into practice For the most part, the knowledge she perceived was from her post-graduate English teachers’ persuasive sayings and the way they conducted as well Thanks to them, she also learnt more about a number of modern teaching strategies or techniques, such as some skill-building websites, interactive technologies for teaching and learning (e.g., Canvas, Google Classroom, Microsoft Teams), assessment or graphic design software (e.g., Sketch, Adobe Illustrator/InDesign, CorelDraw Graphics) Relying on their teachings, she recognized the practical necessity to transfer teachers’ roles to their learners and manage the student-centered classroom towards promoting their interactive and deep learning From this, the image of her professional identity as an active teacher can be recorded

T1:…my English teacher regularly changed their teaching methods, most of them were generally…employ the teacher-centered approach more inside the classroom than the student-centered approach…(T1-GRW2)…gained deeper insights into such language-related subjects… knowledge I perceived was from my teachers’ persuasive sayings and the way they conducted…(T1-GRW3)

As to T2, her high school English teacher left a negative impression on her This teacher originated from a Russian teacher that seemed to be a part of negatively affecting her English-speaking skills (e.g, wrong pronunciation, lack of stress and intonation) Besides, the teacher also adopted the method of teaching in such a passive way (e.g., designing uncreative and impractical activities, focusing on doing grammar exercises excessively, or spending much time practicing reading texts) that made her teaching lessons uninteresting Such was the reasons that caused trouble for the way of her pronunciation, so she attempted to re-study English more considerately with a view to avoiding those mistakes like her For example, she immediately bought some of additional materials (e.g., English grammar, tapes and dictionaries) to practice her English skills As to her teachers of English at the university, they were featured, in her imagination, as knowledgeable and dynamic figures In spite of this, it appeared that their teaching styles were prone to traditional techniques and teacher-centered approaches For the most part, those teachers took advantage of coursebooks as the principal teaching tool To be frank, such university English teachers did not really impress her Conversely, who attracted her most was her post-graduate teachers of English, chiefly American ones She was eager to have lessons because her American teachers worked professionally and enthusiastically They were active in regularly offering assignments, closely examining the learning process of every student and flexibly applying mixed teaching methods/approaches (e.g., student-centered, communication or task/situation-based) Also, she conveyed her sincere thanks to her foreign teachers who assisted her in developing her English pronunciation skills through the enthusiastic response to her pronunciation questions and the correction of her existing pronunciation errors that she failed to make alternations To improve this, she had no reservations in bestowing a great number of pronunciation questions The illustration was that the foreign teachers were really enthusiastic in responding to all pronunciation-related questions and instructing her how to correct the existing pronunciation errors Through this, the shaping of her professional identity as a serious and determined teacher can be visible

T2:…impressed by my first English teacher is her poor English speaking with wrong pronunciation, lack of stress, intonation and ending sound… passive teaching method… limited creative or practical activities to develop speaking and listening skills…(T2-

GRW1)…university EFL teachers were knowledgeable and dynamic… teaching styles were prone to traditional techniques and teacher-centered approaches…(T2-

GRW2)…eager…lessons…American teachers worked professionally and enthusiastically…active in regularly offering assignments, closely examining the learning process of every student…flexibly applying mixed teaching methods… teaching style I loved most was Ms Rosemary’s…more attention to performing English skills…conveyed my sincere thanks to my foreign teachers who assisted me in developing my English pronunciation skill…(T2-GRW3)

Unlike the previous teachers, T3 was really impressed with her high school English teacher What impressed her on her memory was this teacher’s wonderful voice, straightforward expression and attractive teaching method The way she pronounced accurately with smooth sounds, flexible stress and good intonation made a great impression on me Not only was she a friendly teacher with happy smile, but she also had a sense of responsibility and showed her well-controlled ability The teaching method she often applied to the class was communicative approach She designed a wide range of interesting activities such as groupwork, presentation, workshops and outdoor activities for a purpose of promoting student interest and motivation She was really into such enjoyable English lessons with her excitement and even dreamed of being an English teacher like her teacher Really, she acquired many useful things from the high school English teacher as her role model who was influential in her future career When attending the university, she was positively affected by the university English teachers who were, in her eyes, professional and knowledgeable She got much useful and evaluable advice on educational and social aspects from their side (e.g., the ways how to manage learning time, join in extracurricular activities, make use of reference materials, construct a wide range of social relationships, or come into contract with others) The teaching methods they used most were communicative and learned-centered approaches They regularly placed a mass of communicative tasks (e.g., pair work, team work, presentation, workshops/ seminars…) into practice, which contributed to promoting the students’ interactive engagement, fostering their autonomous learning and developing key critical-thinking and decision-making skills That was the reason why she was very autonomous in her study at the university without specific guidance from the university teachers This means, such teachers offered her only general ideas that would be self-studied by herself Regarding the post-graduate course, one of the most influential things was her foreign teachers All the lessons were conducted by the foreign teachers who were mastered at teaching English and composing teaching activities These teachers entirely employed the practical teaching methods that engaged their students in learning experience from passively to actively Of which, the learner-centered approach was regularly applied to all tasks while the foreign teachers played the part of “guiders” and even sometimes acted as “learners”, constructing very cozy teaching and learning environment Relying on this, the part of her professional identity can be recognized as a self-learning enthusiast

Internal factors

The analyzed findings indicated that self as an agent of change has a part in the EFL university teachers’ (re)construction and (re)negotiation of professional identity as process and product (Beauchamp and Thomas, 2009; Beijaard, Meijer, and Verloop, 2004; Olsen, 2008; Tsui, 2007) The awareness of self has been manifested, maintained and developed throughout the teaching life In this study, every participant has expressed the awareness of self in various forms (e.g., self-awareness, self-desire, the power of self, the knowledge of self, self-regulation or self-reliance)

In their teaching life, they have been always conscious of developing their English competence and enhancing their pedagogical knowledge

(Self as an agent of change)

NO theoretical knowledge of pedagogy and

NO experience of practical teaching

→ Awareness of shortcomings → Self = Effort + Determination

- Early stages: The lack of teaching experience → a state of confusion (confused) + suffering of psychological shocks (fearful, embarrassed, obscure, powerless

- Next stages: Teaching a lot → gradually accumulated teaching experience → more confident, but feelings of inferiority (limited professional experience and pedagogical knowledge)

→ Self = Change of self + Self- adjustment → Gradual Development of self

→ Self= Understanding of value + Effort → Feelings of unsuitability

Realizing the matter with pronunciation (due to the influence of high school English teacher)

- A steady improvement in pronunciation (due to the help of foreign teachers)

- A short-term post-graduate practicum course (due to students with very good English proficiency + limited materials, only coursebook)

→ Self = Self-adjustment (Re- study) → Improvement of self

→ Self: Self-adjustment → Better teaching + Development of self

Workplace Change: (NEU - a police school)

- Rigid disciplines → restrictions on teaching

- Research-related works (one of the key responsibilities of a university teacher) → Feelings of unsuitability

Teaching-related aspects / Professional Development Programs

- IELTs exams → giving personal opinion of using international certificates as a way of assessing a teacher’s pedagogical competence

- The acquisition of new methods

- The way how to collect reliable sources, design practical tasks, create audio products

- The impression on foreign teachers (the knowledge acquired from Vietnamese teachers was insufficient)

→ Self: Acquisition → Better teaching + Development of self

- The serious obedience of rules and regulations → affecting the teaching

- The self-development of technology skills

- Research-related works (one of the key responsibilities of a university teacher) → Feelings of unsuitability

→ Self = Understanding of value + Effort → Feelings of unsuitability

In T1’s case, she has worked as an EFL teacher since she graduated from the university In retrospect, she first began with the teaching job without experience, but with determination At that time, she did not have any theoretical knowledge of pedagogy or any practical experience in classroom teaching (e.g., ways of teaching, students’ learning behaviors or attitudes, how to deal with unexpected situations in the class) Moreover, her level of English proficiency sounded not quite good and she did not gain the sound knowledge of English language She was always conscious of her shortcomings that required her to put a great deal of effort into developing her English proficiency and pedagogical knowledge Prior to her official teaching, she enrolled in a number of courses (e.g., a pre-IELTs course or a short-time course in pedagogical knowledge) and inquired more about pedagogy by means of coursebooks, online reference materials or evaluable advice from her close relatives Besides, she had to take part in other experienced teachers’ lessons to gradually familiarize herself with the real classroom and learn about their ways of teaching In the first stages of her official teaching, she lacked her experience in dealing with in- class situations that gave rise to her suffering of psychological shocks (e.g., a bit fearful, obsessed with her students by their comments, silence and the lack of interaction) To be specific, she was so confused by large classes with mixed students, in which the majority of older students occupied most Sometimes, she felt so nervous that she neglected what she would say or sometimes imparted knowledge mistakenly Also, she felt so embarrassed about the students’ comments on her teaching-related perspectives (e.g., her teaching behaviors, attitudes or even methods) As she observed, the students were recorded to sit quietly without any classroom interaction She sensed that they did not pay attention to the lessons, replaced with their prolonged silence to observe her only This made her concern herself with the reasons why the students were so passive, possibly due to the fact that she was like a new teacher and looked so young At that time, honestly, she did not know how to face up with the situations effectively, but to continue her teaching until the end of the lessons She seemed quite obscure and powerless during the teaching periods that required her to reflect more on the best ways of teaching and need advice support from other experienced and expert teachers Afterwards, she continued her teaching a lot that helped her to accumulate the gradual teaching experience She gradually became accustomed to her teaching and learnt more about the way of teaching through her teaching practice She felt more confident of embracing the whole sides of the lesson, for example asking the students, especially lazy students, to give their responses to her questions or write their answers on the board Nonetheless, she sensed that she talked more than her students, and employed traditional teaching methods with simple language use and more Vietnamese language More attention was paid to taking part in professional meetings and even performing mock teaching lessons at the department, or participating in some short-time training courses in pedagogical competence Through her continuous teaching performance, she believes that she can accumulate more experience in teaching and even negotiate herself with a number of necessary changes in her teaching For instance, she prepares for lessons more thoroughly and generates a variety of interactive activities more interestingly as well to motivate students’ participation Also, she changes the way she searches for official sources of knowledge because previously she was aware of looking for information, but she did not totally care about the accuracy or reliability of such data Besides, she modifies the use of English and Vietnamese classroom language more flexibly (e.g., possibly giving instructions in Vietnamese if the classes were at low English proficiency levels, or creating pair work or teamwork activities if the classes were quite crowded) for her students’ further understanding In spite of such positive changes, the thing she has faced up to is a challenge from research-related activities as one of the legal responsibilities of teachers Despite her efforts, she has had the feelings of unsuitability for scientific research After some years of teaching, she commonly enjoys the confidence of handling the unexpected in-class situations and acquires more professional knowledge Despite this, she has seemed to have the feelings of inferiority to her colleagues due to her limited abilities of teaching experience, pedagogical knowledge and research For this reason, she is always conscious of strengthening more intensive knowledge of pedagogics and getting involved in more teaching practice The illustration is that, aside from her self-study, she aspires to learn more and more from her colleagues by means of participating in many other teachers’ lessons to see the way they teach or supporting other teachers of teacher contests that can enable her to learn about the teaching methods

T1:…not undergo any intensive training in pedagogic knowledge to become a teacher…absolutely had no practical experience in the teaching…Despite the worries…determined to be an English teacher…conscious of my shortcomings… first began with the teaching job with no experience…the state of my confusion… Teaching at a particular workplace…heighten the strong awareness about the compliance of stipulations more strictly…suffer the initial shocks of the teaching psychologically… After the first teaching periods…continued to teach many different classes with different students…learned more from such teaching periods…became accustomed to the teaching…more confident…(T1-GRW4)…No, never…It’s my challenge It’s my big challenge…(T1-Interview-Time: 21:47 Record 2)

As for T2, she is always conscious of developing her knowledge of English and pedagogics in her teaching life She constantly expresses her readiness to adjust changes in the way of teaching, if necessary If any problems, she is determined to re-study and modify such aspects In retrospect, when she was at school, she realized the matter with her pronunciation because she was affected by the way of pronunciation from her high school English teacher In spite of this, she was determined to re-study English more considerately for a purpose of avoiding those mistakes like her teacher To show her strong determination, she immediately bought a number of necessary soft materials (e.g., English grammar, tapes and dictionaries) for herself to cultivate English skills Nonetheless, when she entered the university, she continued facing up to several problems with her pronunciation Whenever she pronounced English language, she always encountered the pronunciation mistakes that she failed to make alternations Fortunately, she could show a steady improvement in her English pronunciation skills relying on her foreign teachers’ kind assistance during the post-graduate course Throughout this master course, she had no reservations in bestowing pronunciation questions towards the correction of her existing pronunciation errors In assistance of her, the foreign teachers were really enthusiastic in responding to all of her questions Another event worth mentioning was the period of her involvement in the short-term post-graduate practicum course

At that time, she was appointed to teach a class of 28 students in grade 11 with very good or even excellent English proficiency level She felt very confident to teach those students without much pressure due to the fact that she had more than four-year teaching experience and matured at 28 years of age Yet, on the one hand, the majority of students were relatively proficient in English language, so she herself made great efforts to cultivate her both English competence and teaching methods ceaselessly

On the other hand, the demand for coursebook only was inadequate, so their learning targets were to register for university entrance and national or international competitions Such made her aware of the remedy that she had to further promote her professional knowledge as well as take the flexible changes in the way of teaching into consideration The instance was to keep her updated of the latest knowledge (e.g., information about contests or examination test formats) and apply evaluable knowledge acquired from the master course (e.g., Presentation-Practice-Production teaching model) to designing lesson plans and performing hands-on teaching lessons in such an interactive way A further thing that showed her career adaptability pertaining to self-regulation was the change in her workplace Accessing to a fresh workplace required her to habituate herself to such modification, including but not limited to self-regulation Until now, she has made a sole change to her workplace in her teaching career, particularly moving from the NEU to a police school, that can be considered the marking of significant milestone in her life This new school was relatively different from her previous one because of its specific characteristics She was conscious of the new workplace where she taught police students at a police school that required her to focus on adjusting herself to changes in the early stages Moving here, the remarkable adaptations were the consciousness of rigid disciplines and research-related works To be specific, she was forced to abide by all the rules and regulations of the school in particular and the police forces in general seriously because any violations would be punished Despite her initial suffering of tough restrictions, she quickly became accustomed to such environment because she was aware of the fact that she had no other choice but to conform to them earnestly One of the tightest regulations was no phone and no internet in the teaching lessons that had a bit difficulty in her teaching (e.g., lesson design, lack of practical illustrations) and sometimes made me suffer stress She realized the strong influence of such principles on her teaching, so she needed time to familiarize herself with them At that time, in order to impart knowledge without internet, she had to expend more time upon preparing for teaching lessons very thoroughly (e.g., designing plenty of interactive tasks associated with lively images/examples or using a diversity of teaching modes) Aside from the teaching, she also understood that taking part in the research-related works constituted a part of many other key responsibilities of every university teacher In spite of her real effort into research-related activities (e.g., professional workshops or undergraduate thesis defense), she seemed to find all the research-related works quite challenging She lacked her confidence in doing scientific research, so she expressed the feelings of unsuitability for scientific research This resulted in the reality that she paid little attention to the study of scientific aspects Instead of this, her priority was given to the promotion of her teaching work and the careful preparation for approaching teacher contests As for her, everything has gone smoothly up to this time She can deal with the professional matters advantageously and enjoy work-life balance harmoniously She has always heightened her consciousness of serious obedience and teacher responsibility Not only does she keep her teaching and her self-study with efforts, but she also maintains the compliance of rules and regulations seriously without any influences on her work

A further aspect refers to the conscious self as a means of teacher voice She is a straightforward teacher who expresses her readiness to give a straight talk about her thoughts To reminisce about the preparation for the IELTs exam, she had a good chance to both gain deeper insights into the IELTS-related aspects and realize several evaluable lessons during the self-study process Despite its practical value, from an English teacher’s perspective, she thinks that such certificates cannot afford to entirely assess each teacher’s pedagogical competence and the assessment criterion seems unsatisfactory The fact is that a person, who possesses an IELTS certificate at level C1, is unlikely to have competence as an excellent English teacher or in other words, to have a repertoire of sound pedagogical knowledge in the teaching In order to become a teacher like her, each teacher is required to theoretically learn about all the teaching-related things over a prolonged period of time, often 4 years or more if further study, and practically undergo a short-time practicum program as a compulsory criterion for graduation examination

T3’s slogan is “being the best version of yourself”, so she has attempted to increase her knowledge of English language, especially English for specific purposes, and pedagogy throughout her teaching cycle from various sources, chiefly her self- study and acquisition from others She is quite willing to adjust herself to changes in teaching with effort and determination In retrospect, what made her really impressed with the master course was the acquisition of new methods (i.e., practical teaching methods, learner-centered approach or peer correction) as a way of student motivation and engagement in classes She used to be a traditional teacher who directly transferred knowledge to her students; however, accessing to such novel methods was considered a motive for her change from the traditional teaching method (teacher- centered teaching) to the practical teaching method (learner-centered teaching) and even to the integrated teaching method (teacher-centered teaching and leaner- centered teaching) that have been adapted flexibly for use in her real classes until date Since then, she found that her students could enthusiastically get engaged in almost all of the in-class activities (e.g., storytelling, role-play, presentation, conversations, portfolios, mimic or games), instead of only taking notes and achieving knowledge passively In addition, peer correction as a fresh classroom technique was also utilized in the practical activities that partly encouraged her students, especially shy students, to share their ideas bravely with her and other students Another change was to adapt herself to a new means of collecting more reliable sources of teaching and learning materials and designing a wide range of imaginative tasks or practical situations (e.g., presentation,role-play, miming games or field trips) Whenever she searched for the materials, she was herself conscious of selecting a multitude of reliable materials which were officially composed by foreign publishers Besides, a further point she changed was to get to know how to create audio products voiced by English native speakers, which helped her students to enhance their pronunciation, sounds, and rhythms Indeed, the master course motivated her deeper interest in further developing my English knowledge because, in her mind, the knowledge she learnt from Vietnamese teachers was insufficient Thus, she immediately took up several online English classes taught by American and British lecturers This is really useful for her English as well as other social fields

A further thing that demonstrated her career adaptability pertaining to self-regulation was the change in her workplace Like the previous teachers, accessing to various workplaces forced her to familiarize herself with her modifications, including but not limited to self-regulation Until now, she has made three changes to her work environment in her teaching cycle that can be viewed as the marking of important milestones in her life The gradual development of self has been visible through such changes The noticeable adaptation was teachers’ sense of role and responsibility for the serious obedience of rules and regulations For such awareness, she had to comply with such disciplines strictly As for herself, she had to timely go to classes without any lateness, successfully accomplish all the tasks and actively participating in the teaching-related activities (e.g., specialized meetings, professional conferences, short-time training courses, scientific projects or teacher contests) In the lessons, she had to manage the class strictly under the compulsorily internal rules (e.g., warnings or even penalties if students occasionally or regularly were late for class, forgot doing homework or showed aggressive behaviors or negative attitudes inside the class) Another thing motivating her thinking of change in teaching was the self- development of technology skills, contributing to teacher-support technology applications She had access to a range of helpful applications used for the teaching and learning of English (e.g., “ReadPlease” as a Speak-Your-Text Program, “Format Factory” as a software for cutting videos or converting video-audio formats, iMovie/Movie Maker or Photos apps for making movies, “Shadowing” as a technique for improving pronunciation or CorelDraw as an app for graphic/ image design) Also, she applied such technology skills to building up or even editing E-learning lessonplans for the coursebooks as a useful source of teaching materials that helped her to deliver her English teaching lessons without the use of board confidently Of these three involved teachers, she can be ranked first in the application of technology skills to English teaching and learning because she is really filled with the great passion for both English and technology Accordingly, the consciousness of such application has a part in the shaping of her professional identity as a modern teacher

Beside the teaching, the research-related works is also regarded as one of the main duties of each university teacher Like the two said teachers, although she understood the value of scientific researches and made efforts to get involved in research-related activities (e.g., professional workshops, undergraduate thesis defense or research projects), she seemed to find all the research-related works quite challenging Practically, she found very hard to understand the whole aspects of research (e.g., identifying the process of the research, generating ideas, correlating the contents, collecting and analyzing data, discussing the acquired data or quoting concerning extracts from references) that required researchers/scholars to possess comprehensive knowledge and overall vision This was the reason why she showed the feelings of unsuitability for scientific research Up to this time, she has found all the research- related activities very challenging though she has tried to complete the scientific works with great reluctance.As for her, everything has gone smoothly up to this day She has always raised her awareness of severe obedience and teacher responsibility She enjoys the confidence of her teaching of English and demonstrates her professional ability to handle other relevant things advantageously in compliance with the rules and regulations The important thing is that she has continued enriching her knowledge of English and pedagogy from numerous sources, possibly from her colleagues or even students

Investment can be seen as another internal factor that contributes to influencing the EFL university teachers’ (re)construction and (re)negotiation of their professional identity as process and product (Akkerman and Meijer, 2011; Hsieh, 2010; Wenger,

1998) The acquired findings demonstrated that three participants have shared a common medium of performance - investment; however, they have their own goals of investment throughout their teaching life

In case of T1, the initial thought on investment in the development of self was probably originated from the moment of her final decision for entry into teaching Despite the consciousness of her shortcomings, she expressed her determination to become a teacher of English In order to follow the teaching, increasing her knowledge of English and pedagogy was very important to her Immediately, she invested most of her time in not only getting involved in a number of full-time and part-time courses relating to the development of English proficiency and pedagogical knowledge but also learning more about the methods of teaching from such many other sources as coursebooks (hard materials), online reference materials or her relatives’ advice (soft materials) Aside from this, she joined in other experienced teachers’ lessons or professional meetings with an intent to gradually habituate herself to the real classroom and inquire into their ways of teaching Moreover, she was active in teaching many other classes regularly that helped her to accumulate the gradual teaching experience Thanks to this, she progressively accumulated more experience in teaching, got to know how to deal with every situation in class and gained basic insights into professional knowledge Until date, she has had much more experience of teaching, enjoyed the confidence of handling the unexpected in-class situations and develop the knowledge of self via further acquisition of English and professional knowledge It is due to much investment of self that contributes to developing further knowledge of self

T1:…Despite the worries, I was determined to be an English teacher…I was conscious of my shortcomings… enrolled in a registered for a short-time Pre-IELTS course…short-term course in pedagogical knowledge…learnt more about pedagogy by means of coursebooks, online reference materials or evaluable advice from my close relatives…to take part in other teachers’ lessons for two months…(T1-GRW4)

Unlike T1, the initial thinking of T2 to investment in learning seemed to be shaped earlier that possibly derived from her secondary school at the age of 11 The likely reason for such investment was to achieve the personal aspirations to her future career As a child, she always aspired to work in a challenging environment with a well-paid job and win the prospects of promotion Specifically, when she was 11, she dreamt of being an office worker at a professional workplace outside her hometown Gradually, further investment in learning was made when she entered the self- consciousness of unconditional family background, experienced the suffering of her father’s death and saw the diligence of her mother and understood the value of English All these things were imbued in her mind that encouraged her to channel the efforts into further study Accordingly, learning, especially English, is always her liking, so she can expend most of her time (many hours or even all day) upon her self- study towards a better life with a decent job The investment in learning contributes to developing the knowledge of self that really needs for her work In order to be a teacher of English, she had to accomplish the work-related training programs, improve the knowledge of English and teaching pedagogy and broaden her teaching experience from overtime work as an English tutor as well as her engagement in the university and post-graduate practicums Until date, as an English teacher, she has made personal investments in extending the knowledge of self that is essential for her teaching To be specific, she has continued enhancing her English proficiency, extending her pedagogical knowledge and accumulated more teaching experience from her teaching practice or knowledge acquisition from other teachers

T2:…I didn’t totally feel like teaching…I always dreamed of working for a professional foreign workplace to make a living with high salary to enhance my living standards…(T2-

GRW1)…Despite the worries…the burden of finance to pay for my own living expenses due to the unconditional family background My father died early, so my mother raised her family alone…By working overtime…to cover my every day expenditures I worked as an English tutor since the first period of the sophomore I tutored every learner …(T2-GRW2)

Chapter summary

Chapter 6 discusses the findings of the study to address the second research question “What factors significantly influence the (re)construction and (re)negotiation of their professional identity?” Through the analysis, the study found out a variety of external and internal factors influencing the EFL university teachers’ professional identity as process and product, including the external factors (e.g., personal biography, family, educational background, social relationship, workplace environment, school culture or curriculum) and the internal factors (e.g., self, knowledge and experience, beliefs and values, or psychological aspects) Despite many recorded influencing factors, this study only concentrated on analyzing the dominant factors that significantly exercise their influence on the (re)construction and (re)negotiation of the EFL university teachers’ professional identity as process and product The dominant factors involved the external factors (family, neighborhood, school culture, influential teachers, and knowledge sources) and internal factors (self, investment) The visualization of these dominant factors is manifested in the Concentric Circles Chart of Influencing Factors (Figure 6.1) The value of the chart is to demonstrate the inter-relationality, interconnectivity and interdependence of such dominant factors in the influences of contexts (Socio-cultural context: family, neighborhood; Institutional context: influential teachers, knowledge sources, school culture; Operational context: self, investment).

DISCUSSIONS

Teacher professional identity through Wenger’s modes of belonging

In this study, Wenger’s modes of belonging - engagement, imagination and alignment - contributes to the (re)construction and (re)negotiation of professional identity of three EFL university teachers as process and product These interrelated modes of belonging were implicitly or explicitly seen in each career stage in various ways, which represented the participating teachers’ professional identity as process (manifested from the process of becoming to the process of being) and as product (manifested in the processes of becoming and being) Through the analysis, the EFL university teachers’ professional identity as process and product were (re)constructed and (re)negotiated throughout the modes of belonging - engagement, imagination, alignment The modes of belonging were associated and existed in transition periods of the processes of becoming (from considering entry into teaching to learning to teach and from learning to teach to becoming a teacher) and being (from becoming a teacher to being a teacher)

Transition Periods of Teacher Professional Identity

Transition period from considering entry into teaching to learning to teach

Transition period from learning to teach to becoming a teacher

Transition period from becoming a teacher to being a teacher

An Overview of Transition Periods of Teacher Professional Identity

From considering entry into teaching to learning to teach

Getting access to socio- cultural environments through relationships, interactions and practices:

- Family: being influenced by family tradition/ aspiration/ background

- Neighborhood: being influenced by the place in which the participating teachers were born, lived and studied

- Having relationships and interactions with family members/classmates/friends/ society

- Creating images of possibilities + T1: being a changeable person, being a dependent person

+ T2: being an office worker, being a police officer + T3: being a teacher (being a responsible teacher, being a diligent teacher, being a friendly teacher)

- Imagining and reflecting on (e.g., responsibilities, job characteristics, values)

Defining aspirations to future career:

+ T1, T3: having aspirations for teaching from her mother + T2: having aspirations for other jobs, not teaching; having aspirations for English from her mother’s friend

+ creating a positive learning attitude (studious learning or self-study)

+ investing more time and energy in developing English skills

From learning to teach to become a teacher

Getting access to professional learning (University education and post-graduate education)

- Having experiences of learning to teach (e.g., acquiring the knowledge of pedagogy)

- Having experiences of engaging in academic activities (e.g., participating in seminars/workshops)

- Having relationships and interactions with students/teachers

- Creating images of possibilities T1: being a teacher as agent of change, being a teacher as multiple role agent T2 + T3: being diligent, sociable and excellent student teachers

T2: being an independent student T3: being a leader

- Imagining and reflecting on (e.g., possible changes in teaching/ self-regulation, struggles, or values)

Applying the sources of acquired knowledge to:

+ promoting more positive learning attitude (more studious learning or self- study)

+ investing much time and energy in developing English language skills and pedagogy

From becoming a teacher to being a teacher

Getting access to teaching at workplaces

- Having experiences of teaching practice/actual teaching/research-related activities (e.g., updating and applying diversified methods of teaching, dealing with situations in the classroom)

- Having relationships and interactions with students/teachers (e.g., interacting with students, caring about students’ learning

T1: being a novice teacher, being a disciplined teacher, being a responsible teacher, being a flexible teacher) T2: being an experienced teacher, being a disempowered teacher, being a technology teacher, being a disciplined teacher

Defining aspirations to future career:

+ Further developing the professional self

+ Continuing support from communities of practice

+ Focusing on the development of the styles) and practices (e.g., creating a positive learning environment, using clear language, adapting to different contexts, finding sources)

T3: being an expert teacher, being a modern teacher, an ESP teacher, a disciplined teacher

- Imagining and reflecting on (e.g., possible changes in teaching/ self-regulation, struggles, or values) professional self + Manifesting a sense of belonging

Transition period from considering entry into teaching to learning to teach

The initial transition period of teacher professional identity as process and product was from considering entry into teaching to learning to teach (the process of becoming) This period reflected on the participating teachers’ changes in their thoughts of choosing teaching and becoming an EFL teacher prior to the making of their final decision on entry into teaching These reflections were seen from their engagement, imagination and alignment in the socio-cultural environments, including family (parents), neighborhood (hometown) and K12-education (English, high school English teachers) “Engagement”, in this period, referred to the access to socio- cultural environments (family, neighborhood and school) through relationships, interactions and practices “Imagination” implied envisioning the future professional images of the teachers themselves through creating the images of possibilities and reflecting on responsibilities, job characteristics and values “Alignment” related to defining their aspirations to their future career and making personal investments in English learning The analyzed findings showed no many variations in the making of their final decisions on entry into teaching Certain key aspects impacting on taking the EFL university teachers’ entry into teaching into consideration constituted their family influences (family tradition, family aspiration and family background) that influenced their thoughts of choosing teaching as a future-oriented profession), and their neighborhood’s traditional fondness for learning as a social inheritance that influenced the shaping of positive learning attitudes (studious learning or self-study) and their recognition of English language as a need for work that influenced their decision on entry into teaching of English

The significant impact on the shaping of their thoughts of teaching constituted family influences (family tradition, family aspiration or even family background) T1 was inspired by the love of teaching from her mother; however, teaching was not really her dream She could be imagined as a changeable person because she readily gave up her dream as a student of Hanoi Academy of Theatre and Cinema due to the lack of job stability Also, she could be visualized as a dependent person because the reason why she reached a decision on entry into teaching was mostly due to the satisfaction of her mother’s aspiration As opposed to T1, the reason why T2 decided on entry into teaching was not due to her family tradition or family aspiration, but partly due to the influence of family background as a criterion for her career choice Moreover, through her mother’s storytelling, she visualized the image of her mother’s friend as a successful diplomat and understood the significant value of English usage as a helpful tool to promote his career This encouraged her to consider English language as another criterion for her career choice because she could employ it as a tool to enhance her living standards by working in a professional foreign workplace with high salary This could, therefore, explain why she had no intention of becoming a teacher like her mother at first because she reflected that teaching was a hardworking job without high salary A few changes seemed to be produced in her dream of her future career as an illustration that she freely expressed her dream without intervention like T1 For example, as a 11-year-old girl, she imagined herself becoming an office worker from a professional workplace outside her hometown because she desired to earn a lot of money, get promotion and work in a challenging environment When she was 15, she visualized herself as a police officer because she thought that this job sounded stable and suitable for her poor family background immediately after seeing the images of police officers on TV Despite this, she finally decided to participate in teaching profession because she had no other choices Unlike these two cases, T3 was really impressed by her mother’s professional images as a responsible teacher (the image of the teacher who prepared for lessons plans carefully and cared about her students’ learning), as a diligent teacher (the image of the teacher who constantly stayed up late and sat silently next to the desk for many hours to think of teaching issues) and as a friendly teacher (the image of the teacher in “white T- shirts” associated with student uniform that made her close to her students) These images nourished T3’s dream of becoming a teacher like her mother The reasons for their entry into teaching was partly due to her family tradition, but mostly due to her self-desire

Another significant aspect of indirectly impacting on their thoughts of teaching was the influence of neighborhood The word “neighborhood” refers to the place in which these teachers were born, lived and studied Accordingly, it was obvious that the neighborhood’s views were instilled into their hearts and minds One of the most inspiring views of the neighborhood was its traditional fondness for learning that contributed to educating many heroes and successful people Thanks to this tradition, parents in the neighborhood always encouraged their children to learn as much as possible whereas these teachers’ friends tried their best in their study to satisfy their parents Like these friends, these teachers also inherited this tradition that impacted on developing their awareness of learning and constructing their learning attitudes positively The illustration was that the teachers themselves invested more time and energy in their learning, especially the improvement of English language skills This led to the results that they achieved good or even excellent learning outcomes and developed English language skills

Transition period from learning to teach to becoming a teacher

The second transition period of teacher professional identity as process and product was from learning to teach to becoming a teacher (the process of becoming) This period represented the process of the participants’ professional learning (process) towards becoming a teacher (product) The boundaries of professional learning referred to their engagement, imagination and alignment in university education (bachelor’s degree) and post-graduate education (master’s degree) Throughout the process, these participating teachers went through positive and different negative experiences of learning and practicum/real teaching practice (i.e., efforts, difficulties/challenges, struggles or emotions) that contributed to developing the knowledge of self as a teacher (product) Importantly, their engagement, imagination and alignment in professional learning helped the participating teachers absorb the sources of knowledge and put it into practicum/ real teaching practice with efforts and struggles in such different ways

Of three teachers, T1 was regarded as the most exceptional case possibly because of her engagement in university education at a police school with the Degree of Bachelor in English for police, not in English language teacher education For this reason, she received less exposure to pedagogical knowledge than that of T2 and T3

In order to overcome this limitation, she had to extend a great deal effort into improving her knowledge of English and pedagogy when attending the post-graduate course She had to face a real struggle with herself (i.e., balancing work-life-study; suffering such psychological aspects as strain, pressure, sleeplessness or fatigue; coping with the deadline of assignments and presentations; confronting with the volume of theoretical knowledge related to English and pedagogy) Also, her engagement in the course encouraged her to develop her thoughts of possible changes in teaching and her sense of self-regulation Through her imagination, she envisioned the image of herself as a teacher as agent of change (i.e., applying multiple strategies/techniques to different classes flexibly, self-preparing for lesson plans appropriately, identifying students’ preferred learning styles and learning goals) or as a teacher as multiple role agent (i.e., transferring classroom roles, managing the student-centered classroom) After the course, she proceeded to make some changes in teaching by aligning the acquired knowledge with her teaching practice as a means of supporting her own teaching and motivating students’ learning In order to support her students’ learning, she placed interactive technologies, websites and software in practice (i.e., using Canvas software to assign tasks and provide reference materials, skill-building websites to find out diversified tasks) Another change was that she often undertook a quick survey into her students’ learning styles or goals in the first lesson Relying on such survey, she could how to prepare for lesson plans appropriately and apply proper teaching methods to different classes and their learning targets For instance, when teaching the students with poor English language, she used the grammar-translation method to help her students familiarize themselves with English before gradually transforming into the communicative approach

Both T2 and T3 had many positive and negative experiences of their engagement in professional learning during their university and post-graduate courses Seemingly, the positive experiences (i.e., acquiring new knowledge and skills, enjoying student life, doing overtime, joining in teaching practicum, achieving effective learning outcomes) outstripped the negative ones (i.e., coping with financial problems, struggling with the acquisition of theoretical knowledge) Compared with T1, both T2 and T3 received more exposure to the acquisition of pedagogical knowledge (i.e., how to apply such mixed teaching methods/approaches as student-centered, communication, task/situation-based or Presentation-Practice-Production teaching model; how to teach English language skills; how to motivate students’ interest in learning; how to design stimulating tasks/situations) Moreover, they gained more enjoyable experiences of engaging in workshops/seminars as insiders (i.e., making presentations, improving communication skills, enhancing teamwork skills), joined the pre-student teaching practicum as student teachers (i.e., experiencing the actual practice of teaching in classroom settings, building confidence, developing effective teaching skills, controlling the class or improving problem-solving skills) and worked overtime as a tutor (T2) or translator (T3) (i.e., cultivating the acquired knowledge systematically, accumulating teaching experience gradually, developing a growing sense of teaching or perceiving the difference between the theoretical knowledge and the practical knowledge) Their engagement in workshops/seminars, practicum and overtime work was the instances of alignment that gradually stimulated their professional identity as a teacher Also, their engagement in professional learning contributed to creating the images of self as diligent, sociable and excellent student teachers Both were really into learning, so they could invest much time or even all days in their self-study tirelessly For example, T3 was passionate about her self- learning to such an extent that whenever her friends could realize her presence at the library and most imagined her diligence as a busy bee During the training courses, they constantly took the lead in achieving the highest learning outcomes that helped them being recognized as best students by their classmates After the courses, they deserved excellent practicum certificates and education degrees for their great effort However diligent they were, they were identified as sociable students They enjoyed their student life by actively participating in extracurricular activities (i.e., English or football clubs, food-making contests, workshops/seminars), strengthening teamwork spirits and social/communicative skills Even, as for T3, she was often nominated as a “leader” when engaging in the extracurricular activities Aside from the positive experiences, both T2 and T3 made their effort to struggle against financial or learning problems The example of T2’s struggle related to the burden of finance due to her unconditional family background (the suffering of her father’s early death, the awareness of her mother’s hard-working image) To deal with these struggles, she was active in working overtime as an English tutor after class Thanks to this, she can herself earn a living to pay for expenses (i.e., rental house fees, tuition fees, daily living costs) It was her effort into learning and life experiences that contributed to building her image as an independent student As for learning problems, T2 encountered difficulty in absorbing such theoretical knowledge intensively, had less chance to practice speaking, coped with the manner of wrong pronunciation being affected by her high school English teacher, or limited the quantity of plentiful vocabulary To confront with these difficulties, she expended more time for practicing pronunciation or asking for her post-graduate American teachers’ help Likewise, the struggle faced by T3 was to cope with the acquisition of theoretical knowledge After the courses, she reflected on certain changes in teaching by aligning the acquired knowledge with her real teaching practice For example, she felt that her students sounded passive every time they joined in English grammar lessons Like a machine, they were inactive in practicing English grammar exercises Most students awaited the teacher’s instructions (e.g, the explanation of grammar theories, the provision of grammar formulas) After the post-graduate course, she changed in the manner of teaching grammar relying on her American teachers’ teaching methods The change was that the students were requested to practice English grammar exercises first and then provide the explanations of their practice

Transition period from becoming a teacher to being a teacher

The continuing transition period of teacher professional identity as process and product was from becoming a teacher to being a teacher (the process of being) This period represented the process of the participants’ teaching practice and actual teaching on the stages of becoming and being an EFL teacher (product) The boundaries of teaching practice and actual teaching related to their engagement, imagination and alignment at different workplaces Throughout the process, these participating teachers got into numerous experiences of teaching practice and actual teaching (i.e., efforts, difficulties/challenges, struggles or emotions) that contributed to displaying a growing sense of identity as a teacher (product) in a university context Importantly, their engagement, imagination and alignment in teaching helped the participating teachers manage cultural differences, look for a sense of belonging and strengthen the steady accumulation of experience in teaching of English with efforts and struggles The participating teachers’ transition from the entry into teaching to the teaching practice and/or actual teaching throughout the stages of teaching could be characterized by the development of their professional self as a teacher

Of three participants, T1 encountered difficulty in the teaching most, but in managing cultural differences and looking for a sense of belonging least because no change in the workplace has been recorded So far, she has worked as an English teacher at her university since after her graduation Accordingly, she transferred her role only once from as an undergraduate into as a teacher Prior to the actual teaching, she spent time taking part in teaching practice through peer observation - this is, observing other teachers’ lessons Her engagement in peer observation helped her feel the practical experience of what was happening in the classroom Specifically, she perceived the teachers’ different methods of teaching (e.g., preparing for teaching lessons carefully, organizing a range of interesting activities, giving clear instructions, positive attitudes, seeing their positive attitudes/manners, continuing interacting with their students), their students’ relatively passive learning attitudes (e.g., disliking theoretical lessons, losing concentration on their lessons, disregarding their teachers’ questions), and other aspects (e.g., crowded classes with mixed ages, non-majored and in-service students with low English proficiency level, teacher- centered approach) This encouraged her to imagine what ways she could apply to her teaching Through her imagination, she reflected on creating an image of self as a teacher in new ways She envisioned herself as a disciplined teacher who would heighten her awareness of complying with the rules and regulations of the school and the police forces (e.g., costume, postures/gestures or working/teaching time) Also, she imagined herself as a responsible teacher who would prepare for lessons more thoroughly, generate a variety of interactive activities and encourage student participation in the classroom A further imagination was herself as a flexible teacher who would give clearer instructions in English-Vietnamese bilingual languages for low-level students’ understanding or would apply pair work or teamwork activities to crowded classes When engaging in the first teaching, she ran into difficulties with the teaching to shape the sense of professional self as a teacher Initially, she had to struggle with her weaknesses in teaching (e.g., limited ways of teaching, inappropriate language within the classroom, lack of respect, low-proficiency level, lack of engagement) that cause the state of her confusion She was confused about dealing with the situations in the classroom (e.g., how to handle crowded classes with mixed ages, how to regulate emotions, how to impart knowledge reasonably, how to motivate students’ active engagement, how to cope with students’ comments) For instance, she felt so nervous that she neglected what she would say or sometimes imparted knowledge mistakenly and even felt embarrassed about her students’ comments on her way of teaching The students were so passive and silent that she even laid the blame on herself, possibly as a new or young teacher At that time, she had no idea of how she could deal with these situations effectively Having awareness of her shortcomings was the instance of alignment that gradually stimulated the development of their professional identity as a novice teacher She reflected on her teaching lessons after class and even asked for other teachers’ advice After the periods of the continuous teaching, she becomes more confident because she has gradually had a little bit experience of teaching (e.g., how to ask lazy/passive students to raise their voice, how to impart knowledge, how to give instructions, how to organize classroom activities or how to prepare for lessons) In the future, she will make more careful preparation in teaching, further develop the professional self and need more professional support from the communities of practice

Both T2 and T3 expressed her confidence of teaching of English; however, they experienced a little bit difficulty in managing cultural differences and searching for a sense of belonging in the early phase of change in various workplaces Before their transformation into a police higher education context, T2 worked as an English teacher at NEU whereas T3 taught English at a high school and a technical police college respectively Through their engagement, these two teachers broadened their knowledge and experience in teaching of English that was important to the development of their identity as a teacher Also, both teachers built a sense of belonging in various workplaces through different imaginations and alignments that contributed to seeing themselves as a teacher in new ways Their engagement in different school cultures stimulated their imagination through exposure and reflection to look for a sense of belonging as a means of alignment that contributed to renegotiating and reconstructing the teachers themselves with other self-regulated identities As for T2, her professional identity in various workplaces was changed into some typical kinds of teachers: from an empowered teacher to a disempowered teacher, from a non-technology teacher to a technology teacher, and from an ordinary teacher to a disciplined teacher At NEU, she was identified as an empowered teacher who had the authority to control most of the teaching-related aspects flexibly (e.g., selecting classes, permitting students to stay at home, arranging time for additional teachings, following students’ learning process), or as a non-technology teacher who only used traditional teaching tools (i.e., coursebooks, chalkboards), or as an ordinary teacher who joined in teaching under school rules and regulations, but without being closely controlled Conversely, when teaching at the police school, her professional identity was transformed into a disempowered teacher who was completely under strict control of the school and force (e.g., seriously obeying the rules concerning the teaching time of each lesson, leaving for the school only with the approval of their leaders), or as a technology teacher who placed modern teaching tools (i.e., projectors, smart boards) in practice, or as a disciplined teacher who had to seriously abide by the rules and regulations of the school and police forces (e.g., no phone or no internet in the classroom) Similarly, T3’s professional identity in various workplaces was also transformed into various types of teachers (a modern teacher, an ESP teacher, a disciplined teacher) In this period, the development of her professional self as a modern teacher could be perceived as an enthusiastic, responsible, friendly or technology teacher who designed various forms of practical activities, employed diversified methods of teaching in the classroom (bilingual languages, body languages, communicative or student-centered approaches), changed the role readily as a guider or a partner to motivate her students’ interactive engagement or prepared for E-learning lesson plans by teacher-support technology applications Also, her professional self was constructed as an ESP teacher who was aware of reinforcing the knowledge and understanding of ESP teaching (e.g., ESP vocabulary, technical-related knowledge, police-related knowledge or law-related knowledge) or a disciplined teacher who strictly obeyed the rules and regulations of the school and force (e.g., going to class timely, managing student attendance strictly, controlling the class closely, maintaining standard manners of teacher speech/costume/movement/gesture) Having the sense of professional capacity and belonging was the instances of alignment that fostered the development of their professional identity as an experienced teacher (T2) and as an expert teacher (T3) After many years of their teaching, they have accumulated much more experience of teaching, developed the sense of belonging and maintained work-life balance Like

T1, in the future, both T2 and T3 will continue their teaching, further enhance the professional self and get professional support from the communities of practice.

Statement of the findings

This study demonstrated the (re)construction and (re)negotiation of three EFL university teachers’ professional identity as process and product through a statement of significant findings, chiefly referring to certain influential dimensions in line with previously published relevant researchers (Ball and Goodson, 1985; Clarke, 2008; Connelly and Clandinin, 1999; Hsieh, 2010; Johnson, 2003; Kelchtermans, 1993; Kerby, 1991; Olsen, 2010; Tsui, 2007; Varghese, 2006; Wenger, 1998)

A noticeable dimension of the participating teachers’ professional identity refers to the reconciliation of the personal and professional sides becoming and being a teacher (Olsen, 2010), which was represented by the interdependent-interrelated- interconnected career transitions of their initial thinking on teaching, final decision on entry into teaching, professional learning, prior professional experiences, current teaching practice and future professional goals In T1’s case, teaching was not her dream and her preliminary thinking on teaching originated mainly from her mother She depended on her mother decision and satisfied her mother’s aspiration The main reason why she decided to enter the teaching stemmed from her mother Among three teachers, T1 had trouble in the teaching in the early stages because her English proficiency was relatively limited and she had neither pedagogical knowledge nor teaching practice To overcome this, she had to improve her knowledge of self with effort and determination by doing the self-study, learning a lot from many others and performing more teaching In the initial periods of teaching, she had to suffer the state of confusion and many other psychological issues (worrisome, anxiety, tiredness or even a feeling of inferiority) After a few years of teaching, she has familiarized herself with the teaching work gradually Currently, she has expressed more confidence of her teaching, such as controlling the class better, putting the methods of teaching into practice more flexibly or designing a variety of practical tasks In the future, she will continue with the teaching and further develop the knowledge of self

Another dimension relates to the acquisition of knowledge sources (Antonek et al., 1997) and competencies (Pennington and Richards, 2016) that have been acquired chiefly from their self-study, the course of professional learning (university and post- graduate education) and the experiences of teaching practice as well The system of knowledge sources implied knowledge of English (language skills, language theories) and pedagogy (how to choose teaching methods flexibly, how to deal with in-class situations, how to transmit knowledge, how to engage students in lessons or how to interact with students) and knowledge acquired from human relations (classmates, students, colleagues, role models) Meanwhile, the set of competencies constituted disciplinary knowledge, teachers’ language, the self (self-awareness, self- desire, self-regulation or self-reliance), teaching context, student learning, knowledge into practice, practice into knowledge As for T3, being a teacher of English is always her self-desire She is very keen on English and really loves her teaching During the course of her teaching life, she has always attempted to develop the knowledge of professional self (English and pedagogy) by various means, chiefly her self-study and acquisition from many other sources (university and master training programs, colleagues or teacher competitions) For example, attending the master course directly taught by knowledgeable American teachers contributed to developing her knowledge sources and competencies (English language skills, practical teaching methods, authentic learning material)

A further dimension of the participating teachers’ professional identity mentions the sense of social roles and positions (Lave and Wenger, 1992; Norton, 2010;

Wenger, 1998) This study represented the sense of professional self as teachers based on their beliefs in education, teaching and learning (Bullough, 1997) or towards being a particular type of teacher (e.g., an English teacher, a good teacher, a novice teacher, an experienced teacher) relying on the ideologies, beliefs, values and commitments (Hsieh, 2010) as teachers with multiple-I positions (re)constructed and (re)negotiated over time and space in various contexts (e.g., being an English teacher, being an English teacher associated with many other roles as a supervisor/motivator/consultant) Three participants are always self-aware of their current main professional positions as both EFL university teachers (a novice teacher, an experienced teacher and an expert teacher) and members of police forces Acted as the EFL university teachers, they all understand the rights, responsibilities and duties of a teacher (e.g., planning, designing and preparing lessons; imparting knowledge; stimulating student engagement; complying with school disciplines; managing classroom under the school’s rules and regulations; enhancing the knowledge of self; participating in research-related tasks; playing such many roles as a friend, a motivator, a supervisor or an examiner) Parallel to the role of EFL university teachers, they play the part of members of police forces because they are teaching English at a police school as a part of police forces Accordingly, they always heighten their consciousness of strictly abiding by the stipulated disciplines of not only their workplace but also the police forces (e.g., protecting data confidentiality, wearing police uniform, having standard manners of teaching, obeying the working and teaching time as stipulated, being unpermitted to leave the school freely without the approval of their leaders)

In addition, the (re)construction and (re)negotiation of the participating teachers’ professional identity is also presented as struggles (Knowles, 1992; Samuel and

Stephens, 2000; Volkmann and Anderson, 1998) The struggles, in this study, are also manifested in various forms (e.g., difficulties, challenges, tensions or conflicts) Throughout a teaching life, the participating teachers had to face up with various forms of struggles for maintenance, variations or adjustments In the early years of teaching, T2 and T3 were recognized to express the confidence of teaching practice whereas T1 encountered a lot of difficulty in teaching (e.g., suffering a state of psychological tension, feeling confused about the way of handling classes, how to impart knowledge, how to gain the respect of students, how to motivate student engagement or how to cope with crowded classes) After the periods of struggles, she was more confident of teaching many classes and gained little-by-little practical experience of teaching Another instance refers to T2’s struggle for her own living expenses at university She had to cope with the burden of finance due to the unconditional family background Nevertheless, her struggle for overcoming such difficulty by working overtime as an English teacher was considered a means of her daily student expenses as well as a positive experience of teaching Such struggle encouraged reflection on teaching (e.g., teaching was a hard-working job, she needed more patience and even spent a little time having a talk with students) A common struggle faced by three teachers relates to the compliance and execution of school disciplines during their working and teaching time For instance, to deal with the stipulation “no internet and no phone” in the classroom, the teachers had to prepare for lessons carefully before class, instead of internet and phone, to motivate their students’ interest in learning This struggle contributed to shaping themselves as disciplined teachers Of three teachers, T3 can be positioned as a modern teacher because she is very good at exploiting social platforms/networks and applying new applications and techniques (e.g., Shadowing, Corendal Wiki, Audio Media, ReadPlease or Format Factory) that help her improve her English skills, change the traditional and advanced ways of teaching flexibly and design a range of E-learning lesson plans

Teacher professional identity is (re)constructed and (re)negotiated through teachers’ commitment to, participation as a way of promoting their agency, and investment in the profession (Akkerman and Meijer, 2011; Coldron and Smith, 1999, cited in Beijaard et al., 2004; Danielewicz, 2001; Hsieh, 2010; Norton, 2013; Wenger,

1998) As a prominent element of professional identity, agency can be understood as the “activeness” (Coldron and Smith, 1999, cited in Beijaard et al., 2004) or “power or freedom or will to act, to make decisions, to exert pressure, to participate or to be strategically silent” (Danielewicz, 2001) In T2’s case, she herself decided on her career choice without any influences Also, she was active in developing the knowledge of self by means of doing the self-studying, working overtime and participating in training programs In fact, teaching is not challenging to her and she has enjoyed the confidence of teaching English is her liking and really needs for her teaching, so she focuses more on her self-study to enhance her English proficiency

Similarly, T3 was always active in every activity (e.g., doing the whole things independently, making decision about her career choice, doing the self-study or acquiring knowledge and experience from others) The other instance of agency is associated with “power” that is manifested by “boundaries” or “power relations” (Wenger, 1998) and refers to “teacher voice” and “confidence” (Borg, 2003) In case of T1, she always maintains the professional boundaries between the teacher and students because she believes that such boundaries can contribute to making her voice stronger as a means of power Likewise, T2 also approves of T1’s opinion that the maintenance of boundaries is really necessary for teaching She can sometimes act as a friend to share some ways of learning with her students; however, she thinks that everything always has to be right under the principle “Teachers are teachers Students are students” This is to say, the rightness of boundaries like this can play a part in affirming her position and power Apart from this, the findings revealed that investment was a remarkable aspect in the EFL university teachers’ professional identity Investment is defined as economic connotations that carries connotations of hopes and returns and benefits or as “language learning commitment” that is based on a learner’s international choice and desire (Norton, 2013) In his view, learners can exercise agency to study what they want and become whoever they want to be

As for the EFL university teachers, this implies that investment could be explained as the investment of professional self The analyzed findings indicated that the participating teachers have highlighted the importance of investment in their professional identity throughout the teaching life In case of T1, she was always self- conscious of her shortcomings when she decided to become a teacher of English with determination To overcome this, her investment in professional learning was considered one of the effective ways of developing the knowledge of self She had to actively invest plenty of time in enhancing her English proficiency and pedagogical knowledge by various forms (e.g, doing the self-study; registering for relevant training courses; learning from coursebooks, online reference materials or her mother/relatives) Similarly, the major reasons that helped T2 make sense of the significance of learning originated from the consciousness of unconditional family background, suffering of her father’s death, understanding of her mother’s diligence and value of English language as well They were such reasons that stimulated her further investment in learning towards a better life with a great job As an EFL learner and teacher, she has invested more time and effort in her self-study as well as acquisition from others with a view to increasing her knowledge of English and pedagogy.

Chapter summary

Chapter 7 discussed the findings and their significance to the relevant literature This chapter focused on discussing three EFL university teachers’ professional identity as process and product through Wenger’s modes of belonging - engagement, imagination and alignment These modes of belonging were visible in different transition periods of the processes of becoming (from considering entry into teaching to learning to teach and from learning to teach to becoming a teacher) and being (from becoming a teacher to being a teacher) This contributed to the reflection of these teachers’ professional identity as an ongoing and dynamic process and product in their teaching life Also, chapter 7 discussed a number of remarkable dimensions of teacher professional identity (the reconciliation of the personal and professional sides becoming and being a teacher; the acquisition of knowledge sources and competences; the sense of social roles and positions; struggles; commitments, agency, power, and investment) through the statement of the findings.

CONCLUSION

Summary of the findings

The acquired findings depicted a picture of the EFL university teachers’ (re)construction and (re)negotiation of their professional identity as process and product and the domain factors influencing their professional identity Identity in this thesis’s research development is the professional identity perceived by the teachers themselves that means who the participating teachers think they are These findings contributed to addressing the two research questions of this study, comprising (RQ1)

“How do the EFL university teachers (re)construct and (re)negotiate their professional identity?” and (RQ2) “What factors significantly influence the (re)construction and (re)negotiation of their professional identity?” Here is a short summary of the findings obtained from this study

Regarding the first research question, the findings of this study showed that the participating teachers’ (re)construction and (re)negotiation of their professional identity as process and product that has changed over time and space in various dimensions The EFL university teachers’ professional identity as process was represented by the process of becoming (1-having prior teaching considerations, 2- having training perceptions: learning to teach, and 3-having prior teaching perceptions) and the process of being (4-having current teaching perceptions and 5- having future professional goals) Through such process, a great number of implicit perspectives concerning the (re)construction and (re)negotiation of professional identity were acknowledged (e.g., the reconciliation of the personal and professional sides of becoming and being a teacher; the acquisition of knowledge sources and competencies; the sense of social roles and positions; the struggles for alterations and adjustments in such teaching-related aspects as teaching methods/strategies, working conditions, job requirements; professional boundaries in teacher-student relationships and interactions) Aside from this, the yielded findings also acknowledged the professional identity of the participating teachers as product (the cases agglomerated and case-by-case) that can be visible in the threshold or transition between two stages before and after, named “liminality” or “liminal spaces” (Turner, 1969) Specifically, the findings of the study represented different transition periods of the processes of becoming (from considering entry into teaching to learning to teach and from learning to teach to becoming a teacher) and being (from becoming a teacher to being a teacher) Taking the cases agglomerated into consideration, the EFL university teacher’s professional identity as product was recognized as developing a clear awareness of school disciplines and policies (cognitive), developing self-awareness and self-knowledge (cognitive), taking over numerous roles (behavioral), and showing the feelings of unsuitability for scientific research (affective) Given the EFL university teachers’ professional identity as product (case-by-case), every teacher has been identified separately from the different perspectives In T1’s case, her professional identity has been established as a novice EFL university teacher, an

“inactive” teacher, and a teacher with dependence proneness and inferiority feelings For T2, she has developed her professional identity as an experienced EFL university teacher, a serious and outspoken, but sociable teacher, and a self-reliant and determined teacher Meanwhile, T3 has been recognized as an expert EFL university teacher, an enthusiastic and modern teacher, and a teacher with leadership styles Referring to the second research question, the acquired findings unmasked a series of external and internal factors that significantly influenced the (re)construction and (re)negotiation of the EFL university teachers’ professional identity In this study, the determined factors affecting the participating teachers’ professional identity as process and product involved the external factors (e.g., personal biography, family, educational background, social relationship, workplace environment, school culture or curriculum) and the internal factors (e.g., self, knowledge and experience, beliefs and values, or psychological aspects) In spite of many recorded influencing factors, this study only concentrated on identifying the factors (family, neighborhood, school culture, influential teachers, and knowledge sources, self and investment) that significantly exercise their influence on the (re)construction and (re)negotiation of the participating teachers’ professional identity as process and product The factors have their own and mutual influences on (re)constructing and (re)negotiating teacher professional identity as process and product Specifically, these factors impacted on the (re)shaping of teachers’ thinking in the constructs and development of their professional self For example, family was an aspiration to T1 and T3 when making their final decision about choosing teaching as their future job Influential teachers affected the way of T2’s learning and teaching, like the negative influence of her English high school teacher on her way of pronunciation or the positive influence of her American post-graduate lecturers on her way of teaching The influence of self has impacted on their sense of their roles as the EFL university teachers and members of police forces The mutual impacts of investment and knowledge sources contributed to the development of teacher responsibility and knowledge.

Implications

This study contributes to yielding evaluable insights into the way how the EFL university teachers (re)constructed and (re)negotiated their professional identity The general overview of identity-related aspects (e.g, identity, teacher identity, language teacher identity, teacher professional identity, previous theoretical frameworks for or previous studies on identity/ teacher identity/ teacher professional identity) were presented herein Aside from this, this study developed its own theoretical framework, named “Teacher Professional Identity Model”, for investigating the EFL university teachers’ (re)construction and (re)negotiation of their professional identity in this particular context This model was adapted from the previous frameworks of Olsen (2008, 2016) and Wenger (1998) Olsen focuses on the stages of teacher identity development whereas Wenger concentrates upon exploring identity formation through his modes of belonging Accordingly, in this study, Olsen’s framework contributed to exploring three EFL university teachers’ professional identity by the stages in their teaching life Meanwhile, Wenger’s framework was used to gain more insights into their professional identity as process and product in each interrelated, interconnected and interdependent stage of their teaching life The constructed model views the EFL university teachers’ (re)construction and (re)negotiation of professional identity as process and product which is represented, under Olsen’s frameworks, through six interdependent stages of a teacher’s life from their past, present and future The past stages cover prior personal experience (one’s biography), prior professional experience (prior work), entry into teaching (reasons for entry), and teacher education experience (teacher ed experience) The present stage refers to current teaching context/practice (being a teacher) whereas the future stage demonstrates career plans/ teacher retention (future career plans) The (re)construction and (re)negotiation of professional identity of the participating teachers is manifested by Wenger’s (1998) modes of belonging - engagement, imagination and alignment - which pertain to each stage of a teacher’s life Also, it can be suggested as a useful framework for investigating teacher professional identity in other contexts or approaching further studies on teacher identity-related issues (e.g., teacher personal identity, teacher moral identity or teacher emotional identity)

The findings of the study contributed to investigating the EFL university teachers’ (re)construction and (re)negotiation of their professional identity Such investigation can help teachers produce more insights into their professional identity as a way of thinking back on their professional self as process and product throughout their teaching life from their past, present and future Making sense of their professional self begins from their shaping of initial thinking on teaching to their official involvement in current teaching practice (being a teacher), followed by their reflection on future professional goals Such understanding is considered a means to encourage these teachers to bravely reflect on their minds or thoughts regarding their rights, responsibilities and roles Also, understanding teacher identity is not only beneficial for classroom practice but also for teachers’ own professional development (Varghese, Morgan, Johnston, and Johnson, 2005) The sense of professional identity can encourage the teachers to have second thoughts about their teaching (e.g., teaching methods, teaching beliefs, teaching opinions or teaching philosophies) for a purpose of enhancing the effectiveness of teaching practice and promoting their professional development For example, this study showed the awareness of the participating teachers’ role as both EFL university teachers and members of police forces The sense of these roles promoted the shaping of their professional identity as teachers who are always self-aware of not only teacher responsibility but also regulatory compliance and execution

The findings acquired from the study also demonstrated that becoming and being a teacher, which does not basically mean the acquisition of knowledge and the application of such acquired knowledge to teaching practice, is much more sophisticated than that because it has been influenced by many others (e.g., school culture, curriculum, psychology, students, colleagues, research works or training programs) One of the major findings of this study identified the dominant factors, which significantly influence the (re)construction and (re)negotiation of the participating teachers’ professional identity, constituted the external factors (family, neighborhood, school culture, influential teachers and knowledge sources) and the internal factors (self, investment) Getting deep insights into such dominant factors can partly support stakeholders in education, chiefly mentors and teacher educators, of devising immediate or future plans for continuous professional development by enhancing the ways in which teacher education programs are conceived or establishing teacher education programs in line with the status of teachers (e.g., knowledge sharing workshops, professional teaching meetings, pedagogy courses, or English proficiency development courses) Such programs can be viewed as the medium of connection between the teachers and other stakeholders, the chance of getting teacher voice and the means of highlighting the importance of teacher position Through the programs, the teachers can feel sense of their profession as a EFL teacher and their role as an agent of change, formulate their own specific plans for the promotion of their future professional self, motivate their self-reflections on training and teaching experiences, and negotiate the meaning of such experiences As for other stakeholders, the programs can be considered a good chance of directly listening to straight speeches from the teachers’ side and providing the teachers with constructive feedback and emotion support in the professional development For example, three EFL university teachers reported the importance of community of practice during their teaching practice T1 improved her way of teaching by asking for other teachers’ advice or observing other teachers’ teaching lessons Learning from other people, especially her colleagues, is a useful means for T3 to enhance her pedagogic knowledge Whenever she has free time, she is active in taking part in other teachers’ lessons Also, T2 emphasized the importance of her colleagues’ supports or contributions because she was a failure in the teacher contest without the aid of her colleagues due to the unexpected reasons.

Limitations

In the process of carrying out the study, a number of existing limitations have been recognized, including the length of the study, the sample of the study, and the research instrument

The initial limitation refers to the length of the study Further insights into the (re)construction and (re)negotiation of professional identity would need to be obtained through a longitudinal study because I do understand that the investigation into the (re)construction and (re)negotiation of teacher professional identity as process and product cannot be made in short-term research like this Also, it is due to such limited duration that partly deterred me from further classroom observations for three EFL university teachers In reality, the places where the teachers are, for the most part, present are classrooms as a major space for more profound understanding of teacher professional identity in current teaching practice In this study, classroom observation was made only once for each teacher that contributed to narrowing the depth of the study Accordingly, such limitation could contribute to narrowing the depth of this study In order to gain deeper insights into professional identity, the duration of the study will have to be extended over one year or nearly two years or even more depending on research aims and objectives The extension of time to carry out research will bring about an increase in multiple observation classrooms, including length, number or different classes

Another limitation relates to the sample of the study This study investigated the professional identity of only three EFL university teachers, comprising a novice teacher, an experienced teacher and an expert teacher In this study, a total number of teachers, who participated in this study, evolved three persons only All of the participants, who are female teachers with no males, have worked as EFL university teachers at the same police school These three participating teachers are considered three mini case studies only, so it could not be regarded as the representative of the whole EFL university teachers in a Vietnamese higher education context This limitation also could narrow the findings of this study So as to possibly generalize about teacher professional identity, the diversity of teachers taking part in future research (e.g., males/females, EFL teachers working at same/different universities, or EFL teachers with different levels of professional competence) will need to be increased

A further limitation constitutes the research instrument In fact, this study gathered a large number of rich data from three various research instruments, including guided reflective writings, semi-structured interviews and classroom observations As opposed to the plentiful data of guided reflective writings and semi-structured interviews, it was due to the constrained classroom observations (only once per teacher) and the limited analysis of observation data that could contribute to preventing me from gaining the perceptions of three EFL university teachers’ professional identity in current teaching practice In spite of the fact that classroom observations were made, this study could fail to determine the depth of observations on a few dimensions (e.g., the focus of the observed lessons, the number of observations or the analysis of observation data) Aside from the limits of classroom observations, this study failed to observe three EFL university teachers’ engagement with other colleagues in specialized staffrooms or different school activities or even during school-meetings Such limitations could narrow the depth of the findings In order to foster a deeper understanding of teacher professional identity in current teaching practice, further classroom observations or more other forms of observations (e.g., specialized staffrooms, pedagogical workshops or educational activities) will need to be strengthened to gain more practical descriptions of teacher professional identity in current teaching practice

In short, the above-mentioned things constitute a discussion of a few limitations of the study (the length of the study, the sample of the study, and the research instrument) Hopefully, future studies would deal with these limitations that have been unsolved in this study.

Suggestions for further research

Relying on the said limitations, I would like to put forward a number of suggestions for further research, including the replication of this study, the making of a longitudinal study, the extension of the scope of research instruments and the involvement of diversified groups of teachers Such can be considered useful suggestions to support researchers of designing many other identify-related studies in the upcoming time

This study can be viewed as a source of reference materials in the exploration of identity-related themes, so my initial suggestion is that further researches could be undertaken by means of the replication of this study Despite this, such duplicated studies would be made in various contexts and with different teachers I believe that the findings of such replicated studies will continue enriching the understanding of teacher identity Another suggestion is that a longitudinal study could be made to produce more profound insights into teacher identity construction Further studies should take the role of stakeholders into consideration when conducting the research on teacher identity because their decisive views could result in the establishment of other factors that could exert a significant impact on professional identity

A further suggestion can be to broaden the scope of research instruments Such longitudinal studies on teacher identity could consider the possibility of carrying out multiple classroom observations and more other forms of observations (e.g., specialized staffrooms, pedagogical workshops or educational activities) because they could help researchers generate the quantity of practical data that could contribute to deepening their understanding of professional identity in current teaching practice For instance, the performance of classroom observations associated with face-to-face discussions/interviews with teachers concentrating particularly upon their teaching-related aspects (e.g., the focus of the observed lessons, specific teaching methods/opinions or professional development) can increase their understanding of teacher professional identity

Further researches are also recommended to explore teacher professional identity with the involvement of diversified groups of teachers from same or different universities, including but not limited to gender (males/females), teaching experience and professional competence This could imply further studies on professional identity of gender-mixed teachers with various teaching experience or different levels of professional competence This diversity may contribute to finding out other teacher professional identity aspects that were unidentifiable in this study

In general, the above-mentioned references constitute a number of suggestions for further research (the replication of this study, the making of a longitudinal study, the extension of the scope of research instruments and the involvement of diversified groups of teachers) Hopefully, these suggestions can be viewed as a reference source to help other researchers, especially novice researchers, have a general outlook on teacher professional identity.

Concluding Remarks

I conclude this study with three personal reflections on the theme of teacher professional identity Such reflections consist of my concern about the theme of teacher professional identity, the participating teachers and the acquisition of self

My initial reflection refers to my concern about the theme of teacher professional identity Access to identity-related studies really impressed me that aroused my interest in choosing this theme as the research focus Taking into consideration, I gained more insights into the importance of teacher professional identity, so I decided to carry out this study on it To be specific, this study was conducted to investigate the EFL university teachers’ (re)construction and (re)negotiation of their professional identity as process and product and analyze the external and internal factors significantly influencing such (re)construction and (re)negotiation When I proceeded with the study, I invested most of the time in studying a wide range of identity-related materials While reading the documents, I felt really confused by plenty of different definitions, theoretical frameworks and other concerning issues After my intensive readings, I could develop the specific working definition of teacher professional identity and construct the particular framework for this study During the process of the implementation, I regularly slept for only three or four hours per night and even worked until morning to generalize and analyze data and even complete the multiple drafts of my thesis To be honest, I went through the ups and downs of the research process and enjoyed the professional experiences of three participating teachers at the different stages of their teaching life Relying on this, these three EFL university teachers’ professional identity could be partly captured

My second reflection relates to the participating teachers Through this study, I clearly understood how the EFL university teachers (re)construct and negotiate their professional identity and what factors significantly influence such (re)construction and (re)negotiation Taking the findings of the study into account, I sensed that the participating teachers really had to face the constant struggles to become and be a EFL teacher In their teaching life, they had to go through many things with efforts and determination, ranging from the shaping of initial thinking of teaching to being a teacher, through which their professional identity has been (re)constructed and (re)negotiated These university teachers coming from different family backgrounds accomplished all compulsory education stages with educational qualifications; achieved appropriate qualifications in English and teaching; underwent different professional experiences; prepared future plans for professional development and attempted to cope up with various pressures, difficulties or variations during the different stages of a teaching life They have displayed their sense of the role and responsibility of a teacher and a police officer as well as their awareness of school disciplines and policies They have enjoyed the confidence of teaching practice, expressed their sense of enhancing English competence and increasing pedagogical knowledge, and showed their readiness to participate in professional development activities, absorb fresh things and adjust themselves to such changes if necessary Also, I learnt more about the factors that significantly exercised their influence on the (re)construction and (re)negotiation of their professional identity constituted the external factors (family, neighborhood, school culture, influential teachers and knowledge sources) and internal factors (self, investment)

A further reflection constitutes the acquisition of self This study gave me the true reflection of the (re)construction and (re)negotiation of professional identity of three EFL university teachers The same as these teachers, I am also a teacher of English and also a colleague of them Accordingly, it was my understanding of the participating teachers’ professional identity that contributed to developing my thinking on as well as arousing my curiosity about self-professional identity Actually, this study is like a driving force that encouraged me to reflect on the professional identity of self Perhaps, I will carry out another research on the exploration of self-professional identity in the upcoming time

All in all, the foregoing provides a number of my personal reflections on this study Through the reflections, I would like to emphasize the belief that investigating teacher professional identity is very important to the teacher self in particular and stakeholders in general Accordingly, further understanding of teacher professional identity should be regularly maintained and strongly promoted

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