EFL teacher's identity formation - The influences of learning and working experiences

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

HO CHI MINH CITY OPEN UNIVERSITY

EFL TEACHER’S IDENTITY FORMATION:

THE INFLUENCES OF LEARNING AND WORKING

EXPERIENCES

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the

requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in TESOL

Submitted by : DO THI XUAN HUONG

Supervisor : Dr. DANG TAN TIN

Ho Chi Minh City, September 2019

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

HO CHI MINH CITY OPEN UNIVERSITY

DO THI XUAN HUONG

EFL TEACHER’S IDENTITY FORMATION:

THE INFLUENCES OF LEARNING AND WORKING

EXPERIENCES

Major: TEACHING ENGLISH TO SPEAKERS OF OTHER LANGUAGES

Major code : 60140111

MASTER OF ARTS IN TESOL

Supervisor: Dr. DANG TAN TIN

Ho Chi Minh City, September 2019

i

Statement of authorship

I certify that this thesis entitled “EFL Teacher’s Identity Formation:

The Influences of Learning and Working Experiences” is my own work.

No other person’s work has been used without due acknowledgement and proper

citation in the main text of the thesis.

This thesis has not been submitted for the award of any degree or diploma in any

other tertiary institutions.

Ho Chi Minh City, September 2019

DO THI XUAN HUONG

ii

Retention and use of the thesis

I hereby state that I, Do Thi Xuan Huong, a candidate for the degree of Master of

Arts in TESOL, accept the requirements of Ho Chi Minh City Open University relating to

the retention and use of Master’s Theses deposited in the Library.

In terms of these conditions, I agree that the original of my Master’s Thesis

deposited in the Library should be accessible for the purposes of study and research, in

accordance with the normal conditions established by the Librarian for the care, loan, and

reproduction for theses.

Ho Chi Minh City, 2019

DO THI XUAN HUONG

iii

Acknowledgement

I would like to express my gratitude and appreciation to my supervisor: Dr. Dang

Tan Tin for his suggestions and encouragement throughout the development of this paper.

My completion of this paper could not have been accomplished without his support and

guidance.

My sincere thanks also goes to my friend who is the participant of this study. She

provided me an opportunity to listen to her life’s stories and gave me the access to her

classroom to conduct this study. I am really grateful to have such a beautiful and

wonderful friend in life.

I also want to show my special gratitude to a brother who helped me a lot in

finalizing this study and gave me a lot of helpful comments for this study. Thank you so

much for your generous support.

iv

Table of contents

Statement of authorship .................................................................................................... i

Retention and use of the thesis......................................................................................... ii

Acknowledgement........................................................................................................................iii

Table of contents............................................................................................................... iv

List of abbreviations....................................................................................................... vii

List of appendices........................................................................................................... viii

Abstract.......................................................................................................................... ix

Chapter 1: Introduction ................................................................................................... 1

1.1. Current English language education in Vietnam ................................................ 1

1.2. Statement of problems ........................................................................................ 2

1.3. Definition of key terms....................................................................................... 3

1.4. Aims of the study................................................................................................ 4

1.5. Research question ............................................................................................... 4

1.6. Significance of the study..................................................................................... 4

1.7. Organization of the study.................................................................................... 5

Chapter 2: Literature Review.......................................................................................... 6

2.1. Identity ................................................................................................................ 6

2.2. Teacher identity................................................................................................... 7

2.3. Identity formation ............................................................................................... 8

2. 3. 1. Identification. ................................................................................................. 9

2. 3. 2. Negotiation of meanings.............................................................................. 10

2.4. Factors influencing identity formation of teachers........................................... 12

2. 4. 1. The influence of learning experiences to the identity formation of a teacher

............................................................................................................................................... 13

2. 4. 2. The influences of working experiences on the formation of teacher identity

............................................................................................................................................... 16

2.5. EFL teacher’s identity formation ...................................................................... 17

2.6. Audiolingual Method........................................................................................ 18

Chapter 3: Methodology................................................................................................. 22

3.1. Research design ................................................................................................ 22

3.2. Rationale for case study.................................................................................... 22

3.3. Rationale for narrative inquiry.......................................................................... 23

v

3.4. The research site and participant....................................................................... 25

3.5. Research tools................................................................................................... 25

3.6. Research procedure........................................................................................... 29

3.7. Data collection .................................................................................................. 29

3.8. The concern of validity and ethics.................................................................... 30

Chapter 4: Findings........................................................................................................ 32

4.1. Impacts of learning experiences on identity formation..................................... 32

4. 1. 1. From a learner struggling with English to a good learner of English and then

a teacher of English............................................................................................................... 32

4. 1. 2. Inferiority as a motivation in learning ......................................................... 34

4. 1. 3. The motivation from good teacher in life .................................................... 35

4. 1. 4. The dependent learner.................................................................................. 35

4.2. Impacts of working experiences on the identity formation .............................. 36

4. 2. 1. Impact of teaching training on a teacher’s identity...................................... 36

4. 2. 2. Negotiation of meanings between an EFL student to an EFL teacher......... 37

4. 2. 3. Negotiation of meanings between a once-tutor for small classes to a novice

teacher of large classes.......................................................................................................... 40

4. 2. 4. Problems of the academic programs at work and solutions to them in private

classes ................................................................................................................................... 41

4. 2. 5. The belief in teaching method consolidated through the time ..................... 42

4. 2. 6. Image of self as a teacher............................................................................. 45

4. 2. 7. The motivation from financial hardship to the teaching job........................ 47

4. 2. 8. The recruitment of students as a private tutor and as a center founder........ 48

Chapter 5: Discussion ..................................................................................................... 49

5.1. Sub-research question 1: influences of learning experiences to identity

formation 49

5. 1. 1. The ownership of negotiation of meaning as an EFL learner ...................... 49

5. 1. 2. Impact of the sense of inferiority in identity formation............................... 50

5.2. Sub-research question 2: influences of working experiences to identity

formation 50

5. 2. 1. Constant conflicts between the ideal and compulsory identity in the

transitional period from an EFL learners to and an EFL teacher.......................................... 51

5. 2. 2. Negotiation of meanings to become a good EFL teacher ............................ 51

5. 2. 3. Belief of ALM consolidated through the time and the self-image as an ALM

practitioner............................................................................................................................ 53

5. 2. 4. Impact of financial pressure on identity formation...................................... 54

vi

Chapter 6: Conclusion.................................................................................................... 55

6.1. Summary of key findings of the study.............................................................. 55

6.2. Implications of the study................................................................................... 56

6.3. Limitations of the study .................................................................................... 57

6.4. Recommendations of the study......................................................................... 58

6.5. Conclusions....................................................................................................... 58

References........................................................................................................................ 59

Appendices....................................................................................................................... 64

Appendix 1 Research instruments................................................................................. 65

The interview questions - The Vietnamese version...................................................... 68

Observation form............................................................................................................ 71

Appendix 2 The consent form........................................................................................ 96

Appendix 3 Selected quotes from the interview ........................................................... 99

vii

List of abbreviations

ALM : Audiolingual Method

CEFR : Common European Framework of Reference for Languages

CLT : Communicative Language Teaching

EFL : English as a Foreign Language

GTM : Grammar Translation Method

L1 : The native language

L2 : The second language

viii

List of appendices

Appendix 1 Research instruments............................................................................................. 65

Appendix 2 The consent form.................................................................................................... 96

Appendix 3 Selected quotes from the interview ....................................................................... 99

ix

Abstract

Teacher’s identity formation has been a topic of interest for a long time. In recent years,

the teaching world has experienced an overwhelming wave of non-method teaching

English which is a colloquial phrase for eclectic approach in EFL education. In that

setting this study was done to examine a seemingly unusual case of a teacher of English

staying steadfastly loyal to Audiolingual Teaching Method (ALM) since her first contact

with it as a student till now deeply into her teaching practice. The case study using

narrative enquiry was conducted on that one teacher to explore her identity formation

from the learning experiences in her student years to her experiences in working as an

ALM practitioner. The research was based on the framework of identity formation of

Wenger (1998) and found when the self-identity matches the imagined identity on the

community, the alignment with the community will occur otherwise the exclusion to the

community will appear. Furthermore, inferiority and financial hardship was revealed as

the two factors influencing much on Lan’s identity formation.

Keywords: EFL teacher identity formation, ALM, learning experience, working

experience

EFL TEACHER’S IDENTITY FORMATION 1

Chapter 1: Introduction

1.1. Current English language education in Vietnam

After Vietnam participated in the Association of South East Asia Nations in 1995 and was

a member of the World Trade Organization in 2007, English was considered more and

more essential in Vietnamese society (Hadisantosa & Johnstone, 2010). English has

become the most popular foreign language chosen by most of Vietnamese learners (Do,

2006). Being fluent in English created confidence and opportunities for learners in

various fields in Vietnamese context. Furthermore, with the growth of technologies in

Vietnam, English was expected to be an effective and helpful tool for the youth to access

and update information online to enhance their study as well as their career (X. V.

Nguyen, 2003). Thus, improving English teaching quality has been taken into

consideration as one of the priorities that Vietnam should focus on to be ready for global

integration. In 2008, English was mentioned as one of the foreign languages taught in

educational institutions nationwide in the national project about foreign language

teaching and learning in Vietnam from 2008 to 2020. Then the Common European

Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) was utilized to access English

competence of the educational system in Vietnam (Nguyen, 2015).

Furthermore, it could not be denied that English teaching in Vietnam was mainly teacher￾centered and grammar-and-vocabulary focused (Pham, 2005). Teachers took the primary

roles in class control as well as lesson delivery through structures and vocabulary;

therefore, students were accustomed to perceiving knowledge passively and apathetically

(Dang, 2010). Also, the traditional teaching method of Grammar Translation Method

(GTM), which dictates that students acquired a language through grammar rules and

translation tasks (Richards & Schmidt, 2013), is still commonly seen in public school

systems in Vietnam. However, many recent studies have shown that English learners in

Vietnam are not completely passive as they were in the past (An, 2002; Ngoc & Iwashita,

2012). Ngoc and Iwashita (2012) indicated that Vietnamese learners exposed themselves