Things you can do…

Explore the following:

Research Tasks on Identity in Language Learning and Teaching, 2017, B. Norton and P. De Costa.

See research task 6, in particular.

 

Consult TedEx videos, for example, Prof. Vera Regan (UCD) on sociolinguistics:

What your speaking style, like, says about you

Things you can read…

The Flowering of Positive Psychology in Foreign Language Teaching and Acquisition Research , 2019, Open Access.

Jean-Marc Dewaele, Xinjie Chen, Amado M. Padilla and J. Lake

The present contribution offers an overview of a new area of research in the field of foreign language acquisition, which was triggered by the introduction of Positive Psychology (PP) (MacIntyre and Gregersen, 2012). For many years, a cognitive perspective had dominated research in applied linguistics. Around the turn of the millennium researchers became increasingly interested in the role of emotions in foreign language learning and teaching, beyond established concepts like foreign language anxiety and constructs like motivation and attitudes toward the foreign language. As a result, a more nuanced understanding of the role of positive and negative learner and teacher emotions emerged, underpinned by solid empirical research using a wide range of epistemological and methodological approaches. PP interventions have been carried out in schools and universities to strengthen learners and teachers’ experiences of flow, hope, courage, well-being, optimism, creativity, happiness, grit, resilience, strengths, and laughter with the aim of enhancing learners’ linguistic progress. This paper distinguishes the early period in the field that started with MacIntyre and Gregersen (2012), like a snowdrop after winter, and that was followed by a number of early studies in relatively peripheral journals. We argue that 2016 is the starting point of the current period, characterized by gradual recognition in applied linguistics, growing popularity of PP, and an exponential increase in publications in more mainstream journals. This second period could be compared to a luxuriant English garden in full bloom.

 

The Emotional Rollercoaster of Language Teaching , 2020

Edited by: Christina Gkonou, Jean-Marc Dewaele, Jim King

This book focuses on the emotional complexity of language teaching and how the diverse emotions that teachers experience while teaching are shaped and function. The book is based on the premise that teaching is not just about the transmission of academic knowledge but also about inspiring students, building rapport with them, creating relationships based on empathy and trust, being patient and most importantly controlling one’s own emotions and being able to influence students’ emotions in a positive way. The book covers a range of emotion-related topics on both positive and negative emotions which are relevant to language teaching including emotional labour, burnout, emotion regulation, resilience, emotional intelligence and wellbeing among others. These topics are studied within a wide range of contexts such as teacher education programmes, tertiary education, CLIL and action research settings, and primary and secondary schools across different countries.

Negotiating Identity in Modern Foreign Language Teaching , 2019.

Editors: Gallardo, Matilde (Ed.)

  • Showcases empirical research and autobiographical narrative on the topic of MFL teachers’ construction of identity in professional contexts
  • Brings together practitioners from a range of cross-institutional and cross-departmental backgrounds
  • Focuses on transnational MFL teachers’ negotiation of identity in the UK higher education sector
  • Represents an original contribution to the field in the current climate of the decline of modern languages as a subject of study in the UK

Language teacher identity  2019

Hayriye Kayi-Aydar
The topic of language teacher identity receives strong attention in current scholarly literature. Understanding the complexities of identities that second/foreign language teachers construct is crucial because the ways teachers perceive themselves as professionals impact teacher development (e.g., Kanno & Stuart, 2011), interactions with peers and colleagues (e.g., Kayi-Aydar, 2015), pedagogical choices or classroom practices (e.g., Duff & Uchida, 1997), and access to power and ownership of language (De Costa & Norton, 2017; Varghese et al., 2016), ultimately undergirding or undermining second/foreign language teaching (Varghese et al., 2016).

Participate in…

A forum for language educators:

The ECML and the Professional Network Forum

 

Start your own Community of Practice with colleagues. Here is an example of the types of CoPs in TESOL.