The chronotopical nature of identity construction: Case studies of narrative identities of EFL teachers

Abstract

This study invoking two key Bakhtinian concepts, chronotope and authoritative/persuasive discourse, tried to show the interplay of identities six EFL teachers assumed through the narrative inquiry. Based on the analysis and coding of the data, four chronotopes were distinguished and termed as first generic chronotope, second generic chronotope, third generic chronotope, and fourth generic chronotope. This study showed that both discourse type and chronotope were key distinguishing factors in teachers' constructions of multiple identities. Teachers were different both in the discourse type and the kind of chronotopes, though the discourse types and the chronotopes were fused together. Some pedagogical implications in regard to teacher identity in the context of language learning were also proposed.