Activity Theory and Language Teacher Agency

Abstract

This article takes a broadly sociocultural perspective on the development of an Armenian English as a foreign language (EFL) teacher. It focuses on how experiences and actions outside the professional development classroom influence language teacher agency. The paper is framed within activity theory and specifically draws on Galperin's orienting activity, the psychological process of regulating internalization, which may occur through an image that guides actions. Data from email interviews, oral interviews, and classroom observations are iteratively analyzed to show how the participant oriented to her actions through a specific image. This image was based on the participant's early experiences with her English teacher as a school pupil, and it mediated her developing sense of agency by guiding the way she engaged in individual actions as a language teaching student, English teacher, and teacher trainer. The participant appeared to be leading emerging activity in her local teaching situation, but social activity provided the requisite background to her individual actions. The article concludes by suggesting that individual agentive actions can contribute to local social activity, that professional development occurs over a life, and that case studies may contribute to professional development not only as a model of personal reflection but also as a professional call to action. © 2012 The Modern Language Journal.