Language Teacher Professional Identity

Abstract

Language teacher identity (LTI) has received a lot of attention during the last three decades. As the topic of professional identity is broad and multifaceted, the purpose of this chapter is to highlight the major themes that have emerged in the literature to date, namely LTI in professional contexts, the role of socio-political and economic contexts in LTI, the nexus between identity and knowledge, and how LTI relates to professionalism. The chapter argues that, although there is a plethora of LTI research, language scholars and practitioners need to engage more critically with and investigate how professional identities are constructed within current dominant discourses such as globalization, superdiversity, transnationalism, multilingualism, among others. The chapter concludes with overarching research and pedagogical implications in addition to the relationship between LTI and professionalism.