Multimodal Narratives and Intersectionality in Language Teacher Identity

• In Event: 63.067 - Narrative Research From Multimodal Perspectives

Abstract

Drawing on a longitudinal project, this paper argues that multimodal narratives are especially powerful as a tool to examine the intersection of various individual and institutional factors that shape language teachers’ identities and agency. Language teachers are never neutral; how they see themselves and how they are positioned in interactions with others—students, administrators, or larger sociopolitical discourses—affect their teaching practices. Specifically, the paper asks how we can explore social identity markers such as sexuality, social class, and spirituality/religion in the development of identity and agency of language teachers through narratives that combine text, images, and music. As examples from the multi-modal narratives are shared, implications for teacher education and social justice are offered as well.

Author

• Gergana Vitanova, University of Central Florida