Exploring a Novice EFL (English as a Foreign Language) Teacher's Identity Development Through the Teacher Education Reciprocal Learning Program 

• In Event: Explorations of Identity and Belonging

Abstract

This narrative inquiry explored the professional identity construction of a Chinese teacher who taught English as a Foreign Language (EFL) during her participation in the Teacher Education Reciprocal Learning Program (RLP)[ This program fosters a two-way intercultural exchange between teacher candidates in China and Canada.] and her first two years of teaching as a novice junior high school teacher in China. Reflective portfolios, field notes, interview transcripts, classroom observations, and casual conversations were collected, and positioning theory was used in field text analysis. Findings show the novice EFL teacher became a reflective observer, caring teacher, and teacher-researcher during the program. In her first two years, she further developed these identities, informing teacher education in international and cross-cultural contexts.

Authors

• Ju Huang, Southwest University

• Mingxia Sun, Southwest University