15. Once Burned, Twice Shy: The Dynamic Development of System Immunity in Teachers

A Language Teacher’s Reflection on Maladaptive Immunity, Possible Selves and Motivation

“…Therefore, the motivational path of teachers in classroom settings needs to be investigated. Another term coined by Hiver (2015) is language teacher immunity that refers to a protective mechanism striving to deal with negative experiences. Since teachers' self may be adversely influenced by ambiguity and conflicts experienced in classes, their motivation may also be lessened.…”

“…Since teachers' self may be adversely influenced by ambiguity and conflicts experienced in classes, their motivation may also be lessened. Hiver (2015) mentions four stages for self-organization that can be defined as a regulatory system whose elements are dependent on each other and cannot be reduced to a simply single system (Fuchs, 2003). Agents produce a new system based on an old system or prior experiences.…”

“…Therefore, it is difficult to predict behaviors of this system. In order for a new system to emerge, perturbation is needed (Hiver, 2015). However, causes and effects of these small or large disturbances are based on non-linearity.…”

“…Once this system is launched, it attempts to choose one of alternative ways and is affected by inner conditions and mechanisms. This self-organizing system in language teaching may lead teachers to choose either productive or maladaptive system (Hiver, 2015). One of these systems determines how teachers will continue their profession and behave in classroom settings.…”

“…This definition behooves teachers to have the necessary belief to teach students effectively so that desired or expected aims can be achieved (Geving, 2007). Researchers have attempted to identify a relatively significant relationship between language teacher immunity, possible selves and motivation (Hiver, 2013(Hiver, , 2015Hiver & Dörnyei, 2015).…”