“I Am Never Afraid of Being Recognized as anNNES”: One Teacher's Journey in Claiming and Embracing Her Nonnative‐Speaker Identity

Abstract

With an increase in the number of learners and speakers of English as an additional language entering the English language teaching field, especially in Outer and Expanding Circle countries and some migrating into the Inner Circle countries (e.g., Jenkins, 2009), there is an urgent need to prepare, and understand the experiences of, English language teachers from diverse backgrounds in teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL) programs. In view of this burgeoning need, TESOL programs could tailor their curricula to meet the academic and professional needs of all students planning to teach English in worldwide contexts. To this end, this article presents one thread of a larger study examining the experiences of five East Asian women before and during their TESOL programs. Snapshots are provided of one TESOL student whose academic and professional experiences highlight the disconnectedness between her experiences in China, her TESOL program, and her mentored student teaching experience. An exploration of this student's identity transformation is followed by a discussion of implications for TESOL programs.A ccording to the Open Doors Report (Open Doors Report, 2010), published annually by the Institute of International Education, the number of international students in the United States increased by 3% during the 2009-2010 academic year. The increase represents a record high number, which was driven by a 30% increase in Chinese student enrollment in the United States. Although the ODR does not specifically report the number of international students in teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL) degree programs, the report does indicate the number of international students in the United States that matriculated in intensive English programs and in the

Addressing Cultural Identity through Negotiation: Analysis of Student-teacher-authored Narratives

“…290). The influence of the above mentioned ìothersî on language teachersí identity has been referred to in some studies such as the one Liu andXu (2011) andPark (2012). For instance, Park (2012) investigated the status of non-native studentteachers in the United States where some of the student-teachers last their confidence due to the questions by the language learners about their ability in teaching English to the natives.…”

The Handbook of Narrative Analysis

“…Pavlenko concluded that imagination can be productively exploited in critical pedagogy. Another example is Park's (2012) study. She investigated the identity transformations of students enrolled in a TESOL program at a US university.…”

Demystifying Native Speaker Ideology : The Critical Role of Critical Practice in Language Teacher Education

“…Accordingly, as Kamhi-Stein (2009) observes, the role of teacher educators is influential in creating environments in which nonnative English-speaking teachers (NNESTs) "participate, perceive themselves, and are perceived as valuable members of the classroom language community" (p. 93). In addition to providing pedagogical preparation, language teacher education programs should play a critical role in demystifying the ideology of native speakerism (Brutt-Griffler & Samimy, 1999;Golombek & Jordan, 2005;Kim, 2011;Park, 2012;Pavlenko, 2003). However, the critical issues of native-speaker ideology in relation to language and power have not been widely explored in second language teacher education.…”