Theorizing and Analyzing Language Teacher Agency

Edited by Hayriye Kayi-Aydar, Dr. Xuesong (Andy) Gao, Elizabeth R. Miller, Dr. Manka Varghese, Gergana Vitanova

Publication date:

05 June 2019

Publisher

Multilingual Matters

Dimensions:

234x156mm
6x9"

ISBN-13: 9781788923910

This volume examines the agency of second/foreign language teachers in diverse geographical contexts and in both K-12 and adult education. It offers new understandings and conceptualizations of second/foreign language teacher agency through a variety of types of empirical data. It also demonstrates the use of different methodologies or analytic tools to study the multidimensional, dynamic and complex nature of second/foreign language teacher agency. The chapters draw on a range of theories and approaches to language teacher agency (including ecological theory, positioning theory, complexity theory and actor-network theory) that expand our understanding of the concept, while at the same time presenting various analytic approaches such as discourse studies and narrative inquiry. The chapters also analyze the connection of agency to other relevant topics, such as teacher identity, emotions, positioning and autonomy.

Chapter 1. Hayriye Kayi-Aydar, Xuesong (Andy) Gao, Elizabeth R. Miller, Manka Varghese, Gergana Vitanova: Introduction

Chapter 2. Hayriye Kayi-Aydar: Language Teacher Agency: Major Theoretical Considerations, Conceptualizations, and Methodological Choices

SECTION I: LANGUAGE TEACHER AGENCY IN K-12 CONTEXTS

Chapter 3. Aliza Fones: Examining High School English Language Learner Teacher Agency: Opportunities and Constraints

Chapter 4. G. Sue Kasun, J. Spencer Clark, A. Jyoti Kaneria & Emmie Staker: “What if you don’t have boots,” let alone bootstraps? An ELL Teacher’s Use of Narrative to Achieve and Generate Agency in the Face of Contextual Constraints

Chapter 5. Amber N. Warren: Language Teacher Agency and High-Stakes Teacher Evaluation: A Positioning Analysis

Chapter 6. Alison Stewart: Using Actor-Network Theory to Problematize Agency and Identity Formation of Filipino Teachers in Japan

Chapter 7. Michele Back: World Language Teachers Performing and Positioning Agency in Classroom Target Language Use

Chapter 8. Patricia Venegas-Weber: Bi/multilingual Teachers’ Professional Holistic Lives: Agency to Enact Inquiry-based and Equity-oriented Identities Across School Contexts

SECTION II: LANGUAGE TEACHER AGENCY IN ADULT ESL/EFL CONTEXTS

Chapter 9. Emily Edwards: English Language Teachers’ Agency and Identity Mediation through Action Research: A Vygotskian Sociocultural Analysis

Chapter 10. Wenjing Li & Peter De Costa: Problematizing English Language Teaching in China through a Local Chinese English Teacher Agency Lens

Chapter 11. Patricia Mayes: Teacher Authority and the Collaborative Construction of Agency in Second Language Writing Instruction

Chapter 12. Karin Zotzmann: Language Teacher Agency: A Critical Realist Perspective

Chapter 13. Xia Chao: Volunteer Teacher Agency in a Church-based ESL Program: An Ethnography

Chapter 14. Priti Sandhu: English Language Instructors, Medium of Education, and Professional Agency: An Indian Perspective

Afterword. Anne Feryok

Index

This edited volume is a welcome addition to the growing literature on teacher identity with a specific emphasis on teacher agency. The contributors focus on the complexities of teacher agency in a wide range of K-12 and adult education contexts, employing high-level theorizing and innovative research methodologies. This volume is a must-read for anyone interested in understanding how teachers can and do make a difference.