Teachers’ identity construction: A case study of Vietnamese teachers in communicative English classroom

Abstract

Notwithstanding the attempts of the Vietnamese government to change traditional teaching styles, from teacher-centredness to student-centredness, current educational studies in Vietnam indicate that the status quo remains mostly the same (Pham, 2018). Taking into account this slow transformation, educational researchers have gradually shifted their attention to Vietnamese teachers’ identities to address this situation. However, educational studies focusing on this emerging area that are situated within a qualitative paradigm are scarce. Many of these educational studies adopt less critical research instruments, such as questionnaires, classroom observations and interviews. This study seeks to fill this research space in Vietnam educational research by exploring Vietnamese teachers’ identities from a linguistic and discourse perspective. The two main focuses are (1) how the participants discursively mobilise their identities in the classroom discourse and (2) how the findings enrich Vietnamese teachers’ professional development in Vietnam. Situated within the social constructivism paradigm, the thesis explores and analyses Vietnamese teachers’ identity construction from a micro-level of communicative classroom interaction. Among many other discourse strategies, the study focuses on three main discursive strategies and processes that the teachers deploy to portray themselves, namely code switching, humour and negotiation of face. It is found that besides the traditional identities, there is a construction of a wide range of other, less expected teachers’ identities, such as being friend-like, playful, approachable, supportive, and empathic. It is therefore suggested that the participants’ identity construction is moving towards student-centredness. This study contributes to the current research of Vietnamese teachers’ identities at theoretical, methodological and practical levels. Theoretically, it highlights the importance of conceptualising Vietnamese teachers’ identities as dynamic and multifaceted in nature. Methodologically, it demonstrates how looking at teachers’ identity construction from a linguistic and micro-level of classroom interaction can reveal the complexity of such a construct, as well as the complexity of classroom life. And finally, it suggests, on a practical level, the engagement of various forms of empirical evidence of classroom interactions in teachers’ development courses to create more meaningful reflection opportunities for teachers in Vietnam