Constructing Teacher's Identity: A Descriptive Study of Saudi English TAs Within Native-speakerism and Global Englishes Language Teaching.

Abstract

In the realm of English language teaching (ELT), teachers' professional identity is vital to the effectiveness of their teaching (Wang & Derakhshan, 2024). However, a possible threat to English teachers' professional identity development is native speakerism, which is the belief that native speakers are better teachers of a language compared to non-native speakers. A possible defense against this threat is Global Englishes Language Teaching (GELT), which is a view of ELT that emphasizes the diversity of varieties of English around the world and the potential value of teachers who are non-native speakers. However, the influence of GELT on teachers' professional identity construction has not been addressed yet. To help fill this gap, my research describes a qualitative investigation of the professional identity construction of Non-native English-speaking teachers (NNESTs) in a context where native-speakerism is evident and seeks to identify if the participants' approach reflects the notions of GELT. The participants were five Saudi English Teaching Assistants (SETAs) teaching at a university in Saudi Arabia. Semi-structured interviews with the participants uncovered nine themes that represent ways in which the participants constructed their professional identities. Of these nine themes, six appeared to be related to GELT. A key practical implication of the findings discussed enlarging individual-level practices of GELT notions as a first step towards a fully GELT-informed field of ELT. Other practical implications are also discussed.