Polycentricity and agency in the construction of expatriate teacher identity and pedagogical practice

Greenfield, Anita K

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Description

Title

Polycentricity and agency in the construction of expatriate teacher identity and pedagogical practice

Author(s)

Greenfield, Anita K

Issue Date

2020-05-15

Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)

Bhatt, Rakesh M

Department of Study

Linguistics

Discipline

Teaching of English Sec Lang

Degree Granting Institution

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Degree Name

M.A.

Degree Level

Thesis

Keyword(s)

expatriate teacher, polycentricity, agency, identity

Abstract

Expatriate language teachers are often located at the nexus of two or more ideological systems with conflicting educational and linguistic values (Eusafzai, 2015; Scotland, 2014). These conflicts in values along with the more immediate pressure of working within a foreign education institution affect (i) how teachers construct their identities as educators and professionals (Bailey, 2015; Chestnut, 2016; Nielsen, 2014; Romanowski & Nasser, 2015) and (ii) their pedagogy (Scotland, 2014). In this study, using data from semi-structured interviews, focus groups, and university classroom observations and recordings, I examine: 1) the micro, meso, and macro level factors that influence the identities, classroom pedagogies, and classroom language practice of expatriate teachers in South Korea, and 2) how these teachers discursively navigate these conflicting forces in and across levels in the agentive construction of their language teacher identity and in their classroom language practices. Drawing from studies of the sociolinguistics of globalization (Blommaert, 2010), I combine the notion of polycentricity with the Douglas Fir Group’s (2016) framework for SLA to better understand teacher agency in the construction of teacher identity and in classroom language practices.

Graduation Semester

2020-05

Type of Resource

Thesis

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Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2020 Anita Greenfield

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