Snapshots of teacher identity in English as an additional language or dialect (EAL/D) education in Australia: Insights for pre-service educators
This article presents a series of practitioner-focused identity “snapshots” drawn from interviews with experienced teachers of English as an Additional Language or Dialect (EAL/D) working in Australian schools. It supports pre-service and early-career EAL/D educators in understanding the lived real...
Saved in:
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Castledown Publishers
2025-07-01
|
| Series: | Australian Journal of Applied Linguistics |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.castledown.com/journals/ajal/article/view/102764 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| Summary: | This article presents a series of practitioner-focused identity “snapshots” drawn from interviews with experienced teachers of English as an Additional Language or Dialect (EAL/D) working in Australian schools. It supports pre-service and early-career EAL/D educators in understanding the lived realities of Australian EAL/D teaching through thematically organised insights based on teachers’ personal narratives and reflections. Based on interviews exploring personal experiences, classroom practices, and sociopolitical contexts, five key identity themes were identified: (1) personal background shapes teaching identity, (2) teaching is deeply student-centred, (3) institutional and policy challenges impact classroom practice, (4) emotional labour is a significant part of the job, and (5) EAL/D teachers often become advocates. These snapshots offer accessible, authentic accounts of Australian EAL/D teaching, designed to support reflective practice and professional learning in teacher education programs. Accompanied by a practical identity reflection toolkit, they translate teacher narratives into structured, applied learning. Addressing a gap in Australian EAL/D research, the study centres teacher voice through thematically organised practitioner accounts purpose-built to scaffold identity work in teacher preparation.
|
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 2209-0959 |