Becoming an English language teacher: linguistic knowledge, anxieties and the shifting sense of identity
English language is a fast-growing and popular subject at A level, but the majority of qualified secondary teachers in the UK have subject expertise and backgrounds in literature. This paper reports on interviews with seven secondary English teachers who discuss the strategies they used when taking...
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| Format: | Article |
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Taylor & Francis
2015
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| Online Access: | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/31834/ |
| _version_ | 1848794281375956992 |
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| author | Giovanelli, Marcello |
| author_facet | Giovanelli, Marcello |
| author_sort | Giovanelli, Marcello |
| building | Nottingham Research Data Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | English language is a fast-growing and popular subject at A level, but the majority of qualified secondary teachers in the UK have subject expertise and backgrounds in literature. This paper reports on interviews with seven secondary English teachers who discuss the strategies they used when taking on the responsibility of A-level English language teaching for the first time. It highlights the shifting sense of identity that these teachers felt they went through, and as such, explores some emerging issues related to identity from a narrative/personal history perspective. The study reveals that despite feelings of anxiety and low self-confidence, teachers felt that the experience had been a positive one in terms of their own developing identity as an English teacher and had impacted on other aspects of their teaching. The paper raises questions about the value of language-based work for English teachers and has implications for UK initial and continuing teacher education in English. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T19:13:42Z |
| format | Article |
| id | nottingham-31834 |
| institution | University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T19:13:42Z |
| publishDate | 2015 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | nottingham-318342020-05-04T17:06:48Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/31834/ Becoming an English language teacher: linguistic knowledge, anxieties and the shifting sense of identity Giovanelli, Marcello English language is a fast-growing and popular subject at A level, but the majority of qualified secondary teachers in the UK have subject expertise and backgrounds in literature. This paper reports on interviews with seven secondary English teachers who discuss the strategies they used when taking on the responsibility of A-level English language teaching for the first time. It highlights the shifting sense of identity that these teachers felt they went through, and as such, explores some emerging issues related to identity from a narrative/personal history perspective. The study reveals that despite feelings of anxiety and low self-confidence, teachers felt that the experience had been a positive one in terms of their own developing identity as an English teacher and had impacted on other aspects of their teaching. The paper raises questions about the value of language-based work for English teachers and has implications for UK initial and continuing teacher education in English. Taylor & Francis 2015-04-15 Article PeerReviewed Giovanelli, Marcello (2015) Becoming an English language teacher: linguistic knowledge, anxieties and the shifting sense of identity. Language and Education, 29 (5). pp. 416-429. ISSN 1747-7581 linguistics A-level English language subject knowledge teacher identity teacher education http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09500782.2015.1031677 doi:10.1080/09500782.2015.1031677 doi:10.1080/09500782.2015.1031677 |
| spellingShingle | linguistics A-level English language subject knowledge teacher identity teacher education Giovanelli, Marcello Becoming an English language teacher: linguistic knowledge, anxieties and the shifting sense of identity |
| title | Becoming an English language teacher: linguistic knowledge, anxieties and the shifting sense of identity |
| title_full | Becoming an English language teacher: linguistic knowledge, anxieties and the shifting sense of identity |
| title_fullStr | Becoming an English language teacher: linguistic knowledge, anxieties and the shifting sense of identity |
| title_full_unstemmed | Becoming an English language teacher: linguistic knowledge, anxieties and the shifting sense of identity |
| title_short | Becoming an English language teacher: linguistic knowledge, anxieties and the shifting sense of identity |
| title_sort | becoming an english language teacher: linguistic knowledge, anxieties and the shifting sense of identity |
| topic | linguistics A-level English language subject knowledge teacher identity teacher education |
| url | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/31834/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/31834/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/31834/ |