Speaker
Description
Various studies have been conducted on researching identity within education, second language acquisition and psychology. For instance, the concept of identity in second language acquisition (SLA) needs to be developed in relation to social structures and interactions (Norton, 2013), while in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages), identity research is accepted to address issues in narrative inquiry (Cheng, 2016). However, not many researchers have focused on teacher identity, particularly the identity of the language teacher candidate (Aydar, 2015; Norton and Early, 2011). It has long been believed that teacher identity has an important effect on a teachers’ decision-making ability and on their classroom practice (Ilieva, 2010). In this paper, I will engage in a narrative inquiry in order to illuminate the life experience of how Catlya (pseuudonym) struggled with critical moments of change as an English teacher candidate and as an entrepreneur. The aim is to examine how her identity was related to her agency and the change in her study from English language education to business management.
