Speakers
Description
Teacher identity is increasingly understood not as a fixed trait but as a dynamic multiplicity of “I-positions.” Drawing on Dialogical Self Theory (DST) by Herman (1992), this comparative case study examines how three Vietnamese EFL teachers reconstruct professional identity as they negotiate the external voices of an MA TESOL program. Data from semi-structured interviews and program-related reflections were analyzed through narrative analysis to develop within-case accounts of identity positioning, and thematic analysis to identify cross-case patterns of theory uptake, constraint, and adaptation. Findings suggest that academic theory does not produce uniform adoption; instead, it prompts differentiated dialogical strategies as teachers navigate tensions between established practitioner voices and newly introduced academic voices. Participants managed these tensions through three mechanisms: (1) building a meta-position that re-authorizes intuitive practice through scientific legitimacy; (2) using theoretical concepts as promoter signs to retrospectively validate previously marginalized practices; and (3) counter-positioning to resist theories perceived as incompatible with local teaching realities. The study challenges linear knowledge transfer assumptions in teacher education and reframes resistance to theory as potentially agentic identity work aimed at protecting professional coherence and student well-being.
Keywords: Dialogical Self Theory (DST), professional identity, MA TESOL, Vietnamese EFL teachers
Biography
Pham Ngoc-Duy is currently a full-time lecturer in English education at the College of Foreign Economic Relations. He is also a full-time PhD student at Ho Chi Minh City Open University. His main research interests include teacher precarity, professional development, teacher identity, teacher agency, teacher training, and teaching pedagogy.
Pham Van Chien is a lecturer at Saigon University, Ho Chi Minh City, and a PhD candidate in TESOL at HCMC Open University. His research interests include technology integration in EFL classrooms, blended learning, and learner autonomy.
Kim Hong Tran is a full-time lecturer at HUTECH University, Vietnam. She is currently pursuing a PhD in TESOL at Ho Chi Minh City Open University. Her academic and professional interests focus on teaching methodology, teacher development, and the integration of technology in education.
Ms Ngo Nguyen Thien Duyen is a lecturer at Ho Chi Minh City University of Economics and Finance and a current PhD student at the Open University. She has published research in both local and international journals. Her scholarly interests centre on learner autonomy, teacher professional development, and assessment practice.
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