VietTESOL International Convention 2026

Over the past two decades, there has been a renewed interest in applied linguistics regarding the nature of teacher identity and its influence on language teaching and learning. This paper investigated the core components of the professional identity of non-native English-speaking teachers (NNESTs) when working with native English-speaking teachers (NESTs) in a private middle school in Vietnam. From the sociocultural and post-structuralist lense, it also aims to examine factors influencing the above development, including a teaching English as an International Language (TEIL) course. Adopting narrative interviews with six NNESTs, the findings reveal four key components of their professional identity, which includes confidence, choice constraints, acceptance and collaboration. These components are heavily influenced by the participants’ emotion, their Vietnamese national identity and their workplace. The TEIL course also plays an important role in preparing the NNESTs for the discriminative realities, maintaining a professional confidence, and giving them a framework for reflective practice. These findings underscore the need to implement the TEIL course in other contexts to support NNESTs navigating native-speakerism in their workplace.