Novice Non-native English Language Teachers Navigating Agency

This novel, edited volume looks at a previously under-researched area of language teacher agency and identity by exploring the experience of novice pre- and in-service teachers for whom English is a second language and presents research gathered from Asia, Europe, South America, and the US to bring underrepresented voices to the fore. Divided into three sections together covering chapters on identity, agency, and professional competencies, this book presents qualitative data on the lived experiences of novice teachers and the challenges they face to their sense of agency, from personal histories and backgrounds, institutional demands, and sociocultural pressures. Chapters take a case study approach to provide research on how the transition from theory to in-classroom practice can be eased, and strategies for coping with socio-pedagogical challenges can be found. With contributions from renowned and emerging scholars, ultimately, this book supports a better understanding of how novice teachers can navigate their agencies in a variety of contexts. Engaging with the novel dimension of novice teachers' agency in order to expand the boundaries of research, this book will appeal to scholars, researchers, and postgraduate students in the fields of teachers and teacher education, initial teacher training, English language teaching and training, and applied linguistics more broadly.

Mostafa Nazari is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of English and Communication, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong. He obtained his PhD in Applied Linguistics in 2023 and has taught courses on communication in the workplace, multilingualism, etc.

Foreword Introduction: novice language teacher agency PART 1: Agency and identity 1. "I'm not sure if teaching is really me!" Critical events in the narrative construction of an early career English language teacher's personal and professional identities in Hong Kong 2. Novice language teachers' agency in developing a linguistically responsive teacher identity during an online placement 3. An ecological perspective into the interplay of teacher agency and identity for Novice English teachers 4. Novice "non-native" L2 teacher: identity and agency PART 2: Agency in professional development initiatives 5. Fostering agency in Novice language teachers through action research 6. Professional learning through public lessons: exploring novice English teachers' agency 7. Exploring the impact of mentoring on Novice Language Teachers' Agency: an Activity Theoretic Perspective 8. Novice English Language Teachers' Collaborative Reflection on their Agency: an Ecological Perspective on Teachers' Sense of Agency and Its Predictors PART 3: Agency as a contributor to professional performances 9. The discursive interplay between internal motives and external drives: exploring the developing agency of Chilean preservice English teachers 10. An activity theory inquiry into the interplay between novice language teachers' agency and autonomy 11. "One of the best lessons that I had": exploring a novice teacher's agency and integration of social justice principles and teaching practices through positioning analysis 12. Novice language teacher agency: some conceptual remarks Afterword: the roots, manifestations, and promises of language teacher agency