The Cultural Identities of Foreign Language Teachers
Foreign language teachers are often migrants. They have traveled and lived in other countries either to learn or to teach a language. In 2005, Domna Stanton characterized language teaching as a cosmopolitan act-- “a complex encounter made in a sympathetic effort to see the world as [others] see it a...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
eScholarship Publishing, University of California
2011-04-01
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| Series: | L2 Journal |
| Online Access: | https://escholarship.org/uc/item/9dw9z83c#main |
| _version_ | 1818370243017310208 |
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| author | Friederike Fichtner Katie Chapman |
| author_facet | Friederike Fichtner Katie Chapman |
| author_sort | Friederike Fichtner |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Foreign language teachers are often migrants. They have traveled and lived in other countries either to learn or to teach a language. In 2005, Domna Stanton characterized language teaching as a cosmopolitan act-- “a complex encounter made in a sympathetic effort to see the world as [others] see it and, as a consequence, to denaturalize our own views” (629). Do foreign language teachers ‘denaturalize’ their views of their native culture through their encounters with the other culture? Could it be that “engagement with the Other necessarily mean[s] an abnegation of the inherited culture” (Mani, 2007, p.29)?
This study investigated not only in how far foreign language teachers affiliate with more than one culture but also how this cultural identity affects their classroom practice. To what extent do foreign language instructors claim multiple cultural identities? What advantages and disadvantages do foreign language instructors experience in the classroom in respect to their cultural identities? To what extent do foreign language instructors feel their cultural identity is relevant in the classroom? Results showed that foreign language instructors engage with their cultural affiliations intellectually, by embracing but not embodying “the other” culture. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-13T23:36:38Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-00019781f298449d8919475380ee6809 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1945-0222 1945-0222 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-13T23:36:38Z |
| publishDate | 2011-04-01 |
| publisher | eScholarship Publishing, University of California |
| record_format | Article |
| series | L2 Journal |
| spelling | doaj.art-00019781f298449d8919475380ee68092022-12-21T23:27:16ZengeScholarship Publishing, University of CaliforniaL2 Journal1945-02221945-02222011-04-0131116140The Cultural Identities of Foreign Language TeachersFriederike Fichtner0Katie Chapman1University of Wisconsin-MadisonUniversity of Wisconsin-MadisonForeign language teachers are often migrants. They have traveled and lived in other countries either to learn or to teach a language. In 2005, Domna Stanton characterized language teaching as a cosmopolitan act-- “a complex encounter made in a sympathetic effort to see the world as [others] see it and, as a consequence, to denaturalize our own views” (629). Do foreign language teachers ‘denaturalize’ their views of their native culture through their encounters with the other culture? Could it be that “engagement with the Other necessarily mean[s] an abnegation of the inherited culture” (Mani, 2007, p.29)? This study investigated not only in how far foreign language teachers affiliate with more than one culture but also how this cultural identity affects their classroom practice. To what extent do foreign language instructors claim multiple cultural identities? What advantages and disadvantages do foreign language instructors experience in the classroom in respect to their cultural identities? To what extent do foreign language instructors feel their cultural identity is relevant in the classroom? Results showed that foreign language instructors engage with their cultural affiliations intellectually, by embracing but not embodying “the other” culture.https://escholarship.org/uc/item/9dw9z83c#main |
| spellingShingle | Friederike Fichtner Katie Chapman The Cultural Identities of Foreign Language Teachers L2 Journal |
| title | The Cultural Identities of Foreign Language Teachers |
| title_full | The Cultural Identities of Foreign Language Teachers |
| title_fullStr | The Cultural Identities of Foreign Language Teachers |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Cultural Identities of Foreign Language Teachers |
| title_short | The Cultural Identities of Foreign Language Teachers |
| title_sort | cultural identities of foreign language teachers |
| url | https://escholarship.org/uc/item/9dw9z83c#main |
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