Exploring the Transformative Impact of Language Teachers’ Autoethnographies in a Teacher Education Course

Benefits of teachers’ autoethnographies are well-documented in current research. This study adds to the research literature by directly analyzing how the insights gained through writing autoethnographic essays may impact second language (L2) teachers’ classrooms. To collect the data, the study incor...

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Main Authors: Ekaterina Arshavskaya, Nefi Reyes de la Paz
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Park University 2023-07-01
Series:InSight
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author Ekaterina Arshavskaya
Nefi Reyes de la Paz
author_facet Ekaterina Arshavskaya
Nefi Reyes de la Paz
author_sort Ekaterina Arshavskaya
collection DOAJ
description Benefits of teachers’ autoethnographies are well-documented in current research. This study adds to the research literature by directly analyzing how the insights gained through writing autoethnographic essays may impact second language (L2) teachers’ classrooms. To collect the data, the study incorporated autoethnographic essays into a graduate course for language teachers and asked the participating teachers to design lessons that reflected the insights they gained about themselves through this project. Adopting the transformative learning theory (Mezirow, 1978, 1997) that scaffolds teachers’ self-reflection, this paper explores the transformative potential of teachers’ autoethnographies through tracking qualitative changes in the teachers’ narratives and practice across one academic semester. The results show that as a learning tool, autoethnographies can facilitate teachers’ developing more empowering teaching identities and have a potential for enhancing their teaching practices. The paper adds empirical evidence and a new perspective in the investigation of teacher learning. It concludes with pedagogical and research implications for L2 teacher education.
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spelling doaj.art-9f1497c71d444e259e3f01dbd40b9d8f2023-07-21T18:26:58ZengPark UniversityInSight1933-48501933-48692023-07-0118264010.46504/18202302arExploring the Transformative Impact of Language Teachers’ Autoethnographies in a Teacher Education CourseEkaterina ArshavskayaNefi Reyes de la PazBenefits of teachers’ autoethnographies are well-documented in current research. This study adds to the research literature by directly analyzing how the insights gained through writing autoethnographic essays may impact second language (L2) teachers’ classrooms. To collect the data, the study incorporated autoethnographic essays into a graduate course for language teachers and asked the participating teachers to design lessons that reflected the insights they gained about themselves through this project. Adopting the transformative learning theory (Mezirow, 1978, 1997) that scaffolds teachers’ self-reflection, this paper explores the transformative potential of teachers’ autoethnographies through tracking qualitative changes in the teachers’ narratives and practice across one academic semester. The results show that as a learning tool, autoethnographies can facilitate teachers’ developing more empowering teaching identities and have a potential for enhancing their teaching practices. The paper adds empirical evidence and a new perspective in the investigation of teacher learning. It concludes with pedagogical and research implications for L2 teacher education.
spellingShingle Ekaterina Arshavskaya
Nefi Reyes de la Paz
Exploring the Transformative Impact of Language Teachers’ Autoethnographies in a Teacher Education Course
InSight
title Exploring the Transformative Impact of Language Teachers’ Autoethnographies in a Teacher Education Course
title_full Exploring the Transformative Impact of Language Teachers’ Autoethnographies in a Teacher Education Course
title_fullStr Exploring the Transformative Impact of Language Teachers’ Autoethnographies in a Teacher Education Course
title_full_unstemmed Exploring the Transformative Impact of Language Teachers’ Autoethnographies in a Teacher Education Course
title_short Exploring the Transformative Impact of Language Teachers’ Autoethnographies in a Teacher Education Course
title_sort exploring the transformative impact of language teachers autoethnographies in a teacher education course
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AT nefireyesdelapaz exploringthetransformativeimpactoflanguageteachersautoethnographiesinateachereducationcourse