Recent studies reveal that language teacher identity makes the difference in classroom teaching and has increasingly become a valuable focus in the field of language teaching research. However, a review of the research literature shows that there have been limited studies about the professional identity formation and even fewer studies involving teachers of English as a foreign language (EFL) in the context of mainland China. English language teaching (ELT) has increasingly gained attention in mainland China, with the curriculum reforms, which promoted communicative language teaching (CLT) and later task-based approach (TBA), have been initiated since 1970s, yet the professional identities of English teachers acting as the key players of the curriculum reforms have not been given due attention. This is particularly true for those teachers in the Northwestern Hinterland areas with relatively limited resources and a challenging environment. In order to fill the diverse gaps, this study provides valuable information and knowledge not only for teacher professional identity research area but also for Chinese ELT, CLT and TBA reforms, By exploring three experienced secondary EFL teachers’ professional identity formation in Lanzhou city, in Gansu province, a whole heretofore unresearched area has been brought into view. With a case study approach, the study collected the teachers’ personal life experiences from their childhood to current teaching experiences. By building up a theoretical framework based on the features of professional identity formation proposed by Beijaard et al. (2004), the study has examined the teachers’ personal life experiences, school contexts and agency and achieved rich understandings about their professional identity formation. This study shows that the teachers’ biographies, particularly their fathers and pre-service teacher education acted as important components of and exerted an enduring influence on their professional identity formation of the three teachers. Findings highlight that teachers’ three levels of professional contexts had an important impact on their professional identity formation; among the three levels of contexts, the macro context of the College Entrance Examination and the meso context of school leaders were the most influential. The findings of this study extend the understanding of the complexity of teachers’ professional identity formation, and shed light on how to develop a more effective professional learning mode for pre-service teachers. This study also gives a voice to life history and offers the possibility of helping pre-service teachers to effectively understand the teaching profession in new ways in the teacher education programs. / published_or_final_version / Education / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Science in Information Technology in Education

Recent sociolinguistics research in the study of English has shifted from focusing only on Inner Circle English varieties in Kachru’s (1985) sense to include Outer and Expanding Circle varieties, the phenomenon of which is captured by the term ‘world Englishes’ (WE). This paradigm shift to include WE as acceptable norms has immediate impacts on English language teaching (ELT) as it is suggested that what students learn should approximate the reality of English use worldwide. Research in applied linguistics and language education has discussed the position of WE in ELT (e.g. Jenkins, 2009a), investigated teachers and learners’ perceptions about WE (e.g. Andrews, 2002; He & Li, 2009), and developed curricula that incorporate WE features (e.g. Jenkins, 2002). However, not many studies have looked into how contextual factors have impacted on English teachers’ perceptions about WE and their pedagogical practices. This thesis presents an in-depth, qualitative study that seeks answers to research questions regarding: (i) the relationship between the cognitions and pedagogical practices of WE of a group of Hong Kong English teachers; and (ii) contextual factors that may influence their reported cognitions and observed practices. Borg’s (2006) schematic conceptualisation of language teacher cognition is adopted as the theoretical and analytical framework, which postulates that language teacher cognition and practices are shaped by their schooling experience, professional coursework, contextual factors as well as their ongoing pedagogical practices. Guided by an embedded-case study approach, data were collected through semi-structured interviews, observations of lessons and activities, stimulated recall interviews and documentation analysis. This research takes a Hong Kong secondary school as a single case with five English teachers as embedded cases who participated as the main informants over a period of one school year. To obtain a more comprehensive understanding of the context, additional data were collected from other sources including school administrators, students, and education officials. An analysis of the data using Borg’s (2006) framework revealed that the informants’ cognitions of WE had been shaped by their experiences as learners, teachers and users of English. The informants’ perceptions were ‘ambivalent’: expressing an embracing view towards WE, but at the same time attaching only to British English in teaching due to local examination and curriculum requirements. The informants’ observed classroom practices also manifested such ambivalence: they were willing to teach a text containing WE features but continuously reminded students to avoid using WE in examinations. This ambivalence seemed to have rooted from their pedagogical focus only on meeting examination requirements and formal English use. Furthermore, this exclusive focus was shared not only among the English teachers, but also by their students, school administration of the case School and education officials, together forming the overarching context shaping the English teachers’ cognitions. The implications of this study are twofold. First, the informants’ exclusive preference for British English over WE for ELT seems to diverge from WE research suggestions to introduce non-Inner Circle varieties as acceptable norms. Second, their ambivalent view towards WE manifested a tension between maintaining English standards and exposing students to the sociolinguistic reality of English. The findings reveal the teacher informants’ predominant focus on teaching uses of English for examinations, which tend to focus on standard Englishes and formal genres. It is suggested that English teachers should go beyond an uncritical adherence to nation-based English varieties to develop a broader understanding of language variation that takes into account the users, uses and modes of communication (Mahboob, 2014). This study calls for (i) the inclusion of a wider range of language variation in the English curriculum; (ii) more attention to teacher education programmes in strengthening English teachers’ awareness of language variation; and (iii) raising awareness of education and assessment officials towards a broader conceptualisation of language variation. / published_or_final_version / Education / Doctoral / Doctor of Education

published_or_final_version / Public Administration / Master / Master of Public Administration

published_or_final_version / Applied English Studies / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / Education / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / Education / Master / Master of Science in Information Technology in Education

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Science in Information Technology in Education