Japanese high school teachers are extremely busy. They are covering a myriad of duties in exceedingly long shifts when compared to their colleagues from across the world. The tasks that teachers have to undergo on a daily basis could vary greatly every semester and so does their need for interaction with peers, superiors, society, parents and students. This puts them at the forefront of a wide array of ever changing learning contexts while perhaps also compromising their needs for personal and professional development. Nevertheless, the degree of sophistication and variety of learning settings available to teachers, quite often, mirrors their work commitment and obligations.     Teachers are also aware of additional threats hampering their performance and aims for empowering their students with holistic education. The aim of this research is to identify the strategies that teachers use for satisfying their own adult learning interests and professional development while highlighting the biggest impediments to their learning goals. This study pretends to be a snapshot of the current state of affairs of high school English teachers in Japan as well as a reflection of the resilience of other English teachers across Japan.    I have used a qualitative approach using theme analysis in the interpretation of semi-structured interviews.

This mixed methods study investigates how Japanese non-native English speaking teachers’ (NNESTs) efficacy and identity are developed and differentiated from those of native English speaking teachers (NESTs). To explore NNESTs’ efficacy, this study focuses on the contributing factors, such as student engagement, classroom management, instructional strategies, self-perceived English proficiency, their teaching and teacher education backgrounds, culture related to teaching, and so on. For the portion of teacher identity, this study analyzes four perspectives: their role identity, professional identity, teacher education and professional development, English proficiency. After the data were collected from Japanese NNESTs, they were compared and contrasted with their NESTs’ counterparts. The primary goal of this study is to identify the characteristics of Japanese NNESTs’ efficacy and identity and investigate how their individual, educational, cultural, and other social factors influence their efficacy and identity development. Forty six (46) Japanese NNESTs and one hundred and two (102) NESTs who were teaching in the junior high, high school, and college levels in Japan participated in a survey. Five Japanese NNESTs and six NESTs from the three types of grade levels were interviewed. Data analysis procedures comprised a statistical analysis of the survey data and a theme analysis of the interview data, and both data sets were integrated to discover the mixed method findings. There were several major findings from this research. First, there was a positive correlation between Japanese NNESTs’ efficacy, particularly efficacy for instructional strategies, and self-perceived English proficiency. Therefore, higher English proficiency can be a predictor of a higher level of overall teacher efficacy and efficacy for instructional strategies. Second, although Japanese NNESTs’ efficacy for student engagement was lower than efficacy for classroom management and instructional strategies, they demonstrated various strategies for increasing their students’ motivation. Third, their Japanese use in instruction influenced their teacher identity, and being a language model and a behavioral role model was reflected on their Japanese NNESTs’ identity. Finally, college NESTs showed significantly higher teacher efficacy compared to different groups. Both Japanese NNESTs and NESTs’ efficacy and identity were formed by their previous teaching experiences, various roles as teachers, perceptions of Japanese educational system, culture, and students. The conclusion includes suggestions and implications for administrators, teacher educators, and Japanese NNESTs.