79
issn-i 2631-2840 | issn-e 2631-2859
desarrollar la identidad del profesor de inglรฉs como lengua extranjera (efl):
el papel de los profesores de inglรฉs como lengua extranjera en el aula
๎๎๎๎๎๎๎๎๎๎ ๎๎๎๎๎๎๎ ๎๎ ๎ ๎๎๎๎๎๎๎ ๎๎๎๎๎๎๎๎ (๎๎๎) ๎๎๎๎๎๎๎โ๎ ๎๎๎๎๎๎๎๎:
๎๎๎ ๎๎๎๎ ๎๎ ๎๎๎ ๎๎๎๎๎๎๎๎ ๎๎ ๎๎๎ ๎๎๎๎๎๎๎๎๎
Raรบl Ramรญrez Basantes
Ponti๎cia Universidad Catรณlica del Ecuador (Ecuador)
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7974-3637
๎๎๎: 10.29166/kronos.v2i1.3124
๎๎๎๎๎๎๎๎ Experience, e๎ teach-
er, role, emotional labor, identity,
negotiation.
๎๎๎๎๎๎๎๎ ๎๎๎๎๎ Experiencia,
fatiga emocional, identidad, nego-
ciaciรณn, profesor de inglรฉs como
lengua extranjera, rol.
๎๎๎๎๎๎๎๎
Early teaching and student experiences act as cultural references for English as
a Foreign Language teachers. Tools and strategies are articulated in the form of
roles, which are constantly tested and negotiated within the classroom, modeling
the ๎๎๎ teacherโs identity. ๎e following is a case study on three ๎๎๎ teacherโs
identity development from the Ponti๎cia Universidad Catรณlica del Ecuador. ๎e
presence of roles related to ๎๎๎ teaching was identi๎ed through a semi-partic-
ipant observation and compiled in an observation grid. Observed tools and
strategies origin was deepened in the transcription of interviews based on life
stories, using a biographical methodology. ๎e use of Socializing / Empathizing
skills from the Acculturator role were present in codeswitch using an Ecuador-
ian pitch, aimed to deal with emotional transactions in the class successfully.
Previous working experiences allowed teachers to ๎nd strategies to incorporate
๎๎๎ teaching roles with low emotional labor. Role models from the family and
working context played a crucial role in the integration of emotional tools to
negotiate roles within the class with low emotional labor.
๎๎๎๎๎๎๎
Los profesores de inglรฉs como lengua extranjera usan sus experiencias como re-
ferencia para estructurar su identidad dentro del aula. Herramientas y estrategias
se articulan en forma de roles, que constantemente estรกn a prueban y se negocian
dentro del aula. El siguiente es un estudio de caso sobre el desarrollo de la iden-
tidad docente a tres profesores de inglรฉs de la Ponti๎cia Universidad Catรณlica del
Ecuador. A travรฉs de una observaciรณn semiparticipante, se identi๎cรณ la presencia
de roles, recopilados en una matriz de observaciรณn. El origen de las herramientas
y estrategias observadas se profundizรณ en la transcripciรณn de entrevistas basadas
en relatos de vida, utilizando una metodologรญa biogrรก๎ca. Se identi๎cรณ el uso de
las destrezas socializadoras/empatizadoras en el rol aculturador de los docentes de
inglรฉs, las cuales se presentan al cambiar de cรณdigo con una tonalidad ecuatoriana,
con el objetivo de reducir la fatiga emocional de los estudiantes. Las experiencias
laborales previas en donde los roles docentes eran continuamente negociados,
permitieron establecer estrategias para el uso e๎caz de herramientas, reducir la
fatiga emocional y construir una identidad docente. Los modelos a seguir en el
contexto familiar y laboral cumplieron un papel crucial para la incorporaciรณn de
herramientas emocionales para la negociaciรณn de roles en la clase.
๎ ๎๎๎๎๎ | ๎๎๎๎๎๎ ๎๎๎๎-๎๎๎๎๎ ๎๎๎๎ | vol. ๎๎ | n.ยฐ ๎
Recibido: 30 de marzo 2021
Aprobado: 30 de julio 2021
80
๎๎๎๎๎๎๎๎๎๎๎๎
๎is research was conceived from the search to un-
derstand the reasons for the teacherโs attrition. One of
the main factors in this problem was the high amount
of emotional labor in teachers when dealing with
emotional transactions in the classroom. Ecuadorian
hiring processes allow professionals with a third-lev-
el degree apply for an ๎๎๎ teacher position despite
not having previous pedagogical training (๎๎๎๎๎๎๎,
2017). ๎e lack of pedagogical training can limit the
role negotiation process in the classroom, increasing
emotional exhaustion and burnout. ๎e negative per-
ception of the result compared to the objective leads
the teacher to negotiate their active roles to structure
a new teacher identity. ๎e investigation identi๎es the
contextual elements involved the ๎๎๎ teaching identity
development, by describing the origin of strategies
and tools inside their negotiated ๎๎๎ teaching roles
which allow experienced teachers to handle emotional
transactions with a positive outcome that promote
positive emotions and reduce emotional labor along
with teacherโs attrition.
๎๎๎๎๎๎๎๎๎๎๎ ๎๎๎๎๎๎๎๎๎๎
General issues
Teachersโ capability of providing an appropriate answer
during an emotional episode in the class is essential
in the achievement of ๎๎๎ teaching goals. But when
schemas or cognitive resources are limited, the correct
behavior to apply becomes uncertain (Schutz, Cross,
Hong and Osbon, 2007). In the ๎๎, the high emotion-
al labor caused by the lack of tools and strategies to
deal with emotional transactions in the class is one
of the most in๎uential elements on the ๎๎๎ teacherโs
phenomena according to Barnet and Shields (2020).
English language pro๎ciency is merit enough to be
considered as an ๎๎๎ teacher in most of the public
and private institutions In Ecuador. ๎e Ecuadorian
Ministry of Education (2017) allows private institutions
to train professionals with a university degree, not
related to pedagogy, in an attempt to provide tools and
strategies to reach ๎๎๎ classroom objectives. Previous
research shows how early experiences act as a reference
to portrait in front of the class and deal with emotional
transactions, in the form of a cultural background
(Schutz and Mikyoung, 2014). ๎is identity is de๎ned
by the student, institutional and cultural expectation
that develop a process that de๎nes how to portrait in
front of the classroom as an ๎๎๎ teacher, process de-
scribed by Aghaei (2020) as the teacherโs professional
role identity-building process. Tools and strategies
obtained from training and their experience, gather
in ๎๎๎ roles that provide teachers with a framework
to make better decisions. ๎ese roles become part
of an ๎๎๎ teaching identity (Aghaei, Bavali and Be-
hjat, 2020). ๎๎๎ teachersโ identity in the Ecuadorian
working selection process is not a priority nowadays,
which increases emotional labor in Ecuadorian ๎๎๎
teachers and interrupts studentsโ learning process.
Ecuador is ranked 81st out of 100 countries, the last
in Latin America, with a score of 46,57 considered
ยซVery Lowยป by the Common European Framework
and is the last position in Latin America according
to the 9th edition of the ๎๎๎-๎๎ Pro๎ciency index (๎๎
Education First, 2020).
Historical overview
A high amount of EFL teaching positions were ๎lled
with professionals with a mastery of the language,
but with important voids in classroom management,
methodology, and emotional training which will later
be a factor in the increase of attrition in US learning
institutions (Barnett and Shields, 2020), as the result
of improper handling of the emotional nature in the
teaching process (Schutz, Cross, Hong and Osbon,
2007). Teachers bring their early class experiences as
personal and cultural backgrounds that act as a refer-
ence point to deal with emotional transactions (Schutz
and Mikyoung, 2014). ๎e tools and strategies from
early experiences and previous pedagogical training
are part of a teacherโs identity. Wenger (1998) labels
it as a consequence of the interaction with di๎erent
learning and teaching communities. Danielewicz,
cited by Zhang in 2017, described teacherโs identity
as an arrangement of beliefs, attitudes, and values
present in speci๎c cultural practices. Pouria Aghaei
de๎nes identity as a ยซdynamic and continuing process,
developing over time and in๎uenced by the teacherโs
characteristics and prior experiences on the one hand,
and professional contexts that are found relevant by
teacher educators on the otherยป (Aghaei, Bavali and
Behjat, 2020). A teacherโs identity is de๎ned as the
way teachersโ portraits in front of their students, the
institution, the community, and themselves (Schutz,
Cross, Hong and Osbon, 2007).
A speci๎c outcome is anticipated from the use of
strategies and tools in ๎๎๎ roles in the shape of goals.
Teachers will appraisal the congruence between goal
and outcome by analyzing their capability of handling
the situation, leading to a process of reinforcement or
negotiation of the ๎๎๎ teacherโs identity (Schutz and
Mikyoung, 2014). Early personal experiences, as well as
previous working practices, establish an image of ยซhow
a teacher should beยป on the institution, the student,
and the teacher itself. ๎๎๎ teacher training provides
them with cognitive resources and schemas to apply
in emotional transactions, strategies that later will
81
be tested in classrooms with di๎erent characteristics
(Farrell, 2010).
Socio-cultural norms, as well as institutional power,
establish an average structure to portrait in the deve-
lopment of the teachersโ careers (Aghaei, Bavali and
Behjat, 2020). Volkman, cited by Farrell in 2010, ties
professional self-image with the variety of roles tea-
chers believed are expected to play by an institution
and the culture, according to their experience in past
learning processes, described as ยซinstitutionally created
ready-made rolesยป (Farrell, 2010). ๎e e๎ectiveness of
the tools and strategies in these roles is limited. ๎e
clash of teacherโs goals with studentsโ expectations in
emotional transactions generates emotional episodes
that must be handled properly according to cultural
emotional display rules (Schutz and Mikyoung, 2014).
If there is a goal-outcome congruence a๎er the
appraisal, pleasant emotions will appear, con๎rming
the e๎ectiveness of the role and reinforcing teacher
identity. When teachers have no schemas or cognitive
resources to activate, they will be unsure of the appro-
priate behavior to apply, causing an incongruence be-
tween the goal and the outcome. Appearing unpleasant
emotions in๎uences belief change with new roles and
emotional display rules that will have to be negotia-
ted with the community and included in the roles in
the ๎๎๎ teacherโs identity (Farrell, 2010). Emotional
dissonance result of this dynamic increases the levels
of emotional exhaustion, burnout, and attrition, a
phenomenon described as emotional labor (Schutz
and Mikyoung, 2014).
Nias in 1996, cited by Schutz and Mikyoung (2007)
explained that teachers will invest themselves in emo-
tional transactions. Emotional skills from the teacherโs
background in๎uence how to deal with emotional
transactions in the classroom. When the roleโs strategies
allow the teacher to have a goal-outcome congruence,
they are incorporated in new negotiated identity roles
(Farrell, 2010). ๎e negotiation process in di๎erent
communities of practice will create the opportuni-
ty to incorporate new skills in the teacherโs identity
(Zhang, 2017).
Farrell speci๎es three main roles in the ๎๎๎ teaching
process: ๎e role of the teacher as a manager provides
strategies to control what happens in the classroom.
๎e teacher becomes an English learning seller by
telling jokes or using interaction dynamics. Teachers
can motivate students by keeping the student on the
task, delivering information, and providing positive
and negative feedback (Farrell, 2010). ๎e teacher is
a knowledge transmitter that motivates learners to go
beyond their potential capacities through innovative te-
chnics (Aghaei, Bavali and Behjat, 2020). ๎e teacher as
a professional is another ๎๎๎ role where the professional
becomes a collaborator that shares its experiences with
another teacher to continually search for knowledge
and become knowledgeable about teaching the subject
matter (Farrell, 2010). ๎e teacher becomes an infor-
mation exchanger that produces and o๎ers solutions
while constantly investigates new ways of improving
studentsโ learning, as well as an expert and a learner
about a subject matter of knowledge (Aghaei, Bavali
and Behjat, 2020). ๎ese two roles can be part of any
teacherโs identity, but ยซthe role identity of Teacher as
Acculturator is something that may make English lan-
guage professionals somewhat uniqueยป (Farrell, 2010,
p. 60). ๎e teacher as an Acculturator makes students
socialize with topics related to life with other countries
and cultures. When teachers integrate this role into
their identity, they will sometimes o๎er advice and
support to students as care providers (Farrell, 2010).
Teachers with this role will mediate between their
context and foreign socio-cultural settings while caring
about their studentโs life in or outside the classroom.
Teachers will develop empathy and provide emotional
support to students (Aghaei, Bavali and Behjat, 2020).
Depending on the goal established by the teacher,
some characteristics of these roles are going to be
predominant in the Teacherโs ๎๎๎ identity. ๎e achie-
vements will vary depending on the age of the student,
institutional goals, and the availability of communities
of practice in the studentโs daily context.
Major contributions to the research area
๎is investigation aims to provide a better unders-
tanding of ๎๎๎ teachersโ emotional environment. By
developing the professional role, experienced teachers
can provide a frame on how to deal with emotional
transactions in the classroom to new teachers, providing
them with new tools and strategies to apply in their
classroom negotiation processes and later be incorpo-
rated in their ๎๎๎ teaching identity. Institutions can
develop a new appreciation of ๎๎๎ teachersโ emotional
needs and focus their training on the development of
the roles with enough resources to invest in emotional
transactions. ๎is investigation can demonstrate the
in๎uence of ๎๎๎ teaching identity on the wellbeing
of teachers, students, and institutions in general, be-
coming meaningful in the decision-making process
of State Educational Organisms in Ecuador. An ๎๎๎
teaching identity with emotional skills that ease a role
negotiation process provide strategies to achieve low
emotional labor transactions in the classroom and
develop intrinsic motivation in studentsโ ๎๎๎ learning.
๎๎๎๎ญ๎๎๎ ๎๎๎๎๎๎๎๎๎
Most studies focused on ๎๎๎ teaching identity des-
cribe their elements, without describing the process
82
behind. ๎is research aims to identify the contextual
elements that in๎uence the role development process
while negotiating new ๎๎๎ teaching identities in the
classroom. Experienced teachers with a well-structu-
red ๎๎๎ teaching identity is able to create a learning
environment where new roles can be negotiated in
classroom emotional transactions with low emotional
labor. ๎e tools and strategies applied by the teachers
were classi๎ed on ๎๎๎ teaching roles so then, later can
be a reference to discuss about their origin.
๎๎๎๎๎๎๎๎๎๎๎
๎is research followed a deductive-inductive meth
-
odology. Deductive in the appliance of ๎๎๎ teacherโs
identity theories to identify similar characteristics in
the participants and their use in their daily context
and inductive when, describing the individual ๎๎๎
teacherโs identity-building process, shared elements
appear between participants.
๎e qualitative approach of this paper described ๎๎๎
teachersโ identity development phenomena perceived
by the elements involved in the process (Bernal, 2010).
๎๎๎ teacherโs development can be better studied when
it is observed in the environment in which it occurs.
๎e importance of the context allowed the researcher
scope the particular setting under study (Bogdan and
Biklen, 2007).
๎e investigation is descriptive, as it consists of the
characterization of the ๎๎๎ teacherโs identity structure
(Arias, 2012), selecting its fundamental characteristics,
and a detailed description of the tools and strategies
in their roles (Bernal, 2010). Qualitative research is
o๎en characterized by being descriptive, as they contain
quotations in the attempt to describe phenomena in a
narrative form (Bogdan and Biklen, 2007).
๎ree ๎๎๎ teachers with a masterโs degree in peda-
gogy from Ponti๎cia Universidad Catรณlica del Ecuador
with ten experience years in the ๎eld were chosen. ๎e
number of participants was due to the investigationโs
objective to deeply describe the ๎๎๎ teacherโs identi-
ty-building phenomena.
๎e observation process took place in the ๎rst ๎ve
days of classes on three online ๎๎๎ synchronic classes
of 3 hours each with A2 and B1 students between 17
to 35 years old. Audio and video from the classes were
recorded from the Zoom platform and transcribed.
Zoom platform was used in the case of the interview
because of the pandemic context.
A semi participant observation took place in the
๎rst 5 ๎๎๎ classes of A2 and B1 students between 17 to
35 years old. During this process, an observation grid
was used to identify tools and strategies incorporated
in each role, made of an adaptation of the role strategies
in ๎๎๎ teachersโ identities according to Farrell (2010)
and Aghaei (2020). Time and description of the ๎๎๎
role strategy used by the teacher in the class were doc-
umented. Roles were divided into manager, acculturator
and professional.
A semi-structured, biographical interview took place
to identify the origin of these strategies and the teach-
erโs role incorporation process a๎er the observation.
Open questions related to ๎ve analysis units, learner
experience, previous working experiences, teaching
experience, training, and con๎dence-building, were
adapted to identify the origin of the observed tools
and strategies used in class.
Two qualitative techniques were used to obtain a
fuller understanding of the studied phenomena. A
semi-participant observation that ยซconsisted in visualiz-
ing or capturing through sight, in a systematic way, any
fact, phenomenon or situation that occurred in nature
or society, based on research objectives Pre-establishedยป
(Arias, 2012). Likewise, in participant observation,
ยซthe researcher becomes part of the community or
environment where the study is carried outยป (Arias,
2012, p. 69). ๎e researcher ยซmust spend the longest
time in the situation being observed, to know directly
everything that in his opinion can constitute informa-
tion for the studyยป (Bernal, 2010, p. 258).
A life-story interview, de๎ned by Hernรกndez (2014)
as ยซa meeting to talk and exchange information between
the interviewer and the interviewee/s. In the interview,
through the questions and answers, communication
is achieved and the joint construction of meanings
regarding a topicยป (p. 403). ยซIt is a technique based
on a dialogue or conversation face to face between
the interviewer and the interviewee on a previously
determined topic, in such a way that the interviewer
can obtain the required informationยป (Arias, 2012).
Procedures
A semi-participant observation took place during the
๎rst ๎ve days of virtual synchronic classes and record-
ed with the teacherโs consent. An observation grid was
used to collect evidence of ๎๎๎ teaching roles presence
and frequency in the class. Life-story, Narrative inter
-
views with a biographical methodology were applied
to three experienced teachers. ๎e life-story will focus
on the experience of speci๎c events, which di๎ers with
the life-history methodology when making a complete
recount of the participantโs life. ๎e virtual platform Zoom
was used to carry out semi-structured interviews, which
were later recorded and transcribed. ๎e participants
were questioned about the e๎ectiveness of strategies
related to ๎๎๎ teaching roles in class and their origin.
๎e personal, working, and institutional in๎uence on
its development and use and the experiences where new
83
strategies had to be developed to overcome obstacles in
their ๎๎๎ teaching life.
Limitations
๎is studyโs qualitative methodology provides a deep
view about the process of an ๎๎๎ teaching identity
development that are hard to generalize in a bigger
context. A quantitative investigation about the fre
-
quency of speci๎c roles in a big scale community can
be useful to describe the kind of ๎๎๎ teaching identities
of the institution involved, as well as, a better perspec-
tive of Emotional labor before and a๎er negotiating
EFL teaching roles in the participants obtained with
a quantitative pre and post-test, can generate a new
perspective of emotional transactions in the Ecuadorian
classrooms. External factors in๎uence the development
of an ๎๎๎ teacherโs identity. Policies that take care of
teacherโs rights must be applied in institutions. If basic
needs are not covered, teachers will not be motivated
to invest in their ๎๎๎ teacherโs identity. An adequate
salary, working time, working environment and Law
bene๎ts are elements to considerate if repeating this
investigation in a di๎erent context.
๎๎๎๎๎๎๎ ๎๎๎ ๎๎๎๎ ๎๎๎๎๎
๎๎๎
An observation grid was used in the observation pro-
cess to identify the teachersโ most used roles in their
classes, as well as a description of the tools and strat-
egies incorporated in every role. All three ๎๎๎ roles
were present in class during the observation process,
but some were more frequently used by the teachers.
๎e main role used by teacher 1 was the Accultur-
ator ๎๎๎ teaching ole, because of the importance she
gave to social/empathizer role strategies in the class.
๎e frequent use of an Ecuadorian pitch while social-
izing and the teacherโs interest in studentsโ life outside
the class settled a comfortable class environment.
In the manager role, the teacher used codeswitch to
provide important information from the institution
and facilitate special needs studentsโ understanding.
Action researcher strategies from the professional role
were present as the teacher constantly investigated
new online resources to improve studentsโ learning.
In teacher 2, Acculturator ๎๎๎ teaching role was also
present above the other ๎๎๎ teaching roles. ๎e teacherโs
e๎ort in understanding studentโs emotional situations
during classes was fundamental in her teaching process.
Social/Empathizer role strategies were present in the
use of community language to reduce studentโs stress
in-class participation. ๎e teacher used manager role
strategies to encouraged studentโs participation by
asking studentโs opinions before changing the speaker.
Teacher 3 used the manager ๎๎๎ teaching role more
frequently, as it focused on the establishment of rules
and alliances with students. ๎e teacher linked stu-
dentโs goals with English learning, using conditional
language to show students the possibility of building
their knowledge by trying and learning from their
mistakes with the teacherโs support. Moral educator
strategies from the Acculturator role were used to
analyze the in๎uence of studentโs actions on future
rewards (see Table 1).
Table 1. ๎๎๎ teaching roles in class
๎๎๎ Teaching roles
Teacher/role Manager Acculturator Professional
Teacher 1 ยท Use of extra online resources
aside from the book.
ยท A social phase takes place at the
beginning of classes and can be re-
peated during the class period. An
Ecuadorian pitch will be used to
lower emotional labor in the class
and improve participation.
ยท Exchanges information, tools,
strategies, games and technology
use with colleagues and supe-
riors.
ยท ยซFriendly languageยป to pro-
vide instructions.
ยท Deep interest for studentโs wellbe-
ing by listening to their problems
and their opinion about activities
in the class.
ยท Resilient ways to solve emo-
tional episodes during the class-
room with low emotional labor.
ยท Code-switch for special needs
students
ยท ๎e teacher emphasize the im-
portance of providing moral sup-
port in moments of crisis.
ยท Continuous search for new
teaching processes and skills to
improve studentโs learning.
84
ยท Use of group games with the
grammar objective.
๎
ยท Uses daily life examples to
develop problem-solving
strategies in students.
ยท Encourages participation
calling by their names.
ยท Vast subject matter and
teaching knowledge.
ยท Skillful in the use of many
online tools at the same time.
๎
ยท Using of the phrase: ยซIt is
betterยป before providing feed-
back. When a student doesnโt
know an answer, the teacher
replies with the phrase ยซItโs
Ok, donโt worryยป before pro-
viding the answer.
๎
ยท Use of Spanish for important
institutional information.
๎
ยท Use of contextualized ex-
amples to improve studentโs
understanding.
๎
Teacher 2
ยท Use of extra online resources
aside from the book.
ยท A social phase takes place at
the beginning of classes and
can be repeated during the
class period, this topics are
further related with grammar
topics
ยท Exchanges information,
tools, strategies, games and
technology use with col-
leagues and superiors.
ยท Community language is used
to encourage participation.
ยท Own feelings and thoughts
about teacherโs abroad experi-
ences are used as examples of
foreign cultureโs adaptation.
ยท Resilient ways to solve emo-
tional episodes during the
classroom with low emotional
labor.
ยท ๎e teacher uses group
games with the grammar ob-
jective.
ยท Deep interest for studentโs
wellbeing by listening to their
problem and opinions about
activities in the class.
ยท Continuous search for new
teaching processes and skills
to improve studentโs learning
from neurosciences and psy-
chology.
ยท Encourages the participation
by calling their name individ-
ually, changing the speaker
with questions like: ยซWhat
do you think?ยป and ยซWhat
about?ยป
ยท Social and emotional skills
are being part of the class
activities. ๎e teacher pro-
vides examples and anecdotes
showing the importance and
the appliance of social and
emotional skills in di๎erent
contexts.
ยท Uses daily life examples to
develop problem-solving
strategies in students.
ยท ๎e teacher takes notes while
listening studentsโ perfor-
mance to provide feedback.
ยท ๎e teacher emphasize the
importance of providing
moral support in moments of
crisis.
ยท Vast subject matter and
teaching knowledge.
ยท Use of the word ยซrememberยป
before delivering institutional
information, citing the source
with the phrase: ยซAccording
toโฆยป.
๎
๎
85
๎๎๎๎๎
๎๎๎
A life story, semi-structured interview was applied to
identify the origin of the tools and strategies observed
in class. Teachersโ interview transcriptions were coded
into ๎ve analysis units. ๎eir experience as learners
became a fundamental part in their cultural back-
ground, building their expectation about the students.
Sharing the pleasant emotions they felt as they were
learning a second language are part of their teaching
objectives. Tools and strategies used from ๎๎๎ teachers
in๎uenced their teaching style in the future. Previous
working experiences allowed teachers to challenge old
believes and expectations, gathering in the process
new tools and strategies that later could be used on
emotional transactions and role negotiation processes
in the classroom. ๎eir experience as ๎๎๎ teachers
provided them a place to test new roles and strate-
gies in di๎erent communities of practice, allowing
them to a๎ance negotiated roles in their ๎๎๎ teaching
identity. Resources that came from training allowed
to reduce emotional labor in the class and achieve
classroom objectives, increasing teacherโs con๎dence
in their role negotiation processes. Emotional skills
were fundamental in the role negotiation processes,
reducing emotional labor in the class and increasing
the success on emotional transactions.
Experience as a learner
Teacher 1:
โ Enjoyed technology since she was a child.
โ
Had a Psychologist father that used friendly lan-
guage with an Ecuadorian pitch.
โ
Learned English at the same institution currently
working.
ยท When a student doesnโt know
an answer, the teacher replies
with the phrase ยซDonโt worryยป
before providing the answer.
๎
๎
ยท Use of contextualized examples
to improve studentโs understand-
ing.
๎
๎
Teacher 3 ยท Use of extra online resources
aside from the book.
ยท An alliance is stablished with
the student to achieve English
learning goals.
ยท Exchanges information, tools
and strategies with colleagues.
๎e teacher collects studentโs
personal goals and link them to
English learning.
ยท Deep interest for studentโs
learning process by listening to
their problems and opinions in
the class.
ยท Resilient ways to solve emo-
tional episodes during the
classroom with low emotional
labor.
ยท Use of the phrase: ยซDonโt worry,
now itโs the time to make mis-
takesยป before providing feedback
to allow students to feel con๎-
dent about their participation.
ยท ๎e teacher emphasize the
importance of providing moral
support in moments of crisis.
ยท Continuous search for new
teaching processes and skills to
improve studentโs learning.
ยท Grammar points are repeated
and the student is asked to try
again. ๎e teacher focus on rea-
soning while providing an an-
swer and analyzing mistakes.
๎
ยท Uses daily life examples to
develop problem-solving strat-
egies in students.
ยท ๎e teacher uses group games
with the grammar objective.
๎
ยท Vast subject matter and teach-
ing knowledge.
ยท Skillful in the use of many on-
line tools at the same time.
๎
๎
ยท Use of contextualized examples
to improve studentโs understand-
ing.
๎
๎
86
Teacher 2:
โ Had a strict experience as a student.
โ
An abroad ๎exible learning experience as a teenager
encouraged the use of questions and developed
critical thinking.
Teacher 3:
โ Enjoyed ๎๎๎ learning experience.
โ
Had a passion for languages that increased with
the time.
Previous working experiences
Teacher 1:
โ Worked with young kids
โ
Used friendly language to communicate with kids.
โ Learned tools to work with kids
โ
Interested on the studentsโ wellbeing outside the
class.
Teacher 2:
โ
๎e teacher felt more comfortable in new working
contexts while acquiring new teaching strategies.
โ Searched for new ways to improve teaching.
โ Learned about a๎ective ๎lter
Teacher 3:
โ
๎e teacher had to deal with high emotional labor
transactions in the class.
โ Used conditional language.
โ Established alliances with students
Teaching experience
Teacher 1:
โ Learned new online tools with students.
โ Shared strategies with the teaching community.
โ Learned to adapt the material to the class needs.
Teacher 2:
โ
๎e appliance of new teaching strategies from train-
ing improved studentโs learning process.
โ
Applied ยซNeeds analysisยป as English for speci๎c
purpose techniques.
โ Applied teaching strategies from Neuroscience.
Teacher 3:
โ
Acquired emotional skills to develop low emotional
labor transactions.
โ
Established new strategies for students to link stu-
dentsโ personal goals with English learning.
โ
Used conditional language with students to identify
their e๎ort rewards.
โ
๎e teacher shared its passion for languages with
students.
Training
Teacher 1:
โ
Strategies and tools gathered from previous working
training provided better strategies to negotiate roles
with di๎erent learning communities.
Teacher 2:
โ
Training improved teaching resources and increased
teacherโs con๎dence in the class.
โ
๎e teacher assumed a continuous training pro-
cess to improve her understanding of studentsโ
emotional needs.
Teacher 3:
โ
Language training was always present as a personal
goal.
โ
Training provided emotional strategies to lower
emotional labor during classroom transactions.
Emotional skills
Teacher 1:
โ
Moral support, tools and strategies provided by
the teacherโs boss increased its con๎dence while
dealing with new teaching contexts.
Teacher 2:
โ
๎e knowledge about the a๎ective ๎lter in the class
provided tools to handle problems in the class with
low emotional labor.
Teacher 3:
โ
Teacherโs interaction with students provided emo-
tional tools to handle problematic situations in
the class.
๎๎๎๎๎๎๎๎๎๎
๎e observation grid provided evidence of Farrellโs
๎๎๎ teaching roles being present in the participants.
87
Teachers had a predominant role that matches with
their expectations about the students, the institution,
and the learning process in general, which guided their
teaching process and established their classroom goals.
๎e professional role in the participants allowed them
to actively gather resources from their environment
as they interacted with di๎erent communities of prac-
tice, as said by Zhang in 2017. ๎e professional role
provided teachers with options to increase their tool
and strategy stock through the interaction with other
sources in di๎erent communities of practice. Manager
role allowed to link studentsโ goals with classroom
objectives, developing an alliance between the teacher
and the student. ๎e acculturation role allowed teach-
ers to bond classroom topics to studentsโ emotional
context, improving the classroom environment and
lowering emotional labor during classroom emotional
transactions.
๎e information gathered from interviews con-
๎rms what is said by Nias in 1996, cited by Schutz
and Mikyoung (2007), teachers invested themselves
while dealing with emotional transactions. Interviewed
teachers described their interest in sharing the pleasant
emotions they felt while learning a new language. ๎e
success in classroom emotional transactions increased
progressively through participantsโ working experience.
๎e lack of schemas or cognitive resources to activate
in the ๎rst emotional transactions, had developed a
feeling of uncertainty in the early teaching days of
the participants as said by Schutz in 2007. Emotional
skills like con๎dence and resilience were necessary for
the role negotiation process to take place in that time.
Some of these skills were part of the participants back-
ground, but others appeared as the result of training,
interdisciplinary assistance, and institutional support.
Aghaei and Schultz, establish that a professional
role identity is built from early personal and working
experiences that provide a reference of how to portrait
in front of the students and the community in general.
Participants felt in๎uenced by role models, like parents,
teachers, colleagues, and superiors in their role identity
construction. ๎e strategies used by these references
were adapted to new learning communities during role
negotiation processes as in the case of teacher number
one, whose psychologist father used familiar language
to communicate with his patients. ๎e teacher adopted
this strategy and adapted it to studentsโ needs as part
of the classroom role negotiation process, gathering
into the cognitive resources and schemas from the ๎๎๎
teacher identity, as said by Farrell in 2010.
Emotional display rules described by Schutz in
2014, were negotiated while dealing with emotional
episodes in the classroom, consequence of the clash
of both, students and teachersโ expectations. Previous
job experiences in learning communities with di๎erent
characteristics, along with the in๎uence of personal,
labor references and training, allowed teachers to
gather tools to develop individual negotiation strat-
egies with a positive outcome in the vast majority of
emotional transactions in the classroom. ๎e use of
friendly language, linking studentโs goals with class-
room objectives, and providing a safe place to make
mistakes while trying became negotiation strategies in
the participantsโ ๎๎๎ teaching identities. Participants
explained that negotiation strategies during emotional
episodes in the classroom shaped an alliance with the
students that promoted the reach of ๎๎๎ learning goals.
๎e appraisal of congruence between goal and outcome
a๎er an emotional episode with low emotional labor
in the class reinforced the elements in the teachersโ
๎๎๎ identity as posted by Farrell in 2010.
Conclusion
People obtain tools from their environment and is
through interaction that is used to reach an objective,
becoming a strategy. When a strategy is successful, it
is used again to obtain the same goal, which will end
up becoming a role from a personโs identity. When the
environment changes, roles must adapt to it. A nego-
tiation process with new tools and strategies will take
place to allow new roles to appear and be successful in
the gathering of new objectives. Teachersโ ๎๎๎ learning
experiences became a cultural background that act as
a reference point to deal with emotional transactions
in the class (Schutz, 2014), and in๎uence the kind of
tools and strategies incorporated in their ๎๎๎ teaching
identity roles.
Farrell (2010) describes how ๎๎๎ learning experi-
ences establish an image of the way teachers should
be, including a behavior expectation. New teachers
use this as a reference on how to portrait in front of
their students, the institution, the community, and
themselves (Schutz. et al, 2007). Teacherโs cultural
backgrounds along with ๎๎๎ training tools become
part of their ๎rst ๎๎๎ teaching experiences. ๎e clash
of the teacherโs beliefs and students expectations led
to high emotional labor transactions in the class. As
being a new environment, old strategies needed to
pass through a negotiation process to ๎t into this new
context.
Emotional skills are fundamental for teachers to
handle emotional labor and start this identity recon-
struction process. Some elements, like resilience, can
be part of the teacherโs emotional background, but
others come from the interaction of the individual
with its context, in the case of the emotional support
provided by family, superiors, and colleagues. Both,
internal and external emotional elements are necessary
88
for a low emotional labor ๎๎๎ identity negotiation
process to take place.
๎e teacherโs cultural background structured by its
experiences as learners, previous working experiences
and their ๎๎๎ teaching experience and training in๎u-
ence the kind of tools and strategies gathered in the
roles. ๎e congruence of the outcome with the goal
a๎er the use of a negotiated role in the class generates
pleasant emotions that increase the teacherโs con๎dence,
incorporating these tools and strategies into their ๎๎๎
Teacherโs Identity roles.
Recommendations
Establishments must provide resources for teachers
to structure an ๎๎๎ teaching identity according to
institutional expectations. Tools, strategies, and new
methodologies can be part of teachersโ training. ๎e
incorporation of these elements in an ๎๎๎ teacherโs
identity will depend on the negotiation of old strategies
into new ones, a process that will be highly in๎uenced
by institutional and peer support.
Generate the opportunity for teachers to apply new
methodological strategies in groups with di๎erent
characteristics. Emotional transactions resulting from
teachers and studentsโ expectations will develop an
opportunity to challenge ine๎cient elements in the
teacher roles and negotiate the incorporation of new
elements into the ๎๎๎ teacherโs identity. Emotional labor
during this process can produce feelings of uncertainty
at ๎rst, so that, institutions must identify signs and
symptoms related to high emotional labor and burnout,
establishing a safe place to interchange thoughts about
intrinsic and external causes. Encourage teachers to
identify con๎ictive elements during classroom emo-
tional transactions while providing methodological and
empirical resources will increase teachersโ con๎dence
in the use of new strategies in the class.
Sharing knowledge with colleagues is fundamental
to structure ๎๎๎ roles. An e๎ective strategy used in a
speci๎c situation related to the manager, professional
or acculturator role can become a frame for another
teacher. Expectations should be managed properly
to reduce emotional labor in the negotiation process.
Teachers must be aware of the cultural background
they are bringing to class. ๎is includes an opinion
of the subject, the student, and the institution. ๎is
perception comes along with an expectation that will
produce emotional labor when is not accurate. Emo-
tional skills that increase resilience and ๎exibility are
necessary for teachers to adjust old beliefs with the
studentsโ context. Institutions can create workshops
focused on strengthen these emotional skills and en-
courage pair collaboration.
Intrinsic and extrinsic teacherโs motivation in๎uence
the gathering of new resources and their incorporation
on ๎๎๎ teaching identity roles with low emotional la-
bor. It is recommended to deepen this phenomenon
in further studies.
References
Aghaei, P., Bavali, M. and Behjat, F. (2020). An In-depth
Qualitative Study of Teachersโ Role Identities: A Case
of Iranian ๎๎๎ Teachers. International Journal of In-
struction, 601-620.
Arias, F. G. (2012). El proyecto de investigaciรณn. Episteme.
Barnett, B. and Shields, P. M. (2020). Solving the teacher
shortage: Revisiting the lessons weโve learned. Phi Delta
Kappa International, 8-18.
Bernal, C. A. (2010). Metodologรญa de la investigaciรณn (3.
a
ediciรณn). Pearson educacion.
Bogdan, R. C. and Biklen, K. S. (2007). Qualitative research
for education. Pearson.
๎๎ Education First. (2020, 11 19). Ecuador queda en el puesto
#81 en el ranking de inglรฉs ๎๎ ๎๎๎. https://www.ef.com.
ec/blog/language/ecuador-queda-en-el-puesto-81-en-
el-ranking-de-ingles-ef-epi/
Farrell, S. T. (2010). Exploring the professional role identities
of experienced ๎๎๎ teachers through re๎ective practice.
Elsevier, 54-62.
๎๎๎๎๎๎๎. (2017). Polรญticas para contrataciรณn de personal
docente y administrativo en las instituciones educativas
foscomisionales y particulares del sistema educativo na-
cional. ๎๎๎๎๎๎๎.
Schutz, P. A. and Mikyoung, L. (2014). Teacher emotion,
emotional labor and teacher identity. English as a foreign
language teacher education: Current perspectives and
challenges, 169-186.
Schutz, P. A., Cross, D. I., Hong, J. Y. and Osbon, J. N. (2007).
Teacher identities, beliefs and goals related to emotions
in the classroom. Emotion in education, 223-241.
Zhang, Y. (2017). I Speak Chinese but I Am Teaching English:
Exploring the In๎uence of Nonnative Speakership in the
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Practice in Language Studies, 1236-1242
89
Annexes
Table 2. Observation grid
TEACHER ROLE
TEACHERโS
NAME
CLASS
DATE PERIOD LINK
MANAGER TIME
SITUATION
ACCULTURATOR TIME SITUATION PROFESSIONAL TIME SITUATION
VENDOR/INNO-
VATO R
A teacher who is ready to create
new learning techniques and
materiales. A seller of ยซlearningยป
of English; ยซsellingยป a particular
teaching method.
SOCIALIZER/ EMPA-
THYZER
ยซSocializesยป with students;
attends functions outside
class with students. A teacher
who can act as an intimate
friend and develop emphaty
with students.
COMMUNITY
BUILDER/ COL-
LABORATOR
A teacher who xchange the
latest information and tech-
nologies in the ๎elds with
colleagues.
ENTERTAINER/
ARTIST
A teacher that has the art of enter-
tainign,telling jokes and stories to
class, and creating new games.
SOCIAL WORKER/
CULTURAL MEDI-
ATOR
O๎ers advice and support to
students on matters related
to living in another country/
culture. A teacher who helps
leatners to know the foreign
language social and cultural
setting.
REFLECTIVE
PRACTITIONER
Teachers who are knowledge
producers and o๎er solutions
for emerging problems.
COMMUNICA-
TION CONTROL-
LER
Attempts to control classroom com-
munication and classroom interac-
tion dynamics (turn taking, etc.)
CAREPROVIDER/
COUNSELOR
Plays careprovider role for
students, cares about his-her
learnersโ daily life in and
outside the classroom. A
teacher that is always ready
to listen to learners and give
appropriate solution.
ACTION RE-
SEARCHER
A teacher who constatly inves-
tigate teaching process in order
to improve studentโs learning.
JUGGLER Multitasker in the classroom MORAL EDUCATOR A teacher who enhances
learnersโ social and emotion-
al skill development.
ENTERPRE-
NEUR
A teacher who involves in the
extended school life and try to
answer its challenges.
MOTIVATOR/
SCAFFOLDER
Motivates students to learn; keeps
students on task, helps learners go
beyond their potential capacities.
EXPERT/
KNOWLEGE-
ABLE
A teacher with a great subject
matter and teaching knowl-
edge.
PRESENTER /
KNOWLEDGE
TRANSMITTER
Delivers information, transfer the
knowledge from authorities to
learners.
LEARNER A teacher who is constrantly
learning new things about
teaching and self as a teacher.
ARBITRATOR O๎ers feedback (positive and
negative) in classroom
FACILITATOR A teacher who facilitate the whole
learning process for learners.
Inspired by Farrell (2010) and Aghaei (2020). Adapted and created by the author.
90
Semi-structured interview questions
๎๎๎ ๎๎๎๎๎๎๎๎ ๎๎๎๎๎-๎๎๎๎๎๎๎๎๎๎
โ Where did you ๎nd these resources or strategies?
โ
Did you hear someone that was using this strategy?
โ
When did you know that this strategy was e๎ective?
โ When was the ๎rst time you started applying this
strategy?
โ
How can you decide if something works or if some-
thing doesnโt work?
๎๎๎ ๎๎๎๎๎๎๎๎ ๎๎๎๎๎๎๎๎
โ How can you de๎ne yourself?
โ How can you de๎ne your ๎๎๎ teacherโs identity?
โ How can you de๎ne yourself?
โ
When did you know that this will work while teaching
English?
โ
How can you decide if something works or if some-
thing doesnโt work?
โ
Can you tell me the biggest di๎erence you can see,
from when you started teaching until now?
โ What is the biggest di๎erence in you?
I๎๎๎๎๎๎๎๎
โ
How did you feel when you met them, not as a
student, but as a colleague?
โ
How did you incorporate the strategies from your
partners into your own ๎๎๎ teacherโs identity?
โ
How do you think the material you use in๎uences
your teaching identity?
โ When did you decide to do things in your way?
