Intersectionality and the Discursive Construction of English Teacher Identities in Japan

This book provides a welcome new perspective on the processes through which teacher identities are constructed. Lawrence‘s application of intersectionality to the study of language teacher identity contributes significantly to our understanding of the ways in which social, institutional, and interpersonal discourses can influence how we see ourselves, and how we are seen, as language teachers. * Robert J. Lowe, Ochanomizu University, Japan *
Combining intersectionality with linguistic ethnography and Membership Categorization Analysis as methodological tools, Lawrence offers a compelling analysis of how six teachers navigate the sociocultural landscapes of ELT in Japan. Data-rich, it is a critical resource for researchers, language teacher educators, and students interested in the discursive construction of identities in this context. * Gergana Vitanova, University of Central Florida, USA *
In this detailed and insightful exploration of English language teachers’ identity in Japan, Lawrence makes the powerful argument that, like race, gender and class, native speakerism deserves, in this context at least, to be one of the axes of identity. As well as the analyses, the teachers’ stories stayed with me long after I had finished the book, causing me to reflect on my own experiences of teaching and researching English in Japan and to ask what, if anything, had changed? * Fiona Copland, University of Warwick, UK *