Teacher and Professional Development Junior/Senior High School Research-Oriented Short Presentation
Narrative Inquiry Into ALT Identity
Although there is an apparent need for scrutiny of the lived experiences of foreign assistant language teachers (ALTs) in their situated contexts, research addressing them has been insufficient. This study explored, via narrative interviews, the identities and their constructions of 25 ALTs in the JET Programme. The findings revealed that the gestalt of ALT identity comprises two primary categories: foreigner identity and dabbler identity, and their six incumbent sub-identities (e.g., sojourner and greenhorn).
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Takaaki Hiratsuka is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of International Studies at Ryukoku University in Kyoto, Japan, where he teaches a range of applied linguistics courses at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. He currently supervises master’s and PhD students in related fields of language teacher education and narrative inquiry. He received his PhD in language teaching and learning from the University of Auckland, New Zealand. His recent publication includes: Narrative inquiry into language teacher identity: ALTs in the JET program (2022, Routledge).