Intersectionality and the Discursive Construction of English Teacher Identities in Japan

by Luke Lawrence

Overview

An impressive work, both methodologically and theoretically, which brings clear novelties to the flourishing field of language teacher identity research.

This book aims to disrupt the native-speaker/non-native-speaker binary through a study of the construction of English teacher identities in Japan. The book suggests that macro discourses in the Japanese context, as well as institutional processes, are powerful forces in perpetuating native-speakerist discourses and ascribing identity labels.

However, in self-identification and in interactions with students, the results are found to be more nuanced, with a complex picture of identity construction emerging that questions the binary nature of the “native speaker/non-native speaker” duality. This complexity rests on the intersectional nature of identity construction and highlights the importance of taking into account the intersectionality of a variety of identity markers when researching language teacher identity.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781800419483
Publisher:	Channel View Publications
Publication date:	04/14/2026
Series:	Psychology of Language Learning and Teaching , #33
Pages:	184
Product dimensions:	6.15(w) x 9.20(h) x 0.00(d)

About the Author

Luke Lawrence is an Associate Professor in the College of Commerce at Nihon Universityin Japan. He has written widely on identity, intersectionality and translanguaging in the ELT field and is the co-editor of two books: Duoethnography in English Language Teaching (2020, with R.J. Lowe) and Discourses of Identity in Japan (2023, with M. Mielick and R. Kubota).

Table of Contents

Foreword: Gary Barkhuizen

Chapter 1. Setting the Scene: What, Who, Where and Why

Chapter 2. Identity Theory and Language Teacher Identity

Chapter 3. Native-Speakerism and the Japanese Context

Chapter 4. Methodology

Chapter 5. Data Collection and Participants

Chapter 6. Case Study 1 - Steve

Chapter 7. Case Study 2 – Ed

Chapter 8. Case Study 3 - Marco

Chapter 9. Case Study 4 - Ai

Chapter 10. Case Study 5 - Mayumi

Chapter 11. Case Study 6 - Charles

Chapter 12. Discussion

Chapter 13. Conclusions, Implications and Limitations

Editorial Reviews

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

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