“Born to be a teacher”: An interview of a Japanese EFL teacher

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  • 「教師は天職」：ある日本人英語教師のインタビュー

Abstract

Identity construction of English teachers has attracted researchers in the field of TESOL for the past 20 years (Richards, 2023). Many of these studies use interview as a data-collection method to collect stories among participants from diverse backgrounds. However, there are very few studies which analyze the process of how the identity construction occurs through the interactive process of the participants’ own accounts with an interviewer. Therefore, this study aims to contribute to this topic by analyzing interview data from an interactional perspective. This paper investigates how a teacher constructs identity as a Japanese EFL teacher through analyzing interview data using qualitative research methods. The study views interview as a social activity in its own right, and takes the perspective of “active interview” proposed by Holstein and Gubrium (2004). The active interview approach is based on the belief that “all interviews are interactional” (Holstein & Gubrium, 2004, p. 141), and the meaning is coconstructed and situated within a specific context. Thus, rather than viewing interviews as an information gathering method, this approach allows analysts to consider how versions of reality, knowledge, and meaning are co-constructed between the interviewer and interviewee on a moment-by-moment basis.

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