Language Teacher Identity and Professional Development

Considering the complex linguistic and cultural arrangements of contemporary societies and education systems, this chapter argues that the discussion around language teacher identity and professional development needs to be situated in existing debates in the field of language education, specifically those regarding plurilingualism, inclusion and social justice, but also be articulated with enduring mainstream discourses on the teaching profession. After discussing such connections, the perspective of critical professionalism is adopted to approach language teacher identity and its intricacy with professional development, putting forward the notion of identity as a professional learning project. This paves the way to the presentation of snapshots of identity-related constructs emerging from this understanding. The chapter finalizes with tentative implications for research and teacher education.