Language Teacher Identities of Teachers of Multiple Languages

The multilingual turn in language teaching research has brought about a new spotlight on teachers of multiple languages (TMLs), or language teachers who have taught more than one language. As research has shown that part of the multilingual experience is navigating multiple identities when using different languages, TMLs also navigate multiple identities when teaching different languages. This chapter will discuss the complex language teacher identities (LTIs) that are specific to the experience of teaching multiple languages. This chapter will be organized into three parts. First, the chapter will briefly introduce some of the contemporary sociopolitical contexts TMLs are navigating in their careers, namely global migration and mobility, linguistic entrepreneurship, and language education policies. How these macro-level factors impact TMLs’ LTIs will be discussed. The second part of the chapter will feature current research on TMLs’ LTIs, including 1) non-native and native speaking teacher identities, 2) racial and ethnic identities, and 3) second career professional identities. The last part of the chapter will discuss future directions in research on TMLs’ LTIs, including 1) methodologies for researching TML identities, 2) the role of TML identities in language teacher education programs, and 3) TMLs who teach less commonly taught languages.