Identity
has been referred to as ‘the outcome of processes by which people index their
similarity to and difference from others’ (Johnstone, 2008, p. 151), and language is advocated as a conducive medium to the projection of
identities (De Fina, 2006). It has been suggested that in language teacher
education (LTE) contexts narratives can be told for a number of reasons, for
example to solve issues or tensions, to explain motives and actions, and to
understand events more fully (Vásquez, 2009, p. 260), therefore within this
discipline we may examine how people shape and re-shape their identities via
their narratives (Georgakopoulou,
2006).
From a
Labovian perspective (Labov and Waletzky, 1967; Labov, 1997), this chapter
examines narratives found in discussions between student teachers and tutors on
an MA TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) programme through
two different modes of communication: online and face-to-face. Drawing on discourse
analysis techniques, our investigation begins with a codification of the
narratives found, followed by an investigation of the topics under discussion,
and, in turn, the narratives are scrutinised further to trace the nature of the
identities projected by the student teachers as they move from peripheral to
full and legitimate participation (see Lave and Wenger, 1991) in the
professional teaching community through the duration of their programme. Our
analysis highlights the importance of having both formal and informal
discussions to allow student teachers differing ways of making sense of
themselves as teachers in order to develop professionally.