‘The confidence I have in the classroom just isn’t there’ : a narrative inquiry into English LX teachers’ emotions and identity in a professional learning community from an ecological perspective

This study explores the emotional experiences and identity construction of two English LX language teachers – late-exit learners who acquired English after their first language(s) became established. These two English LX language teachers participated in a short-term, outcome-oriented professional learning community (PLC) focused on quantitative research methods, working within predominantly Anglophone academic spaces where they occupied a linguistically and affectively vulnerable status. Drawing on an ecological perspective and employing a qualitative case study with data from semi-structured interviews and reflective journals, the study examines how emotions emerge, shift, and mediate teachers’ participation and identity work within the PLC. Findings reveal a non-linear emotional trajectory characterised by initial anxiety and ambivalence, followed by collective reassurance and emerging confidence and culminating in sustained tension coupled with cautious optimism. These emotions were found to be ecologically shaped through the interplay of cognitive demands, social interactions, and institutional constraints, and importantly, they functioned not merely as accompaniments to learning but as constitutive forces in identity negotiation and role adoption. Specifically, protective emotions facilitated cautious entry into novice researcher roles, while positive emotions enabled agentive engagement and tentative integration of teacher – researcher identities. This study underscores the importance of designing PLCs that intentionally attend to the emotional and identity dimensions of professional learning, particularly in contexts where language status intersects with new role demands, and demonstrates that emotional safety and identity work are not peripheral to but foundational for meaningful professional learning in linguistically diverse teacher communities.