Teachers’ technology-related self-images and roles: Exploring CALL teachers’ professional identity

Despite the surge of interest in language teachers’ professional identity (TPI) as an integral component of their professional growth (Barkhuizen, 2017; Clarke, 2018) and the increasing interest in the field of computer assisted language learning (CALL) (Nami et al., 2015), there is still a paucity of research on the professional identity of language teachers who integrate technology with language instruction (CALL teachers). To bridge this gap, the present study explored the components that construct CALL teachers’ professional identity (CALLTPI). The data were collected from a set of in-depth, semi-structured interviews investigating perceptions of 24 CALL informants (educators, experts, professors, and teachers) from different contexts and countries about CALL teachers’ roles in technology integration in English language teaching (ELT). Fifteen sub-components were inferred from the thematic analysis of the interview transcripts as compared against the available literature on CALL teacher education and language teachers’ professional identity. These sub-components corresponded to three major components, namely, CALL teachers’ individual identity, classroom-based identity, and agentive identity. The results can provide CALL teacher educators with implications for designing professional development programs with the aim of developing teachers’ professional identity and enhancing the effectiveness of technology integration in ELT.