Finding One's Place: ESL Teachers' Experiences of Language and Identity in the School Spaces of Quebec

Abstract This study investigates how English as a Second Language (ESL) teachers navigate their professional and linguistic identities within Quebec's complex linguistic landscape. Drawing on critical approaches to conceptualizing space, we examine physical and metaphorical spaces in schools as sites of identity negotiation and community building. Data from surveys, interviews, and focus groups with pre‐service and in‐service ESL teachers reveal the significance of shared spaces for linguistic identity affirmation and professional collaboration. Findings also highlight challenges posed by sociopolitical contexts that marginalize language use. We argue that spatial boundaries restricting language use in schools regulate and limit language teachers' identity expression. This research contributes to understanding how spatial dynamics within schools reflect and influence the relationship between language, identity, and power in Quebec, demonstrating how spatial‐linguistic divisions systematically marginalize multilingual practices and reinforce monolingual ideologies rooted in Canada's colonial heritage. The study has implications for teacher education programs, school administrators, and policymakers in fostering more inclusive environments for ESL teachers in linguistically complex contexts.