System 101 (2021) 102592

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

System
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/system

Book review

Language Teacher Educator Identity, Gary Barkhuizen. Cambridge University Press (2021). 90, ISBN:
9781108874083

Intercultural communication is aided by the use of a common language. Being a language teacher, researcher and human being, I
always remain perplexed about my identity and role. Language teachers’ identity is an issue which is highlighted by Barkhuizen in his
book entitled "Language Teacher Educator Identity".
It is inspiring and interesting because it investigates language teachers’ identities, professional learning, and teaching, and the
writer’s approach is more practical, empirical, and he presents research-based solutions. Yazan & Lindahl (2020) provides insight into
teacher educators’ experiences in global TESOL settings. Varghese (2016) discusses the nature of a language teacher’s identity, future
possibilities in applied linguistics and bilingual education topics.
Gary Barkhuizen, in Language Teacher Educator Identity, continual professional development focuses on building the base of
knowledge in the teaching and learning of languages. This study describes the many sorts of language instructors and educators
working in a variety of professional and institutional settings. The book also examined the comments of a group of experienced English
teachers working in Colombia who are enrolled in a PhD program to carry on their professional growth. This book also serves as a
showcase for the work that language instructors and educators accomplish, notably in the areas of teaching, research, service, and
leadership (institutional & community). To understand the language teacher and educator identities that they negotiate and are
assigned to in their working environments. The author makes the point that instructors and educators should use research to better
serve the needs of students and learners, and proposes forty research questions as a guide for prospective future investigations.
At the beginning of the book, Barkhuizen asks some questions focusing on three domains: 1) learning to teach and professional
development, 2) pedagogical content of language teacher education (LTE), 3) teacher ’educators’ significant components to address
identity issues of experienced educators. In personal narratives of teachers and educators, he pointed out that it is very problematic to
differentiate educators due to different variables such as educational systems, socio-cultural practices and language policies in the
world. He describes fourteen different categories of language teachers and educators, ranging from academic leaders to English for
particular purposes instructors. He also distinguishes between intervention-based teacher training and continual professional devel-
opment, which focuses on building a knowledge basis. A single observational remark from an experienced teacher’s trainer may lead to
suitable adjustments in the teaching approach. Of course, many instructors ultimately find out many things independently, but good
teacher training may help speed up the process significantly.
The book’s primary focus is on research conducted by seven teacher educators enrolled in a PhD program at a Colombian uni-
versity. The purpose of the study was to examine how they developed their teacher and educator identities within the institutional
frameworks of the PhD program and, more broadly, throughout their professional experience in Colombia’s education system. In his
second personal tale, he depicts a tentative start to becoming a language instructor, emphasizing that the journey is unpredictable.
Colombian teacher educators are enrolled in an inter-institutional program with a concentration in English language teaching edu-
cation, and they are all experienced school and university instructors. Barkhuizen conducted two interviews with them, and the book
contains biographical information and notable quotes from the interviews. In the first interview, the teaching educators respond to a
direct question by reflecting on their identities as language teachers and briefly explaining their comments to highlight some aspects of
published definitions relating to their personal experiences.
Language Teacher Educator Identity is concerned with the identity of teachers, what they do, and how they feel about their roles as
teachers and educators. Former language teachers’ identities collide with their new, evolving identities, resulting in new pedagogical
approaches. It is crucial to keep the teacher identity alive because many starting teacher educators regard teacher educator profes-
sional credibility with pre-service teachers and mentor teachers in schools. Because teaching students is not the same as training
teachers, Barkhuizen points out that transitioning from being a language teacher to working as a teacher’s educator might produce
identity conflicts. The true identity of language educators appears due to conflict of interest among language teachers and the language
teaching institutions that arise building a teacher educator identity seriously. Identities that are negotiated and formed through social
interaction with others, as well as their primary interactional emphasis.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2021.102592
Received 20 July 2021; Accepted 21 July 2021
Available online 26 July 2021
0346-251X/© 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Book review System 101 (2021) 102592

Their connection largely focused on the teaching dimension, which’ is concerned with the experiences of language teachers and
educators. Teacher educators must offer chances for teachers to reflect on their own growth in the framework of teacher education and
materials to help them situate their teaching in their own working environments. Teachers and educators will undoubtedly face in-
ternal tensions because of their identities, linked to and originating from the four interconnected groups. The identity of a language
teacher and educator changes through time and in relation to its pedagogical dimensions. The author also presents some pedagogical
proposals for language teachers’ education. He believes that the context of teacher education and language instruction should be
considered and that teacher educators should make their objectives obvious. It’s also important to consider the requirements of the
instructors. Failure to do so may result in unsuccessful seminars that serve merely as a box-ticking exercise with no practical use.
Another important aspect is keeping connected with fresh information rather than depending on obsolete beliefs.
Self-inquiry, participation in seminars, and attending conferences are all examples of professional growth. For additional
continuous professional growth and identity development, the same approach applies to teachers and educators. He created a list of
important topics to help them examine their identities by concentrating on why they chose to pursue professional development in a
formal teacher’s education setting. He also discusses investment, which relates to the desire and dedication of language learners to
learn a language, and how an investment in learning is an asset to their identity. The reasons explain evolving identities as teachers and
educators and identity conflicts in their professional lives that lead to such a transition in professional growth.
After discussing the role of teachers, Barkhuizen shifts his focus towards language teachers’ identities in Colombia. He discusses
inefficient policies, a lack of support, adverse employment circumstances, and other challenges that MA applicants and graduates
encounter, which will come as no surprise to anybody in the education field, and then he returns to the interviews with the Colombian
teacher educators, this time, outlining their motivations for earning a PhD. It was refreshing to hear their candid responses, and many
instructors in similar situations would empathize with them. Knowing teachers and educators’ expectations of their commitment to
professional development and identities formed through emotional experience is essential. Although the experiences of a group of
English language teacher educators in Colombia are the subject of this section, the identities and intended advancements are relevant
to all language teacher educators.
The final section contains forty research questions about the identities of teachers and educators. The questions may be useful for
language teachers and educators for self-inquiry into their own professional experiences and growth. First, he focuses on beginning
language educators and suggests several critical topics for early career teacher educators to research further. He then discusses
conceptualizations of language teacher educator identity before posing concerns about teacher educators’ work in the areas of
teaching, research, and service. Finally, there are always conflicts and instability while becoming a teacher and an educator for the first
time, such as mentoring student teachers and presenting a series of professional development workshops for instructors. Different
themes are interpreted variously and thematically from various theoretical viewpoints as well as from varied contextual realities. He
attempted to demonstrate that the identities of language teacher educators build connections between the many kinds of language
teacher educators in the field for them to achieve their identities. It is commendable that the author does not shy away from
controversial themes such as opposing or challenging the present system and its methods, which merit more investigation and several
thought-provoking themes.
Language Teacher Educator Identity is a book that focuses on a topic that doesn’t get a lot of attention. Barkhuizen cites pertinent
studies as well as his research with Colombian teacher educators. What I particularly appreciate about the book is that it is interlaced
with the author’s personal tales about each topic, which is excellent for working on identity and promoting the Language Teacher’s
Educator Identity. Rather, this book would be useful for language teachers, educationists, researchers, and teacher educators who are
already familiar with educational policies, and contextual realities and want to expand their experience in this area.

References

Varghese, M. M. (2016). Language teacher educator identity and language teacher identity: Towards a social justice perspective. In Reflections on language teacher
identity research (pp. 51–56). Routledge.
Yazan, B., & Lindahl, K. (Eds.). (2020). Language teacher identity in TESOL: Teacher education and practice as identity work. Routledge.

Muhammad Younas is a researcher in the field of English language teaching. He has multidisciplinary background and research interests include higher education, CALL,
Second Language Teaching, and Pedagogy. He has published various SSCI & Scopus indexed papers in language education in multicultural perspective and technological
language learning. Muhammad Younas is currently working as Ph.D in School of Education, Soochow University (PRC).

Muhammad Younas, Uzma Noor*

School of Education, Soochow University, China

*
Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: younaskherani@stu.suda.edu.cn (M. Younas), Uzmakhan3545@gmail.com (U. Noor).

Muhammad Younas is a researcher in the field of English language teaching. He has multidisciplinary background and research interests include higher
education, CALL, Second Language Teaching, and Pedagogy. He has published various SSCI & Scopus indexed papers in language education in multicultural
perspective and technological language learning. Muhammad Younas is currently working as Ph.D in School of Education, Soochow University (PRC).