Configuration of subjectivities of english language teachers as NNESTS in the frame of colombian language policies: a narrative study

Abstract

This paper describes the process carried out to report on the configuration of professional subjectivities by analyzing the narratives of four Colombian English language (EL) teachers as Non Native English Speaking Teachers (NNESTs), and their relation to language policies. Historically, language policies in Colombia have been designed not taking into account the needs, desires and experiences of the people involved in their application, especially teachers. (González, 2007; Guerrero, 2008, 2009, 2010; Mejia, 2012; Usma, 2009, among others). Consequently, it is my aspiration that the stories portrayed here might shed light on the policy making, and somehow, guide the people who have the responsibility to generate them. Considering my personal experiences, the literature produced in the field of subjectivities, NNESTs and Native English Speaking Teachers (NESTs) dichotomy, and subjectivities, I was able to identify that not much research work integrating those three fields has been made in Colombia, gap which this study intents to help to fill. This is a qualitative-narrative study in which I used focus groups, written narratives and narrative interviews as instruments to collect data from the participants who belong to different universities and schools in Colombia. Their stories were analyzed using the Short Story Analysis approach (SSA) and the results allowed me to identify a main category: Re-creating the self: an entangled, changeable and enduring process which shows how the subjectivities of the teachers are influenced by others, the processes of acceptance or rejection that these teachers go through when configuring them, and the role played by knowledge and reflection.