Abstract

Set in the rapidly changing world of the contemporary United Arab Emirates and bringing together detailed linguistic analysis with cutting edge social theory, this book explores the development of the first cohort of students to complete a new Bachelor of Education in English language teaching, theorizing the students’ learning to teach in terms of the discursive construction of a teaching identity within an evolving community of practice. Both a study of the influence of issues such as gender and nationalism in language teacher education in the Middle East, as well as of the power of discourse and community in shaping identity, this book will be of relevance to anyone working in teacher education as well as to those with an interest in theorizations of discourse and identity.

At a time when identity studies in ELT might seem conceptually exhausted, along comes this highly original and insightful work. Matthew Clarke creates an impressive theoretical framework with which to understand the complex formation of a community of English language teachers in a society re-assessing its own collective values within and against a globalizing world.

Matthew Clarke's remarkable research in the United Arab Emirates provides a window on the intriguing relationship between language teacher identity, discourse, and community in diverse regions of the world. His insightful analysis, informed by a comprehensive review of literature, makes a timely contribution to a growing area of research. The book is clearly a 'must read' for scholars interested in contemporary debates on language and identity in applied linguistics and second language education.

Clarke’s argument and design stand out as different and distinctive. What makes them new is the degree to which he is able to expose what is often invisible in the processes of individual and social learning, and the resources that seem to shape these processes. The context of his work brings together a unique constellation of gender and professional identity with the learning and exercise of pedagogy and subject-matter, all within a newly transforming society.

Currently an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Education at the University of Hong Kong, Matthew Clarke led the development and implementation of the new Bachelor of Education at the Higher Colleges of Technology in the United Arab Emirates between 1999 and 2006. Prior to working in teacher education, he taught in primary schools and language centres in the UK and Australia. His research interests include discourse analysis, identity, social theory, cultural studies and philosophy as well as language and literacy education.