Teacher Reflection and Identity – Teaching a language from within an L2 cultural identity, or teaching from within L1 culture about L2

Abstract

Reflection is endorsed as a cognitive catalyst in teacher education (Richards, 1990). However, foreign language teacher educators know little about how reflection is utilized by student teachers in learning to teach foreign languages (Freeman & Johnson, 1998). This qualitative study used Gee's discourse analysis (2005) to examine how three foreign language student teachers used reflective journal writing to form meaningful connections between existing knowledge and events of student teaching practice. Results suggest that utilizing discourse analysis to examine the role of reflection in learning how to teach may give insights into development and function of a second language cultural identity. Keywords: reflection, journal writing, student teachers, discourse analysis, second language teaching, cultural identity.