Exploring American EFL teachers’ bicultural identity construction: theories vs. practices

Foreign language teachers’ recognition of their identity is essential to their professional development. Drawing on bicultural theories, this study investigated two American teachers who recounted their experiences of teaching English as a Foreign Language (EFL) at a university in China. This study leverages the Two-directional Extension Model as the theoretical framework for analysis. It employs interviews, reflective journals, and field observations to collect data to seek ways of improving foreign teachers’ bicultural communication competence by exploring how the two American EFL teachers construct their bicultural identity. One major finding highlights the EFL teachers’ bicultural identity construction as a dynamic and ongoing process upon which several have effects, affecting professional development in higher education in China.