Betwixt and Between: A Narrative Inquiry into EFL Pre-Service Teachers’ Identity Negotiation and Borrowed Agency in Vietnam
DOI:
10.70211/ltsm.3026-7196.696Published:
2026-07-23Downloads
Abstract
This qualitative narrative inquiry examined how three Vietnamese EFL pre-service teachers negotiated professional identity during an eight-week teaching practicum. Three final-year students were purposively selected from twelve eligible candidates to represent varied linguistic and educational backgrounds. Data comprised nine semi-structured interviews, twenty-four weekly narrative frames, and participant-selected artifacts, interpreted through Clandinin and Connelly’s three-dimensional narrative space. Chronological restorying followed by cross-case analysis revealed that the practicum operated as a liminal environment in which professional agency was provisional and mentor-dependent. Lan and Vy strategically complied with mentor expectations when communicative or technology-mediated pedagogies conflicted with exam-oriented routines and hierarchical evaluation. By contrast, Minh experienced the same structure as a protective scaffold that reduced anxiety about linguistic legitimacy and validated his grammar-focused identity. The findings refine the concept of borrowed agency by showing that constrained autonomy is not experienced uniformly; its meaning depends on trainees’ prior pedagogical orientation and linguistic confidence. In comparable EFL teacher-education contexts, structured mentor training, dialogic co-planning, and protected low-stakes experimentation may support identity development without making pedagogical conformity the primary route to practicum success.
Keywords:
Teacher Professional Identity Borrowed Agency Narrative Inquiry Teaching Practicum Pre-Service Teacher Education VietnamReferences
[1] J. C. Richards, “Second language teacher education today,” RELC Journal, vol. 39, pp. 158–177, 2008. https://doi.org/10.1177/0033688208092182
[2] M. T. Ngo and L. T. Tran, “Current English education in Vietnam: Policy, practices, and challenges,” in English Language Education for Graduate Employability in Vietnam, L. T. Tran, Ed. Singapore: Springer, 2024, pp. 49–69. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-4338-8_3
[3] B. P. Neupane, L. Gnawali, and H. R. Kafle, “Narratives and identities: A critical review of empirical studies from 2004 to 2022,” TEFLIN Journal, vol. 33, no. 2, pp. 330–348, 2022. https://doi.org/10.15639/teflinjournal.v33i2/330-348
[4] F. Haghighi Irani, A. Chalak, and H. Heidari Tabrizi, “Assessing pre-service teachers’ professional identity construction in a three-phase teacher education program in Iran,” Asian-Pacific Journal of Second and Foreign Language Education, vol. 5, Art. no. 19, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40862-020-00100-3
[5] M. A. Flores, “Feeling like a student but thinking like a teacher: A study of the development of professional identity in initial teacher education,” Journal of Education for Teaching, vol. 46, no. 2, pp. 145–158, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1080/02607476.2020.1724659
[6] T. T. Le, Y. H. Phuong, T. A. Nguyen, T. T. Pham, A. T. T. Huynh, and T. H. Nguyen, “Illuminating the English as a foreign language (EFL) teaching odyssey: Unveiling the professional identities of pre-service teachers,” F1000Research, vol. 12, Art. no. 1086, 2023. https://doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.139547.1
[7] H. H. Nguyen, “Exploring the multifaceted characteristics of pre-service EFL teachers during practicum: A complexity theory perspective in Vietnam,” Applied Research on English Language, vol. 13, no. 4, pp. 23–48, 2024. https://doi.org/10.22108/are.2024.141547.2296
[8] P. N. Hao and T. T. T. Tam, “‘Resilience fosters sustainability!’: Exploring Vietnamese pre-service EFL teachers’ emotional experiences in a school-based teaching practicum through resilience theory,” Educational Point, vol. 2, no. 1, Art. no. e118, 2025. https://doi.org/10.71176/edup/16299
[9] M. Li, F. Kuang, and W. Dan, “Exploring the characteristics of pre-service EFL teachers’ practicum experiences: A complexity theory-based case study in China,” Asian-Pacific Journal of Second and Foreign Language Education, vol. 8, Art. no. 13, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40862-023-00187-4
[10] J. Ye, W. Fan, and Y. Wang, “Decoding identity shifts in Chinese EFL pre-service teachers: Insights from the intersubjectivity FLT model,” Asian-Pacific Journal of Second and Foreign Language Education, vol. 10, Art. no. 11, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40862-024-00316-7
[11] L. Jiang, K. Yuan, and S. Yu, “Transitioning from pre-service to novice: A study on Macau EFL teachers’ identity change,” The Asia-Pacific Education Researcher, vol. 30, pp. 11–21, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40299-020-00510-4
[12] M. Heinz, “The practicum in initial teacher education—Enduring challenges, evolving practices and future research directions,” European Journal of Teacher Education, vol. 47, no. 5, pp. 865–875, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1080/02619768.2024.2428031
[13] H. Çelik and E. Zehir Topkaya, “Preservice English teachers’ preparedness to teach: Stakeholders’ perceptions in teaching practicum,” Journal of Teacher Education, vol. 75, no. 1, pp. 92–106, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1177/00224871231185369
[14] E. Nelson and J. Charteris, “Shifting power relations in innovative learning environments: Implications for initial teacher education and practicum,” Oxford Review of Education, vol. 51, no. 3, pp. 452–468, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1080/03054985.2024.2320369
[15] I. Moonthiya and M. Stevenson, “Identities of non-English-dominant teachers in transnational language teacher education: A systematic review,” Teaching and Teacher Education, vol. 149, Art. no. 104707, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2024.104707
[16] D. J. Clandinin and F. M. Connelly, Narrative Inquiry: Experience and Story in Qualitative Research. San Francisco, CA, USA: Jossey-Bass, 2000.
[17] G. Barkhuizen and S. Consoli, “Pushing the edge in narrative inquiry,” System, vol. 102, Art. no. 102656, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2021.102656
[18] G. Zhu and M. Chen, “Positioning preservice teachers’ reflections and I-positions in the context of teaching practicum: A dialogical-self theory approach,” Teaching and Teacher Education, vol. 117, Art. no. 103734, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2022.103734
[19] M. Ruohotie-Lyhty, “Struggling for a professional identity: Two newly qualified language teachers’ identity narratives during the first years at work,” Teaching and Teacher Education, vol. 30, pp. 120–129, 2013. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2012.11.002
[20] E. Wenger, Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning, and Identity. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 1998. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511803932
[21] F. Ershadi, M. Nazari, and M. S. Chegenie, “Native speakerism as a source of agency-related critical incidents: Implications for non-native English teachers’ professional identity construction,” System, vol. 120, Art. no. 103182, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2023.103182
[22] G. Hagenauer, J. Waber, and L. de Zordo, “‘She never actually let you walk into a trap’: Exploring relational turning point events in the mentor-mentee relationship in the practicum,” Professional Development in Education, vol. 49, no. 3, pp. 402–415, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1080/19415257.2021.1876155
[23] B. Dreer-Goethe, “The impact of mentor support and high-quality connections on student teachers’ psychological safety and engagement during practicum,” Frontiers in Education, vol. 10, Art. no. 1499749, 2025. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2025.1499749
[24] D. C. Lortie, Schoolteacher: A Sociological Study. Chicago, IL, USA: University of Chicago Press, 1975.
[25] J. Trent, “From learner to teacher: Practice, language, and identity in a teaching practicum,” Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, vol. 41, no. 4, pp. 426–440, 2013. https://doi.org/10.1080/1359866X.2013.838621
[26] A. Badia and A. Clarke, “The practicum-mentor identity in the teacher education context,” Teaching Education, vol. 33, no. 4, pp. 355–371, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1080/10476210.2021.1920910
[27] R. Yuan, “The dark side of mentoring on pre-service language teachers’ identity formation,” Teaching and Teacher Education, vol. 55, pp. 188–197, 2016. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2016.01.012
[28] L. H. Phan, Teaching English as an International Language: Identity, Resistance and Negotiation. Bristol, U.K.: Multilingual Matters, 2008.
[29] N. J. Ellis, D. Alonzo, and H. T. M. Nguyen, “Elements of a quality pre-service teacher mentor: A literature review,” Teaching and Teacher Education, vol. 92, Art. no. 103072, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2020.103072
[30] J. Pattison-Meek, “The unsung heroes of practicum mentorship: Moving toward a triad model inclusive of student voice to support student teachers’ professional learning,” Teaching and Teacher Education, vol. 143, Art. no. 104553, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2024.104553
[31] J. W. Creswell and C. N. Poth, Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design: Choosing Among Five Approaches, 4th ed. Thousand Oaks, CA, USA: SAGE, 2018.
[32] G. Barkhuizen, “Revisiting narrative frames: An instrument for investigating language teaching and learning,” System, vol. 47, pp. 12–27, 2014. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2014.09.014
[33] D. E. Polkinghorne, “Narrative configuration in qualitative analysis,” International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, vol. 8, no. 1, pp. 5–23, 1995. https://doi.org/10.1080/0951839950080103
[34] S. Consoli and S. Ganassin, Eds., Reflexivity in Applied Linguistics: Opportunities, Challenges, and Suggestions. London, U.K.: Routledge, 2023. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003149408
[35] American Psychological Association, Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct (2002, amended effective June 1, 2010, and January 1, 2017). Washington, DC, USA: American Psychological Association, 2017. [Online]. Available: https://www.apa.org/ethics/code/ethics-code-2017.pdf
Author Biographies
Hoai Thi Thu Nguyen, Hanoi University
Department of English
.png)
Hue Thi Trinh Tran, Hanoi University
Department of English
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Hoai Thi Thu Nguyen, Hue Thi Trinh Tran
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
