The teacher identity construction among non-native English teachers: Mainland Chinese and non-Chinese pre-service teachers in Hong Kong

Teacher identity is the professional identity in which teachers acquire in the pursuit of the profession. For pre-service teachers, its construction is crucial as it is one of the many factors that determines a teacher to stay in the field. Research concerning teacher identity construction of pre-service teachers in Hong Kong has focused primarily on local teachers, i.e. teachers who are Hong Kong locals and could speak Cantonese. As a result of the lack of literature on the rise on the number of non-Chinese and Mainland Chinese pre-service English teachers who are pursuing English education, this research aims to investigate their teacher identity construction (TIC) in the context of their Field Experience (FE). The research conducted used a qualitative approach in which both pre and post-study interviews, and written logs were used to collect a narrative account of the participants’ teacher identity. Results show 2 categories of factors shaping their teacher identity: 1) factors relating to identifying with the profession and 2) factors relating to the teaching practice.