The Professional Identity of SALL Practitioners

Abstract

This paper examines the professional identity of practitioners in the field of self-access language learning (SALL) at tertiary level institutions in Hong Kong. It uses research data and examples from the literature to illustrate membership of a SALL practitioners’ professional community which exhibits the characteristics of a “community of practice” (CoP) as defined by Lave and Wenger (1991). After outlining the three key elements (Wenger, 2006) and the seven main principles of a CoP (Wenger et al, 2003), we illustrate through interview data a clear example of membership and non-membership of the community and discuss an example of how teachers who are not initially members were inducted into a CoP by challenging their beliefs and values. Thirdly, we identify ways to bring teachers into a SALL practitioners’ CoP and review the key features which promote and strengthen such a community. Nurturing a strong SALL practitioner’s CoP and encouraging teachers’ membership of it contributes to the development of their professional identity.