teymour rahmati

Language teacher emotion labor has recently gained traction as more educators recognize the importance of addressing institutional power dynamics. The present contribution is a review of poststructuralist-discursive research on language teacher emotion labor. The rationale behind a particular focus on poststructuralist-discursive perspective lies behind the recent proliferation of studies framed within this framework. Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines (Page et al., 2021), the content of 57 studies published from 2018 to November 2024 was analyzed for their themes, methods, and implications. The findings revealed that emotion labor experienced by language teachers in online and face-to-face instruction, the interplay of emotion labor, identity, and motivation, emotion labor caused by top-down assessment policies, and emotion labor due to institutional expectations in transnational and EMI/EAP/ESP contexts were among the most frequently investigated themes in the relevant body of literature. It was also observed that language teacher emotion labor has predominantly been examined through qualitative research paradigms, including case studies and (auto)ethnographies. Semi-structured interviews, document analysis, narrative frames, short stories reconstructed based on narrative data, vignettes, and visuals comprised the most prevailing data collection instruments deployed in this area of research. Furthermore, the implications of the existing literature mainly signified the need for institutional reform and raising language teachers’ awareness of the complexities of emotion labor through teacher education programs. The current review calls for more longitudinal, observational, cross-cultural, and mixed-methods explorations of language teacher emotion labor in the future.

Drawing on duoethnography, the teacher researchers in the present study interacted with the relevant literature, engaged in dialogs, and shared artifacts to examine their knowledge, beliefs, and practices regarding fairness and justice considerations in technology-enhanced language classroom assessment. Under the domain of knowledge, they conceptualized fairness and justice and identified their components. Within beliefs, the difference between high-stakes and low-stakes assessments, the significance of students’ perceptions, and the role of computer literacy in relation to fairness and justice in technologyenhanced classroom assessment were debated. To operationalize their knowledge and beliefs, the researchers inspected their assessment practices during and following COVID-19. They agreed that fairness was distinct from justice in that the former pertained to test internal characteristics and its administration procedures while the latter referred to test external consequences at a broader social level. They believed that fairness and justice were equally important in high-stakes and lowstakes assessments, and students’ perceptions were valuable sources of feedback regarding fair and just classroom assessments. Moreover, the teachers argued that computer literacy cannot yet be considered an aspect of language ability. Finally, it was revealed that although their practice regarding fairness and justice was affected by the pandemic, they learned valuable lessons (e.g., combining online and paper assessment modalities and giving oral exams) in this respect for the future. The findings imply that language teachers should theoretically adopt a clear conception of fairness and justice while being practically prepared for future developments (e.g., technological advances) and unexpected circumstances (e.g., a pandemic).

Reflective Practice in ELT is the first book in a series entitled Reflective Practice in Language Education. As both the author of this introductory volume and the editor of the series, Farrell conceptualizes reflective practice and provides an overall image of the themes which the following books in the series are meant to discuss in-depth. The book is organized into seven chapters.

The present study explored the development of language teacher immunity among Iranian in-service English as a Foreign/Second Language (EFL) teachers (N=15) working at public high schools. Drawing on semi-structured interview data, the study found that low self-confidence, students’ demotivation, low income, limited facilities, lack of enough time to teach English, parental expectations, and negative attitudes toward English were the main triggers of language teacher immunity among the participants. Reflecting on those disturbances, the participants employed certain coping strategies such as prior preparation, establishing a good rapport with learners, and exercising agency in providing required facilities and negotiating objectives with learners’ parents. The strategies adopted by the participants revealed that reflective practice should be an integrated undertaking involving reflection on personal, sociocultural, and educational factors rather than being limited to practice per se. The study introduced imposed maladaptive immunity as a transitional stage from exercising agency to setting into a state of complete indifference due to lack of support from macro-level educational policy makers. Finally, the study implied that language teacher education programs should raise EFL teachers’ awareness of the developmental stages of language teacher immunity as an integrated reflective practice.