Affordances and constraints: using collaborative autoethnography as a methodology to examine language teacher agency

Language teacher agency (LTA) remains understudied in ESL, EFL, and bilingual contexts. Less is known about affordances and constraints of diverse methodologies that are used to explore this concept. This study, therefore, aims to examine how collaborative autoethnography as a methodology plays a role in LTA research. Specifically, three language teachers, through writing reflection journals and conducting group meetings, reflected upon and discussed the use of collaborative autoethnography to examine LTA. This study explores the following research question: What are the affordances and constraints of collaborative autoethnography as a research methodology to examine LTA? The findings demonstrate that collaborative autoethnography can be a productive tool to yield meaningful findings regarding LTA, as shown in the three emerging themes: (1) promoting intentional reflections on teaching and positioning, (2) promoting rigorous research process, and (3) posing potential methodological and ethical issues. Implications regarding research and professional development are also discussed.

Duke Scholars

Author Zhenjie Weng DKU Faculty