Competing roles: student teachers using asynchronous forums

This article examines the communication in asynchronous forums by student teachers enrolled in a university course in the teaching of English as a foreign language. In their postings, the writers perform two 'macro-roles': student and EFL teacher. Within the first macro-role the participants may adopt the role of a friend (social) or a person enrolled in an academic course (institutional). In the second the participants may position themselves as a professional or a trainee (novice). The study shows that the genres, discourse types, discourse structure and discourse strategies chosen may be seen as evidence of the constant negotiation of the writer's roles in the forums. These forums may thus be viewed as conflict zones when it comes to competing identities. The article looks at the relevance of these findings for teacher education.