Creating spaces for constructing practice and identity: innovations of teachers of English language to young learners in Vietnam

The discourse on construction of practice and identity in language teaching has been situated in transnational contexts. However, not all teachers are provided with access to transnational spaces for professional development. Drawing on the concept of multimembership' in multicommunities', this study explores how Vietnamese teachers of English language to young learners created spaces for developing practice and identity in their local contexts. Data were collected from narrative interviews conducted with four participants who were teaching English language in four different primary schools in Vietnam. Each participant, as the only English language teacher in each primary school, found that participation in the school community was inadequate for professional development. To develop their practice and identity, the participants, on their own initiative, crossed the school boundary to join other communities, including a separate group of primary English language teachers, English classes for adult learners, an imagined community between local and expatriate teachers and their own families. The findings of the study provide a window into language teachers' construction of practice and identity in Vietnam and other similar contexts.