Mark Almond

Senior Lecturer
Department of English and Language Studies, Christ Church
University, UK
Email: mark.almond@canterbury.ac.uk Tel:
+44(0)1227 782308

An Investigation into the English Language Teacher’s Identity

Dear Friend and Colleague

I am sending you this questionnaire because I am carrying out

research into ‘teacher identity’ in ESOL, ESL, EFL, EAL, CLIL
(English), EAP etc. I am specifically interested in the way teachers
view themselves inside and outside the classroom and what any
differences might be. Some teachers believe that their personality
inside the classroom is just an extension of their personality outside
the classroom. What I would like to know is whether you feel you
are putting on an act the moment you step over the threshold of the
classroom. I hope completing this questionnaire isn’t too onerous
and that in fact it might make you reflect on areas of your classroom
teaching you may not have previously thought about.

I realise that the nature of some of my questions is personal so I

would like to assure you that if I report my findings in any public
domain, I will keep all data pertaining to individuals completely
anonymous. I also, of course, respect any wish on your part to
simply not answer particular questions.

As with all questionnaires of this type, the additional information

respondents provide is invaluable so please include as many details
as possible in the space provided and do feel free to add a
continuation sheet if necessary!

Thank you very much for taking the time to do this!

Details about you and your teaching

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Please note that I am only investigating practising English
language teachers whose students are from 16 years old to
adult

Type of institution you teach

at e.g private language
school, state secondary
school, university
Country in which you teach
Level of students you teach
most of the time
Your nationality
Nationality of most of your
students
Age of most of your
Students
Your first language

Your ethnic origin:  White British  Chinese

please tick ()  White Irish
 White Scottish
 Other White background
 Black or Black British,
Caribbean
 Black or Black British,
African
 Other Black background
 Asian
 Asian British, Indian
 Asian British, Pakistani
 Asian British, Bangladeshi
 Middle Eastern, British
 Middle Eastern
 Other Asian back-
ground
 Mixed white and black
Caribbean
 Mixed white and black
African
 Mixed white and Asian
 Other mixed back-
ground
 Other ethnic back-
ground (please state)
………………………………

Your gender
Your students’ gender  female
please tick ()  male
 mixed

Your sexual orientation:  heterosexual

please tick ()  bisexual
 gay
 transgender

Your age
Your religion (write Not
Applicable if you don’t have
one or would rather not
answer)
How long have you been an
English language teacher?

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The Questionnaire

Please note that for all of these questions, I am more interested in

your personality, behaviour, interaction and rapport with your
students rather than how you teach language (methodology).
Please be as honest as possible! Of course your answers remain
strictly confidential and anonymous.

1. Can you briefly describe how you think you are perceived by
your students in terms of the kind of teacher you are

Details

2. Are you happy or satisfied with this perception? Underline your

answer YES/NO/NOT SURE
Details

3. Are you the kind of teacher you would ideally like to be?
Underline your answer
YES/NO/NOT SURE

Details: is there anything about the kind of teacher you are that you would like to
change? Any other thoughts?

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4
4. To what extent do you agree with this statement?
“Teachers should keep relationships with their students
formal”
1 = completely agree 2 = mostly agree 3 = not sure
4 = completely disagree
Details

5. Is your personality different when you are in the classroom

compared with what it is like outside the classroom? In other
words, do you believe you have a separate ‘teacher self’?
Underline your answer
YES/NO/NOT SURE
Details

6. (If you are a non-native English speaker) Do you consciously

modify your personality and behaviour because you’re a non-
native English speaker? Underline your answer
YES/NO/NOT APPLICABLE
Details

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7. Do you ever consciously try not to be a teacher in the
classroom? In other words, do you have a fixed view of what a
teacher should be like and deliberately behave differently to
that view?
Underline your answer
YES/NO/NOT SURE
Details

8. Do you think your students are aware of your sexual

orientation? Underline your answer
YES/NO/NOT SURE
Details

9. If your answer is YES, does your sexual orientation affect the

relationship you have with your students and your teaching?
Underline your answer
YES/NO/NOT SURE
Details

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10. Is your religion different from the religion of most of your
students? Underline your answer
YES/NO/NOT SURE/NOT APPLICABLE
Details

11. If your answer is YES, does your religion affect the relationship
you have with your students and your teaching? Underline
your answer
YES/NO/NOT SURE/NOT APPLICABLE
Details

12. How much of any of your English language teacher training has
covered interpersonal skills and ‘teacher behaviour’ including
areas such as use of voice, space and movement?
Details

13. To what extent do you agree with this statement?

“I think it’s important that my students like me as a person”
1 = completely agree 2 = mostly agree 3 = not sure
4 = completely disagree

Details

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14. To what extent do you agree with this statement?
“The teacher is essentially an actor”
1 = completely agree 2 = mostly agree 3 = not sure
4 = completely disagree
Details e.g what similarities do they share?

15. To what extent do you agree with this statement?

“The classroom is an unnatural and contrived environment
that is not conducive to natural communication”
1 = completely agree 2 = mostly agree 3 = not sure
4 = completely disagree
Details e.g do you feel the need to transform the classroom into a more “natural” space
in order to encourage more natural interaction between everyone within it?

16. To what extent do you agree with this statement?

“The way a teacher dresses and looks constitutes part of
his/her identity”
1 = completely agree 2 = mostly agree 3 = not sure
4 = completely disagree
Details e.g What does the way you dress at work say about you? Please be specific

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17. To what extent do you agree with this statement?
“Technology, such as an increase in use of the internet in the
classroom,
is beginning to overshadow the importance of the teacher’s
rapport
with his/her students. In other words, it is getting in the way of
the
teacher trying to develop a suitable relationship with his/her
students”

1 = completely agree 2 = mostly agree 3 = not sure

4 = completely disagree

Details

Thank you very much!