1. What’s your topic & how did you come up with this topic (what got you interested)?

My research focused on exploring and understanding teacher and their identity shaping and development. Particularly English teachers in foreign language contexts, in one of the Tomini Bay areas, in Gorontalo, Indonesia.

My personal interest derived from my personal observation and experience (personal story) in learning and teaching English in Gorontalo that led me to curiosity about why ELT in Indonesia in general and more particularly in Gorontalo seems to continue having struggled in achieving success for graduated high school students to successfully speak and write in English. While there have a significant number of studies in Indonesia have tried to dig more into what factors that might have contributed to this discouraging phenomenon, the research that focuses on teachers, for example, regarding their formation both as learners and as teachers that might influence their identity shaping and development are quite rare; as my study has attempted to do.

2. Why is your research important and what are the possible real-world applications?

I believe that to improve the quality of English of Indonesian students (especially students in the Tomini Bay area), an English teacher and their identity issues are crucial to be focused on. In fact, an EFL teacher’s approach and attitude in the EFL classroom (as part of their identity)can play a critical role in improving the quality of learning that leads to achieving success in the language for the EFL students. The study result was hoped to provide some new insights into why the ELT is not providing success for students.

3. What have been your most important scientific findings? or your most surprising findings?

There are several findings that can be highlighted in the following; First. There are two groups of teachers who emerge as important in the study; teachers who are categorized as empowered professional identity and teachers who were classified as minimally engaged identity teachers. Out of the twenty, almost two-thirds of teachers have been classified as minimally engaged identity teachers who are more likely to show less agency and empowerment in dealing with a range of challenges in their teaching context, whereas this is not the case for the empowered identity ones.

EFL teachers’ identities are not context-free. Their identities shaping and development are bound to social and contextual factors in their surroundings. As learners, when they entered their pre-service teacher education, their motivation was not genuinely derived from their own passion for English and its teaching, but interestingly due to their desires, or even their family desires to become a civil servant (a job that many people in their environment believe as a secure job for their future life).

4. If happened, what did you do when you had to adapt your research plans due to an unexpected event or occurrence?

In designing the interview questions, I prepared two language versions; English and Indonesian. But interestingly, to note that a significant number of the EFL high school teachers were chosen using Indonesian than English, which consequently resulting additional work for me to put the transcribe version along the process of data analysis and interpretation.

5. Is there anything else you would like to add that isn't covered by the questions above? Perhaps study recommendation? 

This study has recommended that it is pivotal for the government, policymakers, and schools to focus on EFL teachers and their quality of teaching, which can lead to significant success of ELT teaching in the context. The selection stage and process of becoming an English student-teacher should be taken seriously by the parties involved in this matter.