ABSTRACT
In a professional field such as teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL), identity is an intriguing and complex phenomenon, especially for non-native English-speaker teachers (NNESTs) when they have to face more challenges than their native-speaker counterparts. Given a globalized world in which one live as professionals, especially in our specific roles as TESOL practitioners or as applied linguists in general terms, it is important for us to recognize the complexity of NNEST identity and examine identity from multiple perspectives. Sekimoto in particular, problematizes the theoretical assumption of communication-as-symbolic that delimits the way that identity is theorized. As NNESTs, Allan and Jane had to prove in front of their colleagues and students that they were competent professionals hired by the university to do the jobs they well deserved. NNESTs and native Singapore English speakers do not share the same view with regard to what is standard English in professional practice or social settings.
