ABSTRACT
Chapter 1 provides the background and outline of the whole book. It begins with my own experiences and views on issues that triggered the current study. From the questions raised, this chapter points out perceived gaps, which lead to main features of the research that involve bilinguals’ investments, expectations, personal experiences and identity construction inside and outside class, and the connections among all these aspects. The chapter proceeds to introduce the central aim and objectives of the study, and it presents the rationale and importance of the study in contributing further knowledge on language teacher identity, in helping those who plan to further their studies, and in providing useful information to those who design and teach programmes of studies. The chapter also discusses critically Kachru’s (1985) different contexts of teaching and learning of English: the Inner Circle, the Outer Circle and the Expanding Circle. Additionally, it examines elusive terms that are related to the participants of the study, natives and non-natives, and other alternative terms, before choosing the most appropriate expression to describe the participants. The chapter concludes by giving the structure of the entire book and a synopsis of each chapter.
