ABSTRACT
The past couple of decades witnessed a growing interest in understanding, problematizing and reconceptualizing dominant approaches describing the English language, defining English language teaching professionals, and informing the broader field of English Language Teaching (ELT). Departing from this realization, the overarching purpose of this chapter is to showcase the intertwined discourses, ideologies and connections across these areas, and more specifically, to counter, destabilize and reconceptualize some of the perceived and ascribed knowledge, skills, behaviours and practices traditionally predicated upon ‘native’ and ‘non-native’ English-speaking professionals in ELT (‘NEST’/‘NNEST’). In this complex picture, English language teacher education (ELTE) has a substantial role and importance in promoting systemic pedagogical and professional responses for a refined understanding of teacher identity, ownership of language and instructional competencies. More specifically, it embodies a potential to create a broader, deeper and more inclusive understanding and appreciation of translinguistic/transcultural identity negotiations of ELT professionals beyond oversimplified, essentialized and idealized categories (‘NS’/‘NNS’ or ‘NEST’/‘NNEST’). Building upon this premise, the current chapter offers practical suggestions, solutions and directions to inform the future of ELTE and foster the alignment of these practices/programmes with the present-day sociolinguistic realities of the glocalized world.
