Language Teacher Recognition

Stewart’s book goes where previous language teacher identity books have not gone, focusing on an under-researched group, Filipino English teachers in Japan, while adopting an identity politics perspective which draws on the work of scholars such as Alex Honneth and Charles Taylor. Extremely well written, it is a must-read for anyone interested in language teacher identity.

* David Block, ICREA and Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Spain *
In this important book Alison Stewart makes a wonderful job of using Filipino teachers’ narratives to provide an insightful and nuanced critique of key ideas about language teacher identity. The reader is given a thought-provoking and highly readable account of the ways in which recognition theories can illuminate the phenomenon of identity in applied linguistics. * Siân Preece, UCL Institute of Education, UK *
Stewart’s use of recognition theories and the Filipino English Teachers in Japan association as the contextual backdrop reinvigorates the field of language teacher identity, thus depicting the career narratives of seven Filipino English teachers in Japan. Ultimately, Stewart’s work is an empowering and moral portrayal of those from a poor country teaching in a prosperous one, hence capturing the ideologies embedded in where privilege meets marginalization. * Gloria Park, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, USA *

This book provides readers with a new and critical perspective on migrant language teachers’ professional identity within a host context, making the case that recognition theory illuminates social and psychological aspects of their identity [...] I found this book to be a valuable contribution to the gradually growing body of research examining the identity of teachers from ESL countries practising in EFL countries.

-- Hohsung Choe, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, South Korea * ELT Journal, 2022 *

...this is an engaging book that will pique or further the reader’s interest in Filipino history and language teacher identity. It is an important publication that will go some way to filling the research gap on Filipino English teachers in Japan.

-- Carey Finn and Tamagawa Gakuen * GALE Journal 2022 Vol. 14 *

It’s not often that the word “unputdownable” is heard in relation to an academic book, but this book had me engrossed from the moment I picked it up [...] I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in giving some thought to what it means to be, and to feel oneself to be, a teacher. Identity politics is of course a highly contested area just now, arousing strong feelings among many. Stewart offers a refreshingly new way of thinking about identity, through her critique of poststructural explanations, and through the concept of recognition, “the precondition for ontological security and social justice”.

-- Michael Carroll, Momoyama Gakuin University, Japan * Learning Learning, 28 (1) *

Stewart is bold in adopting an “identity politics perspective” to explain the central theme of the book, language teacher recognition. Stewart suggests that recognition involves a very strong attachment to the background the Filipino teachers were born into, as well as other attributes such as language identity, gender and social class that are both inscribed and ascribed to them. She effectively presents the stories of the interviewees to argue that feelings of prejudice and pride are fundamental to identity.

-- Prumel Barbudo Yokohama City University, Japan and Stephanie Keith Lim, Miyazaki International College, Japan * Learning Learning, 28 (