Abstract
Although numerous research studies have explored the concept of learner autonomy, the synergy of autonomy, motivation and identity has received scarce attention in language learning literature. This article aims to shed some light on this issue by reporting the findings of a longitudinal four-year study which sought to investigate autonomous behaviors of two English language student teachers. The point of departure was the subjects’ future-oriented self-narratives, in which they imagined their professional careers as language teachers, followed by the author’s tracking of their autonomous behaviors through three research instruments (logging ‘autonomous events’, analyzing their narratives of tension and investigating interviews for the subjects’ I-statements, that is, their ‘autonomy’ language). The study seems to suggest that the anticipation of a person’s future, derived from motivational functions of possible selves and recognized already at the inception of studies, may influence the person’s future professional identity.
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Werbińska, D. (2017). Possible Selves and Student Teachers’ Autonomous Identity. In: Pawlak, M., Mystkowska-Wiertelak, A., Bielak, J. (eds) Autonomy in Second Language Learning: Managing the Resources. Second Language Learning and Teaching. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-07764-2_11
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