Abstract
This paper suggests a research framework for analyzing the empirical material collected from narrative-biographical interviews. This is followed by an analysis of real data obtained from an empirical biographical study in which the suggested research procedure has been put to the test. Through close examination of one retired Russian-language teacher, the study reveals how teachers can be affected by wider socio-political contextual challenges, and what they can do to maintain a sense of professional integrity. The study also points to the insights that can be obtained from studying biographies of retired language teachers.
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Notes
- 1.
The author would like to thank the interviewee for her agreement to talk about her ‘linguistic biography’.
- 2.
The arguments for the importance of investigating retired language teachers were presented by the author at the annual conference of the Modern Language Association of Poland in Wrocław, 9–11 September, 2013.
- 3.
The present study is part of a wider study conducted on four RFLTs of different modern languages. Detailed description of the research methodology was presented at the annual conference of Modern Language Association of Poland in Wroclaw, 9–11 September, 2013.
- 4.
The name of the participant was changed.
- 5.
This is a secondary school leaving exam whose results determine access to higher studies.
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Werbińska, D. (2016). Learning from Retired Language Teachers’ Biographies: A Research Proposal. In: Pawlak, M. (eds) Classroom-Oriented Research. Second Language Learning and Teaching. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-30373-4_4
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