Abstract

This work explores real-life experiences around research. Thinking of the English as a foreign language (EFL) teacher as an inquirer of the academic reality, the study presents accounts of professional identity as narrated in the life histories of three EFL teachers-researchers in a private but non-profit institution in Bogota, Colombia. This study sheds light on different institutional practices that, grounded on a community of practice, reinforce research as an inquiry process and as an opportunity for professional and institutional development. Additionally, the study also addresses issues of investment when teachers engage in this practice. The work concludes by reflecting that teachers’ professional identities as researchers are composed of experiences that have an important effect on their teaching expertise. Thus, teachers tend to alter their identities based on the relationships they establish within the community and undergo changes when previous and current experiences are put together. It is suggested that teacher education should help teachers-to-be understand these dynamics.

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