UNDERSTANDING THE CO NNECTIONS BETWEEN SE COND...

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JournalofBelonging,Identity,Language,andDiversity(J-BILD)•Vol.1(1)Revuedelangage,d’identité,dediversitéetd’appartenance(R-LIDA)

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UNDERSTANDINGTHECONNECTIONSBETWEENSECONDLANGUAGETEACHERIDENTITY,EFFICACY,ANDATTRITION:ACRITICALREVIEWOFRECENTLITERATURE

PHILIPPAPARKS,McGillUniversity

ABSTRACT.Inthepastdecade,risingteacherattritionrateshavegarneredworldwideattention.Research into the phenomenon tells us that the problem ismost acute for novice teachers—those with less than five years’ experience—and for teachers in certain subjects, includingsecond language teachers. What is it about second language teachers that makes themparticularlypronetoleavingtheprofession?Muchresearchtodatehasfocusedonwhatwecando toprevent teachers from leavingonce theyare in the field. There is, however, adearthofresearchintowhatwecandotoaddresstheproblembeforeitstarts;inteachereducation.Thiscritical literature review looks at what links second language education research has madebetween second language (L2) teacher attrition and L2 teacher self-efficacy, and between L2teacherself-efficacyandL2teacheridentity,synthesizingtheseideastodiscoverhowtheymightinformsecondlanguageteachereducation.

RÉSUMÉ.Aucoursdeladernièredécennie,lahaussedutauxd'attritionchezlesenseignantsaattiré l'attention à travers le monde. La recherche sur le phénomène nous indique que leproblème est plus grave pour les enseignants novices—ceux qui ont moins de cinq ansd'expérience—et pour les enseignants de certaines matières, y compris les enseignants delangue seconde. Pourquoi les enseignants de langue seconde sont ils plus particulièrementenclinsàquitterlaprofession?Beaucoupderecherchesàcejoursesontconcentréessurcequipeutêtrefaitpourempêcherlesenseignantsàquitterl’enseignementunefoisqu'ilssontdansledomaine. Par ailleurs, il existe une pénurie de recherche sur ce que nous pouvons faire pouréviterleproblèmeavantqu'ilneseprésente,soitaumomentdelaformationdesenseignants.Cette revue critique de la littérature examine les liens établis par la recherche surl'enseignement de la langue seconde entre l'attrition, l’auto-efficacité (“self-efficacy”) etl'identité des enseignants de langue seconde (L2), en synthétisant ces idées pour découvrircommentellespourraientnousinformerdanslaformationdesenseignantsdelangueseconde.

Keywords: Second language, teacher identity, teacher education, teacher attrition, teacherefficacy.

INTRODUCTION

Thepastdecadehas seenan increased interest in thecrisisof teacherdrop-outs;both in themedia and in the field of Educational Research (e.g., Ashiedu & Scott-Ladd, 2012; Borman &Dowling, 2008; Ingersoll, 2003; Karsenti et al., 2013; Kutsyuruba et al., 2014). The problem ismostacutefornoviceteachers—thosewithfewerthanfiveyears’experience—andforteachersincertainsubjects,includingsecondlanguageteachers,wheretheattritionratesaresignificant(Clark&Antonelli,2009;Karsentietal.,2013;Kutsyurubaetal.,2014).Whatisitaboutsecondlanguage teachers that makes them particularly prone to leaving the profession? Second

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language (L2) education researchhasmade linksbetween L2 teacher attrition and L2 teacherself-efficacy (Swanson, 2012) and between L2 teacher self-efficacy and L2 teacher identity(Beauchamp&Thomas,2009;Velez-Rendon,2002;Wilbur,2007).ThisliteraturereviewaimstosynthesizetheseideastodiscoverhowtheyinformTeacherEducation,answeringthefollowingquestions:Whatdoestheliteraturetellusaboutthepossiblecausesofsecondlanguageteacherattrition? Whatarethepossible linksbetweensecond languageteacherattrition,efficacyandidentity?

SELECTINGTHERELATEDSTUDIESFORCRITICALREVIEW

This review’s scope, while not exhaustive, attempts to answer the question:Why are novicesecond languageteachersparticularlyproneto leavingtheprofession? Initial resultsusingtheterms “Second Language Teachers” and “Attrition” in academic search engines (e.g., GoogleScholar,JSTOR,ERIC…)yieldedseveralarticlesthatidentified“efficacy”asakeyconceptlinkedto attrition. “Teacher Efficacy” therefore became a new key term in my second round ofresearch, with articles selected that focused primarily on second language teacher efficacy.Severalofthesearticlesidentified“classroommanagement,”“pedagogicalcontentknowledge,”and “linguistic proficiency” as key sub-concepts in second language teacher efficacy (e.g.,Swanson,2010;2012,Wilbur,2007).The third roundof research focusedoneachof thesub-themesindividuallyandselectedarticlesthatcontainedthekeysub-term,forexample“linguisticproficiency,” and another of the main search terms, for example “second language teacherefficacy.”“TeacherIdentity”isanotherimportantconceptthatemerged.Severalarticles,suchasSteinbachandKazarloga’s (2014) research intohow linguisticproficiency is an integral partofsecond language teacher identity, revealedawealthof connectionsbetweensecond languageteacher identity and second language teacher efficacy. In the final round of research termsmatching “second language teacher identity” and those including or adjacent in meaning to“classroom management,” “pedagogical content knowledge,” and/or “linguistic proficiency”wereincluded.

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Figure1:SecondLanguageTeacherAttritionResearchtermsSource(s): Parks, 2017.

Intotal,12articleswereretainedwithstrongconnectionstothethreemainsearchtermslinkedbyoneormoreofthesub-termsasdescribedinFigure1.ThesearesummarizedinTable1.

Source Focus&Context ResearchMethods Keythemes&sub-themes

Tschannen-Moran,WoolfolkHoyandHoy(1998)

UnderstandingtheconstructofTeacherefficacyandhowtomeasureit.

Comparingcorrelatescollectedfromdifferenttoolsmeasuringefficacy(e.g.Rand,Gibson&Dembo,WebbEfficacyscale).

TeacherEfficacy(TE).

Velez-Rendon(2002)

OverviewofSLTEresearchfindings.

Criticalliteraturereview.

SecondLanguageTeacher(SLT)Education;Languageproficiency;Pedagogicalcontentknowledge.

Sfard&Prusak(2005)

Secondlanguageteacheridentityformation–identityasnarrative;17-year-oldnewlyarrivedimmigrantstudentsfromtheformerSovietUnioninIsrael.

NarrativeInquiry. Teacheridentity,narrative,identityasstory.

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Vargese,Morgan,Johnson&Johnson(2005)

Understandinglanguageteacheridentity;creatingadialogueacrossparadigms.

Juxtapositionofthreestudiesofidentitywithdiverseparadigms(socialidentitytheory,theoryofsituatedlearning,identityasimage-text).

SLTIdentity;NES(NativeEnglishSpeaker)vs.NNES(Non-NativeEnglishspeaker)identities;Linguisticcompetence.

Wilbur(2007) ExaminingthemethodologicaltrainingofSLTin32TeacherEducationinstitutionsintheUnitedStates.

Documentanalysisofcoursesyllabi;Cross-referencedwithquestionnaireaboutmethodologyinstructors’beliefs.

SLTeducation,bestpractices;Linguisticproficiency(L2TeacherFluency);SLTeacherIdentity;PedagogicalContentKnowledge.

Beauchamp&Thomas(2009)

OverviewofSLteacheridentityresearchfindings.

Criticalliteraturereview.

SLTidentityformation;Emotionandidentity;Narrativeanddiscourseaspectsofidentity;AddressingidentityinTeachereducation.

Swanson(2010) Linkbetweenperceivedefficacyandattrition;Foreignlanguage(Spanish)teachersGeorgia,UnitedStates.

SurveyofteachersusingFLTeacherEfficacyScale&Teachers’SenseofEfficacyScale.

SLTefficacy;SLTattrition;Linguisticproficiency;Pedagogicalcontentknowledge;Teachingtobeginners(teachingstrategies).

ThomasandBeauchamp(2011)

SLTprofessionalidentitydevelopment;UndergraduatesintheSLTeducationprograms–twoQuebecUniversities.

Qualitativestudy:semi-structuredinterviews–askingparticipantstodescribeidentitythroughmetaphor.

SLTProfessionalidentity;SLTeducation;Metaphors;Newteachers.

Swanson(2012) LinkbetweenperceivedefficacyandattritionSLTteachersUnitedStates&Canada.

SurveyofteachersusingFLTeacherEfficacyScale&Teachers’SenseofEfficacyScale.

SLTefficacy;SLTattrition;Contentknowledge(PCK);Facilitationofinstruction;Culturalinstruction;Classroommanagement.

Karsenti,Collin,Dumouchel(2013)

Teacherattritioncauses. Literaturereviewof69scientificpapers.

Noviceteacherattrition;Teachingtasks(lackoftime,preparation);Teacherpsychologicalcharacteristics;Socialenvironment(administration);Classroommanagementproblems.

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Steinbach&Kazarloga(2014)

Pre-serviceSLTattitudestowardnativespeakerproficiency;LinguisticandculturalidentitiesasfutureESLteachers;Fifty-fourfuturepre-serviceteachersinQuebec.

Onlinesurvey. SLTeducation;SLTprofessionalidentity;Linguisticidentity;Culturalidentity.

Table1:Articlesselectedforreview

Thiscriticalreviewaimstolookateachofthekeyconceptsofsecondlanguageteacherattrition,efficacy,and identity,andhowtheyare linkedby thesub-concepts“classroommanagement,”“pedagogicalcontentknowledge,”and/or“linguisticproficiency.”Itattemptstosynthesizetheseconceptsinordertodrawinsightsforsecondlanguageteachereducation.Thereviewwillstartby looking at the threemain concepts, “Teacher Attrition,” “Teacher Efficacy,” and “TeacherIdentity,”drawingconnectionsbetweenthethreeandwillthendelvemorecloselyintohowtheyareintegrallylinkedthroughthesub-conceptsoflinguisticproficiency,classroommanagement,andpedagogicalcontentknowledge(PCK).

TEACHERATTRITION

Teacher attrition, that is, teachers leaving the profession prematurely before retirement,became the subject ofmuch research focus in the early 2000s. Ingersoll (2003) describes theproblemasa“revolvingdoor—where largenumbersofqualifiedteachersdeparttheir jobsforreasonsother than retirement” (p.3).As Ingersoll andothers (e.g.,Borman&Dowling,2008)discovered,theproblemwasparticularlyacutefornoviceteachers;thatis,thosewithlessthanfiveyears’experience.Gettinganexactunderstandingof thenumbersof teachers leaving theprofession,andhowmuchitwascostingsocietyhowever,isproblematic.AsKarsenti,CollinandDumouchel(2013)noted,someestimationsgavea46%attritionratefornoviceteachersintheUnitedStates intheearly2000s,whileothersgavearangeof30%-50%forthesamegroup inthesameperiod. InCanada,similarestimatesrangefrom30%fornoviceteachersnation-widebut variedwidely province to province; for example, 15% in Quebec and 6-7% in Ontario (p.554).

What is generally agreed uponwas that the rate ismuch higher for novice teachers than forthosewithmore than five years’ experience, and that teacher attritionhas anextremelyhighcost, both in fiscal terms and in the human terms. Teacher turnover is clearly linked to adecrease in quality of teaching, social stability, and student achievement (Borman&Dowling,2008). Interestingly, teachersofcertainsubjects, includingteachersofsecond languages,havehigherratesofattritionthanteachersofothersubjectmatters(Ashiedu&Scott,2012;Clark&Antonelli,2009;Kutsyuruba,Godden&Tregunna;2013).Whatisitaboutlanguageteachersthatmakesthemmorepronetoleavingtheprofessionprematurely?Theanswertothisquestioniscomplexandseemsto lie,notsolelyonworkingconditions,or in thephenomenonof teacherburn-out, but also in the way language teachers see themselves and their abilities in theclassroom.Infact,asthisreviewwillshow,researchhasdemonstratedastronglinkbetweena

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languageteacher’ssenseofself-efficacy,andtheirintentionstoremaininthefieldorleavetheprofession.

TEACHEREFFICACY

Whilemuchresearchintoteacherattritionlooksatpersonalandprofessionalfactorsaswellasworking conditionsaspossible indicators forattrition (e.g.,Borman&Dowling,2008; Smith&Ingersoll,2004),educationaltheorists,suchasTschannen-Moran,WoolfolkHoy,andHoy(1998)arrivedattheproblemofattritionfromadifferentstartingpoint:efficacytheory.AdvancedbyBandura in the 1970s, efficacy theory is a concept that describes a person’s belief in theirabilities to do somethingwell. For example, teacher-efficacy, has been defined as a teacher’s"belief intheirabilitytohaveapositiveeffectonstudentlearning"(Ashton,1985,p.142).It isimportanttonotethatself-efficacydistinguishesitselffromotherconceptsofself,suchasself-esteem,becauseitisspecifictoaparticulartask(Tschannen-Moran,WoolfolkHoy,&Hoy,1998)andbecauseithasnobasisinactualmeasurableability,butisratherareflectionofaperson's’belief in their abilities. Self-efficacy is of great interest to those studying attrition because itoffers a tantalizing explanation for why some teachers are more resilient than others. AsTschannen-Moran,Woolfolk-Hoy,andHoyfurtherexplain:

Oneofthethingsthatmakesteacherefficacysopowerfulisitscyclicalnature.... Greater efficacy leads to greater effort and persistence, which leads to betterperformance, which in turn leads to greater efficacy. The reverse is also true. Lowerefficacyleadstolesseffortandgivingupeasily,whichleadstopoorteachingoutcomes,whichthenproducedecreasedefficacy.(pp.233-234,italicsadded)

Teacherefficacy isaconstruct thatshifts, thatgrows in response tosuccess,orwhatBandura(1997) callsmastery experiences. It diminisheswhen it encounters failure. Tschannen-Moran,WoolfolkHoyandHoy(1998)’sexplanationofthecyclicalnatureofteacherefficacyalsopointsto an innateness of efficacy that has little to dowithactual ability andmore to dowith self-perception. Here is where the concepts of teacher identity and teacher self-efficacy begin tomerge.

TEACHERIDENTITY

The definition of identity, initially accepted by structuralists to be essential and fixed, is nowmoregenerallyunderstoodbypoststructuraliststobeafluid(ratherthanfixed)constructthatisconstantly created and re-created depending on context (Sachs, 2005; Sfard & Prusak, 2005;Vargese,Morgan,Johnson&Johnson,2005).Peopleactasa“kindofperson”duringgiventimesand places (Gee, 2000, p. 99). Identity also depends on being recognized as being a “kind ofperson”with certainabilities (Gee,2000). Inotherwords, identitydepends lessonaperson’sactualabilitythanontheirown,andothers’,perceptionsofthatability.Ateacher’sprofessionalidentityisunderstoodinmuchthesamewayasotheridentities;teachersperformtheirteacheridentity in the classroom context in response to societal expectations of teacher appearance,abilities,andskills(Sachs2005).Thisprofessionalteacheridentitycanbeentirelyseparatefrom

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theidentityateachermayperformasacolleague,parent,spouseorfriendindifferentcontexts(Pennington & Richards, 2016) and is created by teachers from “their own experiences as astudentandasateacher,theirpersonalandprofessionalhistoriesinsideandoutsideofschools,aswellastheimagesofteacherspresentedinthepopularmedia,films,fictionandsoon"(p.8).

Teacher identity and teacher self-efficacy have several things in common: first, they are bothcontextuallyspecific;that is,theyareperformedorperceivedaccordingtothetime,placeanddemandsofa situation (Gee,2000).Second, teacherefficacy like, identity,has less todowithactualability,andmorewithhowtheteacherviewshisorherownabilities(Tschannen-Moran,Woolfolk-Hoy & Hoy, 1998). As Bandura (1997) explained, teachers “may question their self-worth,despitebeingverycompetent, if importantothersdonotvaluetheiraccomplishments”(p.6).Identitystatementsingeneralcanberecognizedsyntacticallyascontainingverbssuchas“be”,“have”or“can”which,asSfardandPrusak(2005)pointedout,haveareifyingeffect.Forexample,“IamanEnglishTeacher”isanidentitystatement.

Where teacher efficacy and teacher identity begin to overlap is in the nuances in statementssuch as, “I am agood English teacher” and even, “I am agood English teacherbecause I ampassionateaboutpoetry”or“IamagoodEnglishteacherbecauseIampassionateaboutpoetryandhave theability tohandledisruptive studentseasily.”These statementsboth reify identitybeliefs and containan implicitunderstandingof identitybasedon the teacher’ssenseof theirability.A teacher’ssenseofself-efficacy in thissensecanbeunderstoodasan integralpartoftheirteacheridentity.

SECONDLANGUAGETEACHERIDENTITY,EFFICACY,ANDATTRITION

Building upon work done by theorists like Tschannen-Moran, Woolfolk-Hoy and Hoy (1998),researchers have used teacher efficacy as a theoretical lens with which to examine secondlanguage teachers’ attrition rates (e.g., Atay, 2007; Swanson, 2010; 2012).Works by Swanson(2010;2012)foundclear,statisticallysignificantlinksbetweensecondlanguageteacherefficacyscores and attrition rates. The literature reveals, however, that language teachers’ sense ofefficacy, like their identities, is not a singular construct (“I am a good English teacher”) but isboth multi-faceted and contextually specific. Three important dimensions of self-efficacy inteacheridentitycorrelatewithalanguageteacher'sdecisiontoremainwithintheprofession,orto leave it. The first is a language teacher’s efficacy beliefs in their language proficiency(Steinbach&Zazarloga,2014;Velez-Rendon,2002;Wilbur,2007).Thesecond istheirsenseofefficacyincontentpedagogy-orthebeliefintheirabilitytoteachthelanguage(Beauchamp&Thomas,2009;Karsenti,Collin&Dumouchel,2013;Swanson2010,2012;Velez-Rendon,2002;Wilbur,2007). Finally, attrition rates for language teachers seem to correlate strongly to theirbelief in their ability tomanage a class (Karsenti, Collin & Dumouchel, 2013; Swanson, 2010,2012).

These multiple facets of self-efficacy, while often overlapping, are distinct and can reactdifferentlysothatateachercanexperiencesimultaneouslydifferentfeelingsofefficacyasapartoftheirteacheridentity.Forexample,anESLteachermayhaveahighsenseofself-efficacywith

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regards to her ability to use the English language (language proficiency), butmay experiencelower efficacy in regards to her ability to resolve conflict within her classroom (classroommanagement).This iswhyitcanbehelpfultoconsiderdimensionsofteacherself-efficacyasapartofteacheridentityasawhole,functioningasinterdependentaspectsofteacheridentity,asdemonstratedinFigure2.

Figure2:SecondLanguageTeacherEfficacy-IdentitySource(s): Parks, 2017.

The linkbetween second language teacherattrition, identityand self-efficacybecomesclearerwhenwelookatthecomplexactofteachingalanguageandbreakitdownintotheseseparatecategories.

Dimension1:LinguisticProficiency

There are some important nuances in a second language teacher’s identity that differentiatelanguage teachers from teachers of other subjects. One of these addresses what Vargese,Morgan,Johnson&Johnson(2005)identifiedasthecontradictoryidentitiesthatteachershold.While negotiating the same tensions between personal and professional identities that otherteachersexperience(Pennington&Richards,2016,p.9),second languageteachersoftenhaveanotherlayerofidentitytocontendwith,namelytheirstatusaseitheraso-callednative(NES)ornon-native(NNES)Englishspeaker.ThephenomenonofNNESversusNESteacheridentitieshasbeen studied with great interest in second language education research (e.g., Steinbach &Kazarloga, 2014; Vargese et. al, 2005;), where nuances of status and hierarchy based on the

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language teacher’s native pronunciation influenced the teachers’ emerging professionalidentities.

InSteinbachandKazarloga’s(2014)study,theimpliedelevatedsocialandprofessionalstatusofnative English speaking teachers (NESTs) contributed to a disconnect betweenwhat studentsreportedastheirconfidenceintheirlinguisticabilityandtheirdissatisfactionwiththeiraccent,“having a native-like pronounciation [sic]would improvemy self-confident [sic]” (Steinbach&Kazarloga,2014,p.326).Aswehavealreadyseeninthisreview,thisideaoflinguisticproficiencyasadimensionofsecondlanguageteacheridentityisanimportantindicatorofsecondlanguageteacherattrition(Swanson,2010,2012).

ThestrugglethatESLteachersundergointheirquesttospeaklikea‘native’isalsoapparentintheworkdonebyK.E.Johnson(1992)asreportedbyVargeseetal.(2005).Inthisstudy,Marc,aNNES,grappledwithhermultiple identitiesasateacher-of-languageanda learner-of-languagelearner.Herneed to “beaheadof the students” (Vargeseet al., 2005,p.26)wasa sourceofunderlyingtensionwhichwasonlyassuagedwhenshejoinedaprofessionalgroupofnon-nativeEnglish-speakingteachers(NNESTs).

Both studies reveal how the multifaceted and contradictory aspects of a language teacher’sidentityareconnectedto their identityasnativeornon-nativespeakerofEnglish.Theanxietysurroundinga language teacher’sNESTorNNEST in this studyspeaksdirectly to the teacher’ssenseofefficacyinthedimensionoflanguageproficiency.

Linguisticproficiencyandidentitypolitics

A language teacher’s identityasanativeornon-native speakercanbe furthercomplicatedbytheirpositionwithinthecultureandsocietyinwhichtheyteach.Vargeseetal.(2005)describedthis aspect of identity as “contextual and associated to specific social, cultural, and politicalpressures”(p.23).TheprovinceofQuebec inCanada,whereSteinbachandKazarloga’s(2014)researchwasdone, isanexcellentexampleofhowthe intersectionbetween linguistic identityand identity politics interact to pressure ESL teachers to perform their identity differently. InQuebec,languagehashistoricallybeenlinkedtopoliticalpowerandsocialstatus.AftertheQuietRevolutionof the1960s, itbecamepoliticallyandsocially importanttoassertone’s identityasFrancophone.Thepoliticaldiscourseofthese identitypoliticscontinuestoresonate inQuebecsociety.Itisnotsurprising,therefore,thattheESLstudentteachersinSteinbachandKazarloga’s(2014)researchwere“notpreparedtosacrificetheiridentitiesinordertoteachEnglishbecauseoftheirstrongnational identity inapoliticalandlinguisticcontextwheretheirnative languagehasmore political and social status than English” (p. 331). The resulting conflict between ESLstudent teachers’ personal identities as Francophones and their professional identities asEnglish-speakingESLteachers,resultedintheircontradictoryandconflictingdescriptionsoftheiridentities.Italsocausesthemto“describetheirculturalidentitydifferently,dependingonwheretheyareorwithwhomtheyare speaking” (Steinbach&Kazarloga,2014,p.327). The tensioncreated by maintaining contradictory identities might hold a key to the particular stress that

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language teachers experience andwarrants further investigation ifwe are to understandwhylanguageteachers,morethanothersarepronetoleaveteachingprematurely.

Dimension2:PedagogicalContentKnowledge(PCK)

Linguistic proficiencymay be at the core of a language teacher’s identity, but the efficacy ofpedagogical strategies and approaches that second language teachers use can also influenceattritionrates(Swanson,2010;2012). Inordertofeelefficacious,a languageteacherneedstobeabletodomorethanusethelanguageeffectively,heorshemusthaveconfidenceinhisorher pedagogical content knowledge, or “what teachers know about teaching their particularsubjectmatter…tomakethesubjectmattercomprehensibletostudents”(Velez-Rendon,2002,p. 462).Inotherwords,alanguageteachermustnotonlybeabletousethelanguageeffectively,heorshemustknowwhatstrategiestouseinordertoteachthelanguagemosteffectivelytostudents(Wilbur,2007).

Swanson’s(2010)researchintosecondlanguageteacherattritionrevealslinksbetweenasecondlanguageteacher’ssenseofefficacy inthedimensionof“pedagogicalcontentknowledge”andthe likelihood that he or shewill remain or leave the profession. In his 2010 study, Swansonfound a statistically significant correlation between a teacher’s sense of efficacy in helpingstudentslearnatthebeginningstagesoflanguagelearning—theirbeliefintheirabilitytoteachlanguageacquisition—andthelikelihoodthattheywouldstay(retention)or leavetheteachingfield.

Wilbur’s (2007) research into second language teacher education provides us with possiblereasonsforwhylinguisticproficiency,self-efficacyandteachingstrategiesmightbeconnected.Although communicative methodologies of language instruction have long been consideredmore effective than rote-learning of grammar by second language educational researchers,many language teachers continue to use rote-learning as their primary educational approach.Thismaybebecause thecommunicativeapproach requires the teacher tocreate lessons thataredesignedtomaximizeinteractionswithstudentsinthetargetlanguage.AsWilburexplains,"becauseoftheir lackofproficiency,noviceteachersshunmorecommunicativemethodologiesandrelyinsteadontraditional,grammar-focusedteaching"(2007,p.83,italicsadded).HereweseethesamedownwardspiralinefficacydescribedearlierbyTschannen-Moran,WoolfolkHoy,andHoy(1998).Itbeginswhenalanguageteacher,lackingconfidenceinhisorherabilitytousethe target language, avoids the communicative approach in favour of ones that, while lesseffective, require less linguistic proficiency from the teacher and inwhich the teacher feels ahighersenseofefficacy.Thispedagogicalchoiceresultsinlesssuccessfulresultsforthestudentsanddecreasestheteacher’soverallsenseofefficacyasalanguageteacher.Again,theliteraturepoints to the downward spiral that occurs when second language teachers lack a sense ofefficacy, not only in their linguistic proficiency, but also in their pedagogical subject matterknowledge.

General pedagogical skills that all teachers need such as “managing class time, giving cleardirections,meetingstudents’needs,andfocusingonstudentsratherthanontheselfareatonce

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themost crucial skills for classroom success and themost difficult to acquire” (Velez-Rendon,2002, p. 460). Effective classroom methodology for teaching language is easier when thestudentshavebasicproficiencyinthelanguage.Onthecontrary,whenthestudentshavelittleto no knowledge of the language, an understanding of language acquisition and effectiveteaching strategies are crucial. Looking at the literature globally,we see a portrait starting toemergeof a language teacherwho, feeling unsureof their linguistic proficiency, selectsmoreteachercenteredandlesssuccessfulpedagogicalstrategies,andinturnexperiencesdecreasedefficacy. The students in a language classroom who have a teacher with low self-efficacyexperience less academic success (Velez-Rendon, 2002) and are more likely to act out theirfrustrations in class (Woolfolk, Rosoff & Hoy, 1990; Wilbur 2007). The resulting frustrationbetween teacherand studentsbringsus to thedimensionof language teacherefficacy that isclearlylinkedtoattrition:ateacher’sabilitytomanagetheirclassroomsuccessfully.

Dimension3:ClassroomManagement

Thefinaldimensionofalanguageteacher’sefficacy-identitythathasimportantlinkstoattritionrates is their sense of mastery over classroom management. It will come as no surprise toanyonewhohasevertaught—orwhohaseverbeenastudentinaclasswithateacherwhowasstrugglingwithclassroommanagement—thatateacher’ssenseofself-efficacyinthisdimensionis one of the most important determining factors in whether they will stay or leave theprofession.Classroommanagementstylescorrelatetoateacher’ssenseofinstructionalefficacy:teachers with a low sense of efficacy favour a custodial attitude and sanctions to controlstudents’ behaviour. They are often “mired in classroom problems” (Woolfolk, Rosoff & Hoy,1990, p.140). In contrast, teachers with a stronger sense of efficacy rely more often onpersuasive, rather than authoritarian management strategies, and support development ofstudents’ intrinsic interests (Bandura, 1997, p. 241). In much the same way that a languageteacher’s sense of linguistic proficiency influences their methodological choices (such as thecommunicative method for teachers with a high sense of efficacy versus a grammar-basedapproach for teacherswith a low sense of efficacy),Woolfolk, Rosoff, andHoy’s (1990)worklinksahighsenseofteacherefficacytoamorehumanisticapproachtoclassroommanagement.Inotherwords,teacherswhoexperiencedhighefficacyoverall,hadamorepositiveclassroomclimatewheremisbehaviourwaslessfrequentandhandledinmorepositiveways.Inclassroomswhere teachers had lowoverall self-efficacy, theyweremore likely to describe the classroomsituationintermsofconflictandcontrol(Woolfolk,Rosoff,&Hoy,1990).

What is true for classroom teachers in general is also true for second language teachers:Swanson’s (2012) research into attrition factors for second and foreign language teachersconfirms that self-efficacy, classroommanagement and attrition are linked. In this study, themost statistically significant predictors for a second language teacher’s decision to remain orleave the teaching professionwere their perceived confidence in the dimension of classroommanagementparticularlyintheirabilityto“(1)controldisruptivebehaviourintheclassroom....and (2) to calm a student who is disruptive or noisy” (p. 90). The dimension of classroommanagementinself-efficacythenisanessentialplacetostartifwewanttoexploretheproblemofsecondlanguageteacherattritionandhowtopreventit.

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SecondLanguageTeacherIdentity:AStrategicChoice?

One of the strategies that language teachers use when developing classroom managementefficacy is, interestingly, to assume a particular kind of identity. In Pennington and Richard’s(2016) study into language teachers’ identity construction, the authors found that noviceteacherswhohavenotyetmasteredthehighlycomplexarrayofskillsteachingrequirestendtotake on a “situated identity” (p. 7). The situated identity is more traditional and teachercentered.Itrequiresthattheteacherstandinfrontoftheclassandleadinteractions,requiringstudents to raise their hands as a condition of interaction. Novice teachers in this situatedidentityareperformingtheroleofteacherinawaythatisrecognizedbyinstitutionsandculture(Gee,2000),butthatmaynotbecoherentwiththeprofessionalidentitytheywishtoassume;itmay not be authentic. Pennington and Richard suggested that this performance of situatedidentitymight, in fact, be an effective strategy for novice language teachers. It functions as akind of place-marker for the teachers’ professional identity while they gain experience andassuranceintheclassroom.Theauthorscontrastedthiskindofsituatedidentitywithaminorityof novice teachers who assume a “more informal, personal and authentic identity,” whichPenningtonandRichardrefertoasa“transposableidentity”(p.8).Thistransposableidentity,farfrombeingastrategicchoicefornoviceteachers,may,infactbedisadvantageoussince“suchateacheridentitymaybelesseffectivefornewteachers,whohavenotyetmasteredinstructionalcontentandpedagogicalskills”(p.8).A“transposableidentity,”theyargued,islikelytoleadtoabreakdowninclassroommanagementwhenstudentsdonotrecognizetheirteacher’sauthority.What Pennington and Richard’s research makes clear is that identity, and efficacy in thedimensionof classroommanagement, arenotonly tightly linked, but that aparticular kindofprofessionalteachingidentitybecomesastrategicchoicethatnovicelanguageteachersneedtomakewhiletheydevelopasenseofefficacyinthedimensionofclassroommanagement.

IMPLICATIONSFORSECONDLANGUAGETEACHEREDUCATION

Muchresearchtodatehasfocusedonwhatwecandotopreventteachers fromleavingoncethey are in the field (e.g., Ashiedu & Scott-Ladd, 2012; Johnson et al. 2010; Swanson 2012).However, the factors within the teaching field that appear to have the most impact over ateacher’sdecisiontostayorleavetheprofession-suchasthediversityofschoolenvironmentsandworkingconditions(Ashiedu&Scott-Ladd,2012)–arepreciselythoseoverwhichwehavethe least control. Amore effective approachmight be to address the problemwherewe canstudy it and control it before it starts in teacher education. Velez-Rendon’s (2002) review ofresearch into languageteachereducationhighlightedwhatsheseesasashortfall inwhatpre-servicelanguageteachersneedtoknowregardingtheirsubjectmatter,“languageproficiencyiscrucial foreffectiveteaching…unfortunately,a largenumberofforeign languageprogramsfailto provide prospective teachers with acceptable proficiency levels” (p. 462). Steinbach andKarlova’s study (2014) has provided evidence of this failure of second language teachereducationprogramstoensuretheirteachersgraduatewithhigh levelsof linguisticproficiency.They report that despite admission to second language teaching programs at two majoruniversitiesinQuebec,morethan30%oftheirundergraduateteacherswereunabletopassthe

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speakingtasksontheTestofEnglish forLanguageTeachers (TELT)onthe firstattempt,andafurther 20% were unable to pass the writing section, even after two attempts (Steinbach &Kazarloga,2014,p.324).Thesetestswerenotadministeredasentranceexams,butwererathera requirement for graduation from the program. From the large percentage of studentswhowereunabletopassportionsof thetest,evenafter twoattempts, itappearsthat theteachereducationprogramwasfailingtoappropriatelyaddressthelinguisticdeficitsoftheirstudents.

SecondLanguageTeacherEducation:IdentityFormation

Pre-service second language teachers, like teachers of other subjects, donot come to secondlanguage teacher education as tabula rasa, but bring with them a nascent identity based on“theirownexperienceof teacher-models (oranti-models)” (Velez-Rendon,2002,p.459).Asalanguage teacher moves through the process of teacher education, their identity shifts inresponseto theirexperienceswithin theuniversityandwhileon fieldplacements.Beauchampand Thomas (2009) describe this as “the inherent tension that exists for teachers as theynavigate between personal and professional aspects of identity inherent within that of ateacher”(p.177).Intheirstudyonundergraduatesecondlanguageteachersintwouniversitiesin Quebec, Thomas and Beauchamp (2011) detailed how the teachers’ descriptions of theiridentitiesthroughmetaphorundergoashift,movingfromconceptsofteacherasa“nurturerorprotectorofstudents”towardsthe ideaof“teacherassurvivor”(p.767).Beforetheyhadhadanyextendedexperienceasteacherintheclassroom,thestudentteachersapproachedthefieldwith an anticipation of forming a meaningful connection with their students (Thomas &Beauchamp,2011,p.766).Theiridentitiesatthisstagerevolvedaroundthethemeofnurturer.Words like “guiding,” “mothering,” “protecting,” and “supporting” figured frequently in themetaphors they used to describe how they saw their role in the classroom (p. 765). Afterteaching in the field, Thomas and Beauchamp (2011) noticed an abrupt shift in the students’identities: rather than describing their identities in terms of their relationship with theirstudents,thestudentteacherswerenowfocusingonthemselveswithoutmuchreferencetothestudents. Metaphors now focused on the multidimensional aspects of identity that teachersneeded to perform; words like “survival” and metaphors of turbulent or calm waters nowappeared(p.764).Theconceptof“survival”isafamiliaroneformostnoviceteachersandraisesflags for any researcher interested in examining the question of teacher attrition. Researchneedstolookmorecloselyatwhystudentsaremerelysurvivingandteachereducationshouldfind ways to scaffold students’ education so that they thrive, rather than survive the fieldplacements. Tschannen-Moran, Woolfolk Hoy, and Hoy (1998) suggested a clear course ofaction:

Teacherpreparationprogramsneedtogivepreservice teachersmoreopportunities foractualexperienceswith instructingandmanagingchildren inavarietyof contextswithincreasinglevelsofcomplexityandchallengetoprovidemasteryexperiencesandspecificfeedback.Anapprenticeshipapproach—wherebythecomplextaskofteachingisbrokendownintoitselementsandanapprenticeteacherisallowedtoworkondevelopingonesetofskillsata time—shouldencourageacompoundingsenseofefficacyovervariouscontexts and skills. Performance feedback (verbal persuasion) early in learning that

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highlights the positive achievements of the apprentice teacher and that encouragesemphasisonattributionsthatarecontrollableandvariable(e.g.,effortandpersistence)will have a positive effect on the development of efficacy beliefs. Assigning noviceteachers smaller classes andmore capable students in their first year should enhanceefficacy.(p.235)

Although thesesuggestionsweremademore than twodecadesago, second language teachereducation,liketeachereducationingeneral,hasbeenslowtoadopttheserecommendations. CONCLUSIONSANDDISCUSSION This literaturereviewbeganwiththe intentionofconsideringtheproblemofsecond languageteacherattritionbyfindingtheanswerstotworesearchquestions;first,whatdoestheliteraturetell us about thepossible causes of second language teacher attrition? Second,what are thepossiblelinksbetweensecondlanguageteacherattrition,efficacyandidentity?Uponreviewingtheliterature,wehaveseenthatsecondlanguageteacherattritioncanbelinkedtoself-efficacyand that efficacy can be understood as a facet of teacher identity. Research has shown thatthreedimensionsofwhatInowtermsecondlanguageteacher“efficacy-identity”arestatisticallysignificantfactorsinsecondlanguageteacherattrition:

1. linguistic proficiency (Beauchamp & Thomas, 2009; Steinbach & Kazarloga, 2014;Swanson2010,2012;Wilbur,2007);

2. pedagogicalcontentknowledge(Karsentietal.,2008;Kutsuyrubaetal.,2014;Thomas&Beauchamp,2011;Velez-Rendon,2002;Wilbur,2007);and

3. classroommanagement(Karsenti,etal.,2008;Kutsuyrubaetal.,2014;Swanson2012). Inanswertothesecondquestion,thereareseveralconclusionswecandrawfromtheliteratureabout connections between identity and efficacy for second language teachers: first, we canunderstandfromthisreviewthatasecond-languageteacher’ssenseofself-efficacyisanintegralpartof theirprofessional identity.Next, the literaturehas shown that language teacher’s self-efficacyisnotasingulardimensionoftheiridentity,but,liketeacheridentityitself,ismultiple:itshifts andmanifests differently dependingon the skill and contextwhich the teacher is beingaskedtoperformatagivenmoment.Forexample,alanguageteachermightexperienceahighdegree of efficacy in using and teaching in the target language (linguistic proficiency)with anadvancedgroupofstudents,butthesameteachermayexperience lowefficacy inpedagogicalcontent knowledge (PCK) when trying to explain to beginner students how to acquire thelanguageeffectivelyandbecomediscouraged. The further we explore the concepts of teacher identity and efficacy in the field of secondlanguageteaching,themorewediscoverhowintegrallytheyarelinked,andhowcomplexandmultipletheseidentitiesare.SteinbachandKazarloga’s(2014)studyhelpsustoseethepoliticaland linguistic pressures that are unique to language teachers’ nascent professional identities,whichcausethemtoexperiencecontradictoryandevenconflictingidentities,particularlyintheirunderstandingoftheirownlinguisticabilities.Thepoliticaldiscoursesurroundinglanguageand

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identitythatare inherent intheactofteaching languageengenderfurther layersofsocialandpoliticalpressuretoperformcertainidentitiesthataren’tpresentforteachersinothersubjectsand which may be a source of supplemental stress and tension that could account for theincreasedattritionrates forsecond languageteachers.ThomasandBeauchamp’s (2011)studyintotheideaofsurvivalsoprevalentinpre-serviceteachers’descriptionsoftheirownidentitiesalso provides us with an entry point into understanding how novice teachers frame theirprofessionalidentityandhowitisformed. SuggestionsforFurtherResearch Basedontheresultsofthisliteraturereview,itwouldappearthatifwearereallytounderstandthe underlying causes for second language teacher attrition, we need to better understandsecond language teacher efficacy (SLTE) and how it is developed. Many second languageeducation researchers agree that second language teacher (SLT) education programs are notdoingenoughtomakepre-serviceteachersfeeleffective(e.g.,Liston,Whitcomb&Borko,2006;Velez-Rendon, 2002;Wilbur, 2007). Tschannen-Moran,WoolfolkHoy, andHoy (1998) suggestlongitudinalstudiesacrossteacherpreparationprogramsandacrossthefirstseveralyearsinthefield tomap thedevelopmentofefficacybeliefs.Experimental studies looking intopre-serviceteacher identity formation - particularly in the three dimensions of SLTE “efficacy-identity”identifiedby the literature (1. linguistic proficiency; 2. pedagogical content knowledge; and3.classroommanagement) could also go a longway to helping SLT educators understandwhatteaching experiences and conditions help pre-service second language teacher increase theiroverallresiliencebeforeenteringthefield. ComparativestudiesofgraduatingcohortsofSLTsfromdifferentSLTeducationprogramscouldhelp us to identify which programs produce language teachers with higher senses ofefficacy.Wecouldthenexaminethecoursecontentandpedagogicalstrategiesoftheprogramsthat graduate teachers with a high sense of efficacy in order to identify ‘best practices’ SLTeducationprograms. Researcherslookingintotheproblemofsecondlanguageteacherattritionalsoneedtocontinuetheir examination into efficacy and attrition. Currently, SLTE is a strong predictor of teachers’intentiontostayorleavetheprofession(Swanson,2012),butastatisticalstudylinkingattritionrates to efficacy—perhaps through survival analysis of graduating cohorts with stronger orweaker senses of efficacy—would strengthen the connections between efficacy, identity andattrition. REFERENCESAshiedu,J.A.,&Scott-Ladd,B.D.(2012).Understandingteacherattractionandretention

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