Drawing upon the theoretical framework of the investment model, the study explored two Chinese university TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) lecturers’ experiences of investing in doctoral studies. Following a narrative case study design, data were collected through narrative frames, in-depth interviews, and multiple follow-ups via informal communications. Analysis of the data revealed that the two focal participants reframed their projected identities and drew upon their established capital to navigate the challenges in their doctoral journey. Meanwhile, their investment in doctoral studies created spaces for them to construct a range of new capital, which allowed them to claim legitimacy within the professional context of higher education, albeit through non-linear and varied trajectories. By situating investment in learning at the intersection of capital, identity, and ideology, as informed by the theoretical framework, the study unravelled the complexities of in-service teachers’ pursuit of further doctoral education and the impact of doctoral education on TESOL lecturers’ ongoing professional identity constructions. The study offers implications for the continuing professional development of TESOL lecturers in China and beyond. It also serves as an important empirical reference for institutional policymakers and doctoral program designers on how to better support in-service teachers’ engagement in further doctoral learning.
2025-10-10
Understanding teachers’ digital literacies involving generative AI (GenAI) from a critical perspective, this article reports the findings of a multiple-case study of two Hong Kong novice teachers of different sociocultural and educational backgrounds. Drawing on the model of L2 investment, we triangulate the data from individual in-depth interviews and artifacts and examine the diverse critical digital literacies of two novice teachers, who acquire varying levels of symbolic and material resources and negotiate multiple teacher and social identities in their current and imagined teacher communities as different ideological spaces. A conceptual model that links the model of L2 investment and the notion of critical digital literacies involving GenAI is proposed to understand L2 teachers’ investment in their learning-to-teach practices in the era of GenAI. The findings illustrate a need for stakeholders involved in L2 teacher education to include critical digital literacies involving GenAI as a pedagogical goal and recognize and support the complex development of novice teachers’ intertwined identities, beliefs, and values as they engage with GenAI.
A decade after its introduction, Darvin and Norton’s (2015) Model of Investment remains a cornerstone in understanding the intersection of identity, capital, and ideology in language learning. This commentary revisits the model in light of evolving sociopolitical contexts, exploring its applicability and adaptability to rapidly shifting global landscapes. Specifically, it foregrounds the fluidity of symbolic capital, the complexities of identity negotiation, and the ideological forces that shape learners’ positioning within power structures. Drawing on research conducted in Afghanistan during periods of significant ideological upheaval, the article demonstrates how sociopolitical instability, gendered oppression, and class-based exclusion influence learners’ investments in language practices. By applying an intersectional lens, the commentary conceptualizes context as multi-layered—comprising co-existing and, at times, contradictory ideological frameworks and social conditions. This perspective reveals how identity, capital, and ideology interact dynamically, producing both barriers and possibilities for language learners. In doing so, the commentary extends the theoretical scope of the Model of Investment, offering a more comprehensive and inclusive account of language learning under conditions of marginalization. It concludes with implications for policy and pedagogy, advocating for decolonial approaches and inclusive practices in TESOL. Ultimately, this work affirms the enduring relevance of the Model of Investment while pushing its boundaries to better engage with the complexities of a globalized and ideologically charged world.
Poststructuralist conceptions of learner identity as investment have reshaped English language education by emphasizing the sociocultural positioning of multilingual learners. Yet, the evolving nature of language ideologies and their influence on TESOL professionals’ identity and investment remain underexplored from a decolonization perspective. In this poetic autoethnography, I examine how identity, investment, and ideology intersect in my learning and teaching experience. Drawing on earlier personal narratives, fieldnotes from my own EFL writing classrooms and an interview with me by a former student, I trace how pedagogical choices can either reinforce or disrupt dominant language ideologies, shaping learners’ and teachers’ investments in particular identities. I argue that critical translanguaging in both pedagogical and research practices offers a powerful tool for decolonization by valuing diverse linguistic resources and challenging colonial hierarchies of languages. By weaving together poetic autoethnography and translanguaging, this work foregrounds the lived experiences, plural perspectives, and creative agency of TESOL professionals and learners. It also highlights the importance of viewing language ideology as a diverse, dynamic, and evolving set of beliefs about language, which is central to identity formation among multilinguals. Ultimately, I advocate for a more expansive, critical, and humanizing understanding of identity, investment, and ideology in EFL writing education.
This study investigates how a first-year undergraduate student (Emma) in a Chinese English-medium instruction (EMI) university invests in Informal Digital Learning of English (IDLE) and EMI academic subjects learning outside classrooms through digital learning resources, including AI (artificial intelligence) tools. Drawing on Darvin and Norton’s (2015) Model of Investment, this study examines the interplay between the EMI context and the student’s ideologies, identity, and capital in shaping her learning practices through a semi-structured interview. Findings indicate that Emma’s positive attitudes towards English and technology, identity as a long-term yet strategically-motivated English learner, and economic, social, and cultural capital shape her investment in using digital resources for learning L2 (IDLE) and EMI subjects. These tools help to enhance her language proficiency and academic performance, though challenges such as academic integrity concerns and spatial constraints for speaking practice emerge. The study highlights IDLE’s transformative potential in EMI settings, offering practical implications for fostering learner autonomy through digital technologies and emphasizing the need for institutional support and ethical guidelines in AI use.
This study reports a longitudinal ethnographic study exploring how two pairs of co-teachers negotiated their professional identities and repositioned themselves in relation to evolving pedagogical translanguaging practices in a bilingual preschool setting in Türkiye. Drawing on Darvin and Norton’s (2015) Model of Investment, the article argues that the teacher identity is shaped by various factors, including their language ideologies, the power dynamics within the classroom, and their investment in translanguaging pedagogy. More specifically, identity development of teachers is examined in relation to how the pedagogical operation of translanguaging creates a new classroom pedagogy and how this newly-emerged pedagogy repositions teachers’ identity. The participants included two homeroom teachers and two English teachers sharing the same classrooms. They took part in a professional development (PD) program comprising mentoring, coursework, and regular collaborative meetings to shape their understanding of bilingual education (BE), and enable them to implement collaborative planning and teaching guided by translanguaging pedagogy. Using data from in-depth interviews, the researcher’s in-field observations, and teacher reflections, the study revealed the teachers gradually developed more dynamic professional identities as they engaged in pedagogical translanguaging practices. Through the shared responsibility in planning and instruction, the Turkish-speaking homeroom teachers, initially positioned as assistants, developed greater authority, autonomy, and visibility in the classrooms. Meanwhile, the English teachers started to view their role as more collaborative rather than being the sole authority figure. The study concludes that translanguaging-based PD fostered a shift from subject-matter roles to bilingual teacher identities and offers implications for teacher education programs.
This study presents an ethnographic case study of two Chinese EFL (English as a Foreign Language) learners’ language learning experiences at an elite liberal arts college in Shanghai. Drawing on data collected from a 13-month longitudinal inquiry, the study utilizes the model of investment (Darvin & Norton, 2015) and the notion of intersectionality (Block & Corona, 2016) to examine the interplay between language learners’ investment in English language learning and their social class and gendered identities, with a particular focus on the intersectionality of these two identity dimensions. The findings explicate how the intersecting dynamics of social class and gendered identities mediate learners’ access to and engagement with EFL practices. Specifically, social class functions as both a driver and constraint on learners’ investment, while learners’ gendered perceptions of language learning significantly affect their commitment to the target language. The findings also highlight the intersectional nature of identities in EFL practices, suggesting that language learning investment serves as a site of power dynamics among intersecting social forces. The study calls for more exploration of language learners’ social worlds to uncover the underlying discourses that give rise to structural inequalities, and advocates for a critical pedagogical approach that promotes feminist consciousness, as well as acknowledges and addresses the structural constraints in language learning. This is not only for harnessing the transformative potential of language learning for identity development, but also for advancing a more equitable and inclusive language educational environment.
The emergence of Generative AI (GenAI) inevitably leads to changes in EFL teacher identity construction. Research exploring the discursive negotiation of teacher identity in the context of GenAI remains scarce. This study examines how English language teachers negotiate their professional identities amid the integration of GenAI in writing instruction at a university in China. Drawing upon Darvin and Norton’s (2015) model of investment, this study investigates how institutional resources, emotional labor, and technological access influence identity construction. Through narrative inquiry with six Chinese EFL teachers, the findings reveal that teachers navigate ideological tensions, manage capital disparities, and evolve their roles as either “worriers” or “warriors” in response to the community changes caused by GenAI. More specifically, while one group of teachers resist AI due to concerns about the erosion of critical thinking, others embrace it to enhance efficiency and redefine their expertise. The study offers implications for enhancing teachers’ professional development by addressing both technical AI skills and identity negotiation.
Amidst rising expectations around research as key to professional survival and advancement in the field of TESOL, this study explores the dynamics of three Vietnamese TESOL professionals’ investment in research from an emic perspective. Employing collaborative autoethnography, investment theory, and the notion of sponsorscapes, we found that our research investment emerged through the construction of research-oriented ideal identities, with relational experiences serving as sponsorscapes of social and cultural capital in support of identity construction. Our acquisition of symbolic capital through the sponsorscapes of community recognition further reinforced these identities and thus drove our research investment. Simultaneously, socio-educational and sociofamilial ideologies as sponsorscapes of influence shaped our pursuit of research-oriented ought-to identities and mobilisation of cultural and economic capital under educational circumstances marked by neoliberal and traditional values. Our study foregrounds relational experiences, community recognition, and ideological forces as sponsorscapes that support and sustain research investment, nuancing the theory of investment, while offering practical implications for research-based TESOL professional development and policy-making.
2026-07-16
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