An activity theory perspective on Vietnamese preservice English teachers’ identity construction in relation to tensions, emotion and agency

This study examined the professional becoming activities of three final-year Vietnamese preservice teachers (PSTs) of English across the past, present and (imagined) future in different contexts. The study used narrative data from narrative frames and individual interviews and drew on third-generation cultural-historical activity theory (CHAT) to explore the participants’ language teacher identity construction in relation to the tensions they experienced in these activities and the ways in which they responded to the tensions emotionally and agentively. The findings from activity system analysis and thematic analysis suggested that tensions, emotion, agency and identity existed in unity as tensions triggered emotions that motivated attempts to resolve tensions and construct language teacher identity. Identity, in turn, guided the participants’ efforts in addressing the tensions and emotions. We discuss theoretical implications including a model of language teachers’ professional becoming that is grounded in the relationships among tensions–emotion–agency–identity and pedagogical implications for mediating language teacher identity development.