Teacher Professional Identity Construction of Chinese English-medium Instruction (EMI) Academics in China and Australia: A Cultural-historical Perspective

This study investigated the factors and processes shaping the professional identity construction of English-medium instruction (EMI) academics in Chinese and Australian universities. Drawing on activity theory and its notion of systemic contradictions, this study aimed to reconstruct the EMI academics’ activity systems and identify major contradictions. Findings revealed that they encountered common and individual contradictions between research and teaching roles, content and language focus, and monolingual and multilingual instructions, yet they experienced identity development from their partial or complete resolution to these contradictions. This study can inform appropriate professional support for the appointed EMI academics, both pedagogically and linguistically.