In the last decade, the profile of EFL teachers has changed in certain parts of Mexico. Young transnationals, who have returned to Mexico, often decide to become English teachers. This presentation is based upon research carried out on the identity formation of 11 Mexican English teachers who lived in the United States for a number of years and now reside in Mexico. These transnationals came to our public university to pursue a BA in TESOL. In order to support themselves in Mexico, they have started to teach English. However, they are perceived as a different type of teacher.

Arriving at a single and comprehensive definition of transnationalism is difficult. Authors in a number of fields have used the term to signify different phenomena (Levitt & Waters, 2002). In the context of this presentation, transnationalism will be used to characterize the dense social networks that go beyond the national borders, created by the physical, emotional, and economic movement of individuals and families, between countries and cultures (Binford, 2000). The transnational networks are based upon the idea that migrants share a common identity which is based upon a place of origin, culture, customs, and linguistic traits associated with it. The individual and group identities are negotiated “within social worlds that span more than one place” (Vertovec, 2001, p. 573).

Another term related to transnationalism is identity, and it is conceptualized as “an inherently social product that is jointly created by interactants, rather than as a pre-determined, psychological construct that is lodged within each individual’s mind” (Park, 2007, p. 341). In the case of this study’s participants, their symbolic identity is observed when making reference to aspects of their “American life” while being in Mexico and their “Mexican life” while being in the United States. This also has an impact on their professional identity, because they are perceived as having an edge over their counterparts. Perceived advantages will be discussed during the presentation. However, these participants acknowledge their limitations and also their conflicts when trying to shape their own identities, because they feel they have created a hybrid identity with elements of both cultures, and they have not only crossed the geographical borders many times, but also the mental ones. While in the United States, transnationals are constantly reminded that they are not part of the American culture, but when returning to Mexico, they do not meet the expectations of that culture either (Mora Pablo, 2011).

This research followed a qualitative approach. First, the participants were asked to write a short autobiography depicting different topics such as the place where they were born, the moment when they left Mexico, their schooling, and the difficulties they may have had with learning both English and Spanish. Second, they were interviewed with questions that were based upon their autobiographies and used to explore more in-depth emerging themes. The recorded interviews were transcribed, coded, and analyzed. Pseudonyms were given to the 11 participants in order to ensure the participants’ privacy.

Participants in this study have all lived in different parts of the United States and have thus created identities based on Americanized cultural perspectives. Nonetheless, throughout their lives, they have been singled out because of their Mexican roots, their accents, or their personal appearances. When they relocate to Mexico, they are often called names such as pochos, gringos, or Mexican-Americans. They seem to engage in an identity struggle between their American self and their rooted Mexican one, often falling into a zone that is in the middle of both and which constantly shifts from one to the other, depending on who they are with and where they are. This is what we refer to as the “gray area.” Participants then start to question their own sociocultural identities. They commence to build bridges in order to connect their past experiences and their current situations, going back and forth between their American and Mexican identities, forming a hybrid identity that eventually enables them to become professionals in TESOL.

In their professional lives, they have learned how to use this hybrid identity to their advantage, but they also have been discriminated upon due to this issue. There are moments in which they utilize their hybrid identities in order to obtain more benefits, but they are aware that if they display their American identity in the Mexican context, they may be seen as boasting which may cause them more problems and possibly even cost them job opportunities. This presentation focuses on setting up the context and the importance of looking at this phenomenon, not only in Mexico, but in a wider context such as the United States and other parts of the world. Also, we will show the results of our research and elicit participation from the audience. Finally, a discussion will follow and the presenters will show the future directions of this research. Personal narratives of these young participants provide a descriptive account of the construction of a new generation of English teachers, showing that crossing borders is more than a geographical concept.

REFERENCES

Binford, L. (2000). Mexican migrants in New York and Mexico: New analytical and practical perspectives on transnationalization and incorporation. La Vitrina. Retrieved from http://www.lavitrina.com/html/current/curren9/binford.html.

Levitt, P., & Waters, M. C. (2002). Introduction. In P. Levitt & M. C. Waters (Eds.), The changing face of home: The transnational lives of the second generation (pp. 1–30). New York, NY: Russell Sage Foundation.

Mora Pablo, I. (2011). Un acercamiento al bilingüismo: La identidad del retornado [An approach to bilingualism: The returnee's identity]. In B. Valdivia (Ed.)., Primer foro internacional interdisciplina y espacios sustentables [First international forum: Interdisciplinary and sustainable spaces] (pp. 796–802).Guanajuato, Mexico: Universidad de Guanajuato.

Park, J. E. (2007). Co-construction of non-native speaker identity in cross-cultural interaction. Applied Linguistics, 28(3), 339–360.

Vertovec, S. (2001). Transnationalism and identity. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 27 (4), 573–582.

Irasema Mora Pablo holds a PhD in applied linguistics from the University of Kent, UK, and is currently a full-time faculty member at the University of Guanajuato, Mexico. Her areas of interest are bilingualism, transnationalism, and identity formation.

M. Martha Lengeling holds a PhD in language studies from the University of Kent, UK, and is currently a full-time faculty member at the University of Guanajuato, Mexico. Her areas of interest are teacher development and socialization as well as identity formation of teachers.

Troy Crawford holds a PhD in language studies from the University of Kent, UK, and is currently a full-time faculty member at the University of Guanajuato, Mexico. His areas of interest are second language writing and identity.