Emotions in switching the code: contributions for English language teachers’ identity construction

Despite the theorisation of codeswitching (CS) as an emotional-identification phenomenon, little research has examined the emotional side of CS. The present study explored 15 Iranian English language teachers' CS-invoked emotion and the contribution of such emotions for their identity construction. Collecting data over a three-month period and from classroom observations, post-class discussion, semi-structured interviews, and narrative frames, we found three major categories as defining the teachers' CS-related emotion and identity construction: codeswitching as an agentic act, codeswitching as enhancing institutional emotionality, and codeswitching as a source of emotion labour. We found that CS interacts with circulating discourses and institutional participants to define the push and pull of teachers' perceptions about CS and how such factors contribute to their emotionality, agency, and interpersonal identities. Based on the findings, implications for teacher educators are provided in how to anchor CS in teachers' agency and emotionality to positively contribute to teachers' effective identity construction.