Language teachers juggle multiple identities while teaching cultural competence

Cultures · Published 2 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Researchers who interviewed and observed 16 teachers of Chinese at international schools in Hong Kong found that these educators draw on several professional and cultural identities at once, from language instructor and staff member to cultural bearer, bridge, and learner. These identities often clashed or reinforced one another, shaping how the teachers approached building students' intercultural skills.

The study adds to understanding of how a teacher's sense of self shapes classroom practice in multicultural settings, suggesting that teacher identity could be treated as a resource when training educators for cross-cultural teaching.

The researchers reached these conclusions through interviews and classroom observations of a small group of teachers at a specific type of school, so the patterns may not generalize beyond that context.

Why it matters: How teachers see themselves shapes how they teach cross-cultural understanding, which could inform teacher training.

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