VISUAL NARRATIVE INQUIRY AND THE STUDY OF ENGLISH TEACHERS’ IDENTITY

ABSTRACT

This paper aims to discuss the value of visual methods in narrative studies developed under the scope of Applied Linguistics. There is a growing interest in visual methods in the area as a way of better understanding research participants’ experiences. We draw on our own experiences of using visual methods, such as the drawing and the timeline, in narrative studies focusing on English teachers’ identity. It is, therefore, a narrative inquiry on conducting visual narrative research: we compose meanings about this process, and discuss the value of visual narrative approaches based on our experiences and reflections developed in other studies. The formative, empirical and analytical value of visual methods is explored. We conclude highlighting visual methods’ potential as a tool for reflection, and as a resource for accessing participants’ narratives of experience and identifying themes and threads articulated in them.

Keywords:
narrative inquiry; visual methods; language teacher identiy