摘要
This autoethnographic study explores from a sociocultural perspective the author’s identity construction journey as a female English-for-specific-purposes(ESP)teacher at a university in China for more than 15 years.It delves into the author’s evolving exercise between teacher agency and language policy within both institutional and national contexts.The author aims to voice for marginalized ESP teachers and create a space for them to better negotiate with English-for-general-purposes(EGP)colleagues,academic staff,and policy makers.This study highlights the significance of autoethnography in teacher identity research,particularly for niche ESP teachers who direct novel enterprises through bottom-up implementation.Furthermore,the author emphasizes humanism behind ESP instruction,which significantly expands the view that the ESP features instrumental value.She also advocates for comprehensive support to sustain ESP teaching innovation,ESP teachers’identity construction,and their professional development.These insights have implications for all accountable parties in the context of educational reform to enable constructive negotiation,for ESP teachers to develop their sense of empowerment,and for inclusive education to become more accessible.
