Artefacts

Identity can be simply defined as who you are or how a person understands your relationship to the world around you. Identities can also link you to the future. Identities reflect on how we communicate with others. Identities of individuals are multi faced. People may have contradictory identities based on the context on which s/he works in. For example: As a language teacher you might prefer the use of first language in the classroom, however the institute you teach in might strictly prohibit the use of the first language. In this case the identity of the individuals will have to be shifted from one place or aspect to the other.  Thus, identities can be contextual, constructed or negotiated.

            My identity as a teacher was formed with my experiences I had in my context. This starts with the motivation that I received from my Advanced Level Literature teacher Mrs. Shiyana. She belongs to the category of a good teacher because she was a motivating and a loving character. Mrs. Shiyana can be defined as a hardworking person who wanted to see all her students succeed in life. Her hard work and enthusiasm influenced me a lot to choose teaching as my career. The teaching style that Mrs. Shiyana adopted was completely different to the teaching styles of other teachers whom I have met in my life. She focused more on student centered activities than being a dictator in the class. She brought in drama and action to the classroom. It is through this technique that she taught literature for us.

She made literature easy for us through creativity. As students doing literature for GCE Advanced Level examination, Mrs. Shiyana occupied a high position in our hearts. Back then as a student I witnessed the respect and the love that Mrs. Shiyana received for her hard work. This made me built my identity and choose teaching as my career.   

Another factor that influenced me a lot in becoming a language teacher was my selection as an undergraduate to the University of Peradeniya to follow English Language as a main subject. When I was an undergraduate in the University of Peradeniya, to cover up my expenses as an undergraduate, I started doing private classes. I too applied creativity and student centered activities as my literature teacher adopted in teaching us. As a new teacher with less experience I experienced my students faring well in learning the target language. This I saw through the improvement that they had in the four skills reading, writing, speaking and listening. The attached artefacts show improvement seen a student who scored less than twenty marks for the end-term exams in school. (Student answer 1)I was able to achieve my objectives and goals for my students with the experience and knowledge I received from my classroom.

The experience that I received by doing tuition classes was priceless. It helped me a lot to lay my foundation as a language teacher. I was able to recognize the student issues and provide necessary solutions to them. I understood that many students liked my way of teaching. This I witnessed through the increase of students to my private classes. I started off with only 05 students but with time the number increased up to 15 students. The student motivation and success influenced me a lot in continuing my career as a language teacher. I was extremely satisfied with the work that I did for my students.

Graduating from the University of Peradeniya also influenced me to choose my career as a teacher. Having read subjects from the Humanities and social sciences I always wanted to share my knowledge with others. (Degree certificates)

As a stepping stone towards this path, one great thing that happened in my life to my career was my recruitment as an Instructor in English to the Department of English Language Teaching at the University of Peradeniya. (Appointment letter)This was a turning point in my life because I was able to establish myself as a language teacher. I was so interested in teaching the young adults who arrive to the University from different parts of the island. This new appointment influenced me a lot in improving my career. It opened doors for me to get more experience and knowledge in the field of language teaching. From the little experience I got from doing classes, I was able to face the students with confidence on the first day of my career. I was in-charge of students with the basic level language proficiency. These students did not have much confidence in using the language. However, with time I realized that their language skills improved and most of them were able to answer write answers with less errors. Attached here are some of the answers written by these students. (Student answers 2)

From the first day of the appointment to present as an Instructor in English I have been learning a lot from my experience with students. There had been a lot of challenges in my career as an English Instructor. However, I have been able to overcome these challenges through confidence and hard work. So far I have gained a lot of experience related to teaching to English. This profession has made me strong and confident in life to provide a good service to the students who require the language to meet the world. Thus, these three events in life has influenced me a lot in my journey as a teacher.