Teacher Anxiety and Resilience as Socio-ecological Experience: A Critical Ethnography of Early-career English as an Additional Language Teachers in Post-pandemic Ontario, Canada
Abstract
This critical ethnographic study investigated the anxiety and resilience experiences of English as an Additional Language (EAL) teachers in Ontario, Canada during their early careers after the pandemic. The study drew on literature regarding the TESOL profession’s precarious nature, resilience and anxiety concepts, pandemic impacts on language education, and debates on native-speakerism. It employed four-level theoretical frameworks, including the theories of critical praxis (Freire, 1970), reflexivity (Byrd Clark, 2020), ecological systems (Bronfenbrenner,1979), and the community of practice (Lave & Wenger, 1991) for its design and implementation. Four pre-service and three in-service English language teachers participated, providing weekly reflective journals for 12 weeks followed by a semi-structured interview.
Findings showed that pre-service EAL teachers primarily felt anxious due to academic English skill challenges, peer pressure, limited practical teaching exposure, and concerns about time management and future prospects. Their resilience was enhanced by factors such as growth mindset, written reflections, academic resources, peer support both within and outside the TESOL program, institutional wellness and career services, and hands-on teaching experiences. In contrast, in-service EAL teachers reported unstable working conditions, specific teaching hurdles, and perceived ineffective managerial support as major anxiety sources. Their resilience was linked to coping mechanisms like perspective shifts, reflective journaling, student relationships, peer interactions, institutional workshops, and stable immigration status.
This study’s primary contributions encompass a shift from mainstream anxiety research in the field of applied linguistics to a socio-ecological view of both EAL teacher anxiety and resilience. Additional aspects of research significance underscore the effectiveness of online reflective journals and interviews for exploring teacher emotions, heighten EAL teachers’ awareness of and preparation for early-career transition challenges, and offer critical insights for teacher educators, teacher preparation programs, and policy makers in Ontario, Canada to better support early-career EAL teachers.