Memes and identity in language teacher education

Abstract

Memes are a popular form of digitally mediated discourse that allow users to express thoughts and emotions, often leaving identity traces of their creators or sharers. This study uses the classroom activity Story by Memes as both a narrative tool for self-presentation in language teacher education and a method for exploring identity representation through memes created by preservice language teachers from two cohorts: the Pedagogy cohort (PC) and the Linguistics cohort (LC). By discursively and thematically analyzing 777 memes from 84 preservice teachers’ stories, we capture identity configurations that shape their language learning and teaching dispositions across academic, professional, and personal contexts. Our findings reveal key differences between cohorts: the PC emphasizes language learning experiences, personal affinities, and a vocation for teaching, while the LC focuses on motivations to learn languages, teaching anxieties, and a pragmatic view of teaching as a career. Examining translingual and humorous meme configurations offers deeper insights into identity formation among preservice teachers. These findings suggest that integrating digital literacies like memes could complement traditional reflective journals as well as serve as diagnostic tools for identifying learner needs in both language learning and language teacher education.