How do foreign language teachers maintain their proficiency_.pdf

System 57 (2016) 98e108Contents lists available at ScienceDirectSystem journal homepage: www.elsevier .com/locate/systemHow do foreign language teachers maintain their proficiency? A grounded theory investigation Lorena Valmori*, Peter I. De Costa Michigan State University, United Statesa r t i c l e i n f o Article history: Received 27 January 2015 Received in revised form 5 February 2016 Accepted 5 February 2016 Available online 26 February 2016 Keywords: Foreign language teachers proficiency Language teachers L2 selves Foreign language teachers development Grounded theory* Corresponding author. SLS Program, B220, Well E-mail address: valmoril@ (L. Valmori). /10.1016/j.system.2016.02.003 0346-251X/? 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.a b s t r a c t Building on Markus and Nuriuss (1986) possible selves theory to investigate language teachers engagement in professional development, this case study examines how nine Italian school foreign language (FL) teachers in two types of high schools (college prepa- ration and vocational schools) experienced and responded to changes in their FL profi- ciency. Interview data, analyzed with a grounded theory approach, showed that when dealing with professional development, the FL teachers had to decide whether to (1) engage in professional development activities, and (2) maintain their engagement with or without a supportive community. Their decisions and engagement were influenced by the strength of the dissonance between the perception of their actual and possible L2 selves. The findings have implications for designing in-service professional development courses that take into consideration teachers needs in relation to their school environments as FL teachers navigate the life-long experience of learning and maintaining a foreign language. ? 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.1. Introduction Language learning is a life-long process and foreign language (FL) teachers are often considered good examples of suc- cessful c