Language teacher cognition in Southeast Asia (2000–2025): a bibliometric mapping of trends, themes, and collaborations

The field of language teacher cognition (LTC) has emerged as an important field of inquiry, particularly in the English language educational context. However, the Southeast Asian region, despite its rich linguistic diversity, evolving education systems, and increasing demand for English proficiency, remains underrepresented in the broader LTC literature. Hence, this study presents a bibliometric analysis of research on LTC in Southeast Asia from 2000 to 2025. Drawing on 92 peer-reviewed journal articles indexed in Scopus, the analysis maps publication trends, identifies influential authors and works, and explores thematic structures and collaboration patterns within the field. The findings reveal a steady increase in LTC research output, particularly after 2016, reflecting growing academic and institutional interest in teacher beliefs, knowledge, and practices. Prominent contributors, such as Ha, Nguyen, and Tan, play key roles in shaping regional discourse and collaborative networks. Co-occurrence keyword analysis reveals five major thematic clusters namely psychological constructs, instructional practices, professional development, geographical context, and the curricular domains. Co-authorship and bibliographic coupling maps indicate an increasingly interconnected scholarly community, though some collaborations remain nationally concentrated. This study highlights Southeast Asia’s emerging contribution to global LTC scholarship and identifies future directions for research, including cross-national comparisons, multilingual pedagogy, and the integration of teacher cognition into education reform efforts. This study offers critical insights for researchers, policymakers, and teacher educators seeking to advance language education in Southeast Asia through evidence-based understanding of teacher cognition.