Transnational language teachers’ identity construction in the USA: insights from an intercultural context

Purpose Increasing global mobility has enabled language teachers to work across national, linguistic and cultural boundaries, leading to processes of professional identity construction and negotiation in transnational educational contexts. While previous studies on transnational language teachers’ identity development have largely focused on EFL teachers (Liu and Li, 2025), transnational teachers of foreign languages other than English (FLOE) remain critically underexplored (Zhu et al., 2025). This study aims to investigate how transnational language teachers construct their professional identities in the USA. Design/methodology/approach This qualitative exploratory case study investigates how two tertiary-level transnational language teachers construct their professional identities in the USA, using Yazan’s (2018) Conceptual Framework for Language Teacher Identity (LTI). The participants were two transnational language instructors from a Pacific Northwest university, one teaching Turkish as a foreign language (TFL) and the other Italian as a foreign language (IFL). Data from semi-structured face-to-face interviews, classroom observations and reflection reports were analyzed using Braun and Clarke’s (2006) thematic analysis to capture how professional identities were constructed across participants’ retrospective and current teaching experiences and contexts. Findings The findings indicated that the participants’ professional identity development was shaped by six interconnected factors: teacher cognition, teacher learning, previous learning experiences, contextual factors, emotional conflicts and participation in communities of practice (CoP). Research limitations/implications This study has several limitations. First, it was a small-scale study with only two participants, restricting the breadth of insights into transnational FLOE teachers’ identity construction. Second, data were collected over a single month, which is a limited timeframe given that identity formation is an ongoing process. A longitudinal design would better capture shifts in professional identity over time. Third, one participant was unable to complete the reflection report during the data collection period. Future studies replicating this design should allow greater time between data collection stages to accommodate participants’ demanding academic schedules and enable richer, more complete data. Practical implications Teacher educators can support transnational teachers by fostering awareness of their life histories as language learners and teachers. Self-introspection tasks such as critical reflections, autobiographies and critical multilingual language awareness activities should be incorporated into teacher education programs. Innovative multimodal practices, including language portraits, collages, dioramas and photo-elicitation, can further empower teachers in their identity construction. Pre-service and in-service teachers should engage in discussions and critically examine hegemonic discourses such as native speakerism. Additionally, teacher education courses should introduce potential micro-, meso- and macro-level challenges transnational teachers may encounter, fostering professional coping mechanisms to manage emotional vulnerability in intercultural teaching environments. Originality/value This study extends current research beyond EFL-dominated contexts, offers practical implications for language teachers and teacher educators engaged in transnational language teaching and contributes to ongoing discussions on identity development in intercultural settings.