Reconceptualizing Language Teacher Well‐Being: An Ecological Role‐Interaction Model

ABSTRACT In recent years, research on language teacher well‐being (LTWB) has expanded rapidly. However, the conceptual relationship between general teacher well‐being (TWB) and LTWB remains insufficiently theorized, particularly in contexts where teachers simultaneously occupy subject‐specific and general education roles. Although existing frameworks, such as the Conditions‐Components‐Outcomes model, have contributed to structural dimensions of TWB, they have not explicitly focused on the dynamic processes through which subject‐specific and general‐teacher roles interact in shaping well‐being. This article proposes an ecological role‐interaction model of LTWB, conceptualizing well‐being as an emergent process arising from the interplay between subject‐specific and general teacher roles within multilayered institutional ecologies. Drawing on ecological and role‐based perspectives, it proposes that LTWB and TWB are neither hierarchically ordered nor fully separable constructs. Rather, they are dynamically shaped through ongoing role negotiation. The case of Japanese teachers of English provides a particularly valuable context for illustrating and refining the proposed model. By foregrounding role interaction and role negotiation within broader ecological systems, this model offers a new conceptual framework for understanding LTWB and provides directions for future research and empirical investigation in applied linguistics.