Becoming an English language teacher over lines of desires

Abstract The article explores the becoming of English language teachers, focusing on the past experiences of sixteen English language teachers, mostly prior to their migration to Australia. Findings revealed two lines of becoming and their intersections – the line of becoming an English language learner and the line of becoming an English language teacher. The histories of their ‘becoming’ demonstrate the interplay of socially produced desires and personal investment in professional learning and capabilities. Through exploring the assemblages within which their desires to become teachers were fomented and strengthened, we argue that the concept of English teachers’ ‘desired becoming’ provides a window into the formation of their professional identities as an interplay of the affective and the rational.