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This study is a linguistic ethnographic investigation of teacher identities in an English for Medical Purposes (EMP) classroom at one of the medical colleges in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It focuses on the discursive shifts of teacher identities in his classroom interactions. An eclectic qualitative methodology that incorporated principles of Linguistic Ethnography was employed in this study. Classroom observation was the main method for data collection. When necessary, an informal conversation with the teacher was carried out after classroom observation to obtain further clarification of what had happened during the observation. The class was observed for 13 times during the first semester of the academic year 2019/2020. Five salient identities were constructed by the teacher: the expert, the counsellor, the student, the storyteller and the controller. These identities were found to be fluid and multiple and became temporarily salient in different classroom interactions. The teacher mediated classroom discourses by constantly shifting relationships and identities along the inclines of power. This study concludes that teacher's discursive identities portray positive self-image and account for students' active engagement and involvement in the learning process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Learning a second language is not an easy task. Learners need to have enough support in terms of learning materials in order to be successful in mastering the language. One of the common problems faced by the second language learners is the difficulty to find the learning materials to develop their speaking skills. This is in contrast to the materials for the development of other language skills, such as reading and writing which are easily accessible from bookstores and resource centers. This paper introduces an innovative application named Virtual Speaking Buddy (VirSbud) which is specially designed to help second language learners develop their speaking skills. It is hoped that this application will be a useful resource to improve the standard of speaking skills among English language learners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discussion on teacher learning is often limited to a focus on formal professional development programmes. What and how teachers learn informally through their daily experiences is rarely explored. This research attempts to investigate how teachers engage in informal learning for their professional development when using Social Networking Site (SNS) technology. Data were generated using ethnographic approach whereby Facebook Timelines belonged to 22 English language teachers were observed for a period of six months. The analysis shows that the teachers frequently exchanged teaching related knowledge in their Timeline conversations and they received rich responses from both teaching and non-teaching Friends. This paper thus argues that social networking site, such as Facebook is a potential platform to engage teachers in informal learning for their professional development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]