Language Teaching Research Quarterly

Nowadays there are more and more studies investigating the joint role of research and practice in the field of applied linguistics. Previous studies have identified many problems or obstacles that led to ineffective communication between the two stakeholders; however, there is little research exploring teacher and researcher identities (cf. Barkhuizen, 2017; Marsh & Vagliardo, 2002). Therefore, this study intends to investigate these internal identities in the Hungarian context using a multiple-case study approach. A qualitative research design was employed with the use of semi-structured interviews to explore teacher and researcher identities. The participants were four Hungarian PhD students studying at a Hungarian university. The interviews were analysed with thematic content analysis using the web-based Atlas.ti software. The main findings show that there are no internal identity conflicts in the researcher and teacher interface in the selected participants. All four participants experienced considerable changes in identity throughout their PhD studies. They mentioned many challenges related to their teacher and researcher roles, and it is apparent that they would need more institutional help to overcome these issues more easily. The participants mentioned that there is no efficient communication between teachers and researchers, thus pointing to the need to bridge this communication gap.