A Theoretical Exploration of Language Teacher Well-being and Immunity in Low-Resourced Contexts: Human Ecological Language Pedagogy Perspective

Abstract

This paper offers a theoretically integrative framework of "Human Ecological Language Pedagogy” (HELP, henceforth) by Levine (2020) to understand the developmental trajectories of the language teacher's immunity and well-being, particularly in low-resourced contexts such as Pakistan. Previous studies on these constructs are grounded in complex dynamic system theories (CDST) (Hiver, 2017; Sulis et al., 2021); however, they explored the LTI and well-being separately. Moreover, CDST, as a meta-theory alone, does not provide an adequate account for the layered, socio-culturally charged, and ethically embedded realities of second/foreign language teachers employed in postcolonial and marginal ecologies. By bringing the commensurability of CDST (Larsen-Freeman, 1997; Larsen-Freeman & Cameron, 2008), sociocultural theory (SCT) (J. P. Lantolf, 2002; J. Lantolf & Thorne, 2006), and ecological system theory (Bronfenbrenner, 1979; Van Lier, 2004) under the framework of HELP, this theoretical paper aims to offer a holistic and context-sensitive lens to view the co-development of LTI and well-being nested in the ecological environments of material, institution, society, culture, and history. Moreover, he proposed that this framework holds significant potential for low-resourced contexts. Hence, building on this proposition, this theoretical paper endeavours to examine how HELP is a practical and timely response to the limitations of competence-based pedagogies and is suited to unveil the complex and dynamic trajectories of English language teachers' immunity and well-being in the unique ecological conditions of Pakistan and the broader Global South.