The CATESOL Journal

Prospective teachers pursue a graduate degree in TESOL with the expectation that they will become more qualified, on paper and in practice, and more recognized as professionals in the field. In this article, the authors interrogate that assumption by exploring what it means to be a TESOL professional and how graduate students begin to shape this identity. Using their own professional-development paths and input from other graduate students to guide their investigation, the authors make the claim that when graduate students take advantage of professional-development opportunities in a structured and reflective way, they professionalize themselves and the TESOL field at large.