A Reflective Account of Implementing the Problem-Centred Interview as a Method to Study Transnational Teacher Identity
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Abstract
The Problem-Centred Interview (PCI), developed by Andreas Witzel in the early 1980s, is a discursive-dialogic method that integrates narrative and semi-structured interviewing with elements of biographical approaches. Despite its growing use in German-language social research, PCI remains largely absent from TESOL scholarship and has not previously been applied to the study of transnational teacher identity. The purpose of this article is to present PCI as a suitable research method for exploring TESOL teacher identity and to reflect on its practical application in doctoral research on transnational identity formation among expatriate non-native English language teachers. Drawing on PCI principles, the study provides a step-by-step account of the method’s practical implementation, detailing adaptations made to suit the specific research context. The article outlines the main principles of PCI and comments on its differences and commonalities with related approaches, including narrative interviewing, semi-structured interviewing, and biographical approaches. The article also addresses the limitations encountered during the execution of PCI and concludes with recommendations for researchers in TESOL and related fields who are considering this approach. The article demonstrates the value of PCI in investigating the complexities of transnational teacher development and argues for its wider adoption in qualitative research on language teacher identity.
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