What is Barkhuizen's (2007) Model of Narrative Approach

In recent years, language teachers' narratives of their professional and personal experiences have been encouraged in order to understand the complex nature of language education. In a similar vein, it is important for teachers, through narrative inquiry, to be aware of and comprehend their inner world, learning context, and broader sociopolitical context. Founded on this understanding, this chapter examines nine language teachers' retrospective experiences as language learners through narratives based on Barkhuizen's model of narrative approach involving three interconnected levels of stories. There is a brief summary of each level, followed by excerpts from the written narratives. Besides showing a holistic view of language learning and teaching, findings of the study demonstrate that reflecting on their own journey as a language learner helps teachers to make more informed choices and helps to improve their teaching practices.