Key moments in the process of development of language teacher-researchers’ academic literacy

dr. Jitka Crhová & María del Rocío Domínguez-Gaona, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, México;        Abstract: The present paper reports the results of a research project that focused on the development of academic literacy of a group of language professor-researchers at three public Mexican universities who reflected in their narratives upon their academic literacy development in their respective field, identifying some moments they consider crucial and that imply changes in the process. The results, based on content analysis procedure, indicate that the majority of the participants acknowledged their literacy level transformed significantly in a certain moment of their schooling, which they further linked to a particular scholar degree and/or sometimes in combination with thesis writing linked to that degree or to the thesis writing on its own. Other impact factors could be attributed to the process of academic production itself, while others gave the credit for the increase of the influence of mentoring and collaboration, or the necessity to comply with institutional policies and requirements that highlight academic productivity. To conclude, to foster academic literacy, we must know what environment nurtures and encourages it as well as the precise location of those transformative moments that marked its development.

Key words: literacy practices-academic literacy- language teacher-researchers-language teacher professional development