Being, understanding and naming: Teachers’ life and work in harmony

This paper views teacher learning as the nourishment of life rather than the mastery of expertise, and curriculum innovation as the reclaiming of authentic language rather than rational manipulation of curriculum systems. The perspective allows the traditional notion of knowledge-based teaching and teacher education to be challenged by asking a philosophical question about teachers’ being. Based on a case study of tertiary English-language teachers in China, the paper elucidates the nature of teacher learning and curriculum change. It shows how a new educational object, rather than being designed beforehand, emerges in advance of participants’ consciousness. The study combines narrative analysis of the change with a philosophical inquiry about teacher and learning. It is built around extensive investigation of actual curricular texts and interaction.