The complexities of being a professional woman: an autoethnographic narrative study of a female Vietnamese English language academic

This chapter presents an autoethnographic and narrative study of a female English language educator, academic and leader in Vietnam in the context of the growing importance of English in higher education. The study focuses on a narrative created by Author 1 about her experiences of being a female tertiary English educator striving to find her place in the complexities that surround being female and having a family but also having strong career ambitions. The chapter offers an inductive analysis of the narrative, together with explorations based on key ideas from the French philosopher, Paul Ricœur, especially his notions of a changing and unfolding self, language realised in action and the potential of generative creative action. The study points to the growing importance of understanding the stories and lived experiences of English educators and illuminates, in the circumstances of change in Vietnam, the tensions around the role and ambitions of women.