The concepts of autonomy, identity, and agency in foreign language (FL) education have been subject to a growing body of research during the past decade. In contrast to most of these studies, in which the major focus is on autonomy in language learning, this volume critically juxtaposes the three concepts and their interrelations, doing so in English as a foreign language (EFL) contexts. In the introduction of the book, Feng Teng explains that one important challenge to theory and practice in FL pedagogy emerges from change, and that one of the most salient changes in EFL education and research over the past decade has been the increasing importance placed on understanding autonomy from identity and agency perspectives; hence his studying the three concepts together. Teng's exploration is based on theoretical frameworks and research findings.

The book's eight chapters cover a spectrum of diverse paradigms that review and synthesize theoretical frameworks regarding autonomy, agency, and identity in EFL education, rendering profound implications in the form of new frameworks and warnings. The author asserts that providing a framework for interconnections between autonomy, agency, and identity results in a better understanding of the challenges in EFL education, while the warnings could help overcome potential difficulties and barriers that may arise during research and teaching-learning processes.

Chapters 1 and 2 discuss the autonomy of learners and teachers in EFL contexts. In Chapter 1, Teng presents learner autonomy as one of the educational goals of teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL), pointing out the importance of language learner autonomy from the different perspectives of sociolinguistics, psychology, politics, social development, and metacognition. He asserts that one important issue in TEFL is the long-term enhancement of autonomy through experiences obtained in or out of classroom settings. He concludes that autonomy might be conceptualized as a social attribute of individuals, existing in FL learners’ capacity and the social contexts of their interactions. Chapter 2 conceptualizes teacher autonomy in ELT, discussing the value and importance of giving support to EFL teachers while also raising their awareness of and working towards teacher autonomy. The chapter demonstrates a change of research focus from student autonomy to teacher autonomy in ELT, highlights the importance of fostering teacher autonomy, and briefly illustrates the challenges that EFL teachers may encounter in the process of developing autonomy (such as lack of experience or strict educational policies).

Chapters 3 and 4 are devoted to leaners’ and teachers’ identities. Chapter 3 explores the implications of learners’ identities in FL education. According to Teng, ‘Language is one of the most apparent symbols that indicate an individual's identity’ (p. 37). He first conceptualizes different aspects of being an EFL learner and of the process of FL learning; then, he analyzes the reciprocal relationship between learners’ identities and EFL learning, introducing identity as ‘a key driver for foreign language learning’ (ibid.) Teng argues that developing EFL learners’ identities is a sophisticated process which can be influenced by five key factors: ‘1) asymmetric power relationship between teachers and students, 2) cognitive awareness (awareness of a cognitive framework concerning goals, beliefs), 3) learners’ situated institution system and hidden conventional practices, 4) learners’ internal emerging sense of professional agency, and 5) learners’ willingness to invest in language learning’ (p. 41). He concludes that learners’ identities can be constructed or reconstructed during the learning process and that learners’ identities significantly impact language learning effectiveness and outcomes.

In chapter 4, Teng underlines the importance of exploring teacher identity in EFL education from three different perspectives: ‘teacher autonomy, communities of practice, and affordances’ (p. 47). The author presents an interrelationship between these concepts, which is ‘complex, iterative, dynamic, interactive, and nonlinear’ (ibid.) Teng asserts that the development of teachers’ identities is in direct relation to individual and contextual factors which enhance or impede a teacher's capacity in grasping affordances in communities and in the development of their autonomy. He also shows how in negotiation processes, language teachers often face challenges that hinder their enactment and development of an ideal professional identity.

According to Larsen–Freeman and Cameron (Reference Larsen–Freeman and Cameron2008), an important feature which makes the language learning process a complicated system is the engagement of at least two agents (e.g. teachers and learners) in a mutual and reciprocal relationship. Chapter 5 focuses on the complexities of teacher and learner agency in EFL education, highlighting the sophisticated components involved and the challenges and barriers that educators and practitioners encounter in their efforts to help teachers and students become more effective in FL teaching and learning. Teng concludes that flourishing teacher and learner agency involves several crucial factors, including ‘rehearsals over time, dissonance to the point of frustration, observations and approximations in field experiences, interactional spaces for critical reflection, and a forward-looking teacher belief’ (p. 73).

Chapter 6 takes these discussions further and analyzes interrelationships between teachers’ autonomy, agency, and identity. Teng asserts that more in-depth conceptualization is needed with regard to EFL teachers’ negotiations of professional identities, the adoption and pursuit of agentic behaviors, and their reaction to the constraints they encounter in creating their own capacity for autonomy.

Chapter 7 discusses the importance of enhancing the identity of university EFL lecturers, who have a pivotal role in promoting teaching and research activities in higher education. This chapter examines their identity construction in the continuously changing contexts of teacher education and ELT in China. Teng reviews the position of ELT in higher education in China (the world's greatest EFL market) and the reforms introduced to this sector; then, he reports on a lack of systematic investigation into how university EFL lecturers in China are involved in various facets of their ongoing professional and academic development. Teng mainly emphasizes the challenges which Chinese EFL lecturers encounter in their teaching and research, the way they handle such challenges, and the approaches they adopt in response to constraints in cultivating change. Conclusively, he reminds us that identity construction is sophisticated, dynamic and multidimensional, and that several factors can influence the process of identity construction for EFL lectures in China, including personal, institutional, and social factors.

Chapter 8 provides detailed information about EFL learning processes based on two main perspectives: identity continuity and identity change. This chapter concludes that EFL learners demonstrate identity continuity and change during their language learning processes and that this continuity or change of identity can have positive or negative effects on their development of English language proficiency.

In this insightful volume, Feng Teng signposts direct relationships between the improvement of individuals’ autonomy, individuals’ agency to be involved in innovative pedagogical and learning practices, and how their identities as autonomous individuals flourish. The discussions in the chapters are based on various teaching-learning contexts, including schools, universities, classroom and out-of-class settings, and a community of in-service university EFL lecturers. Particularly significant in this book is the use of a sequential mixed method for presenting the discussions and findings, which are from the unique experiences and concerns of language learners and teachers in EFL contexts.

The book, however, is not without limitations. For example, less attention is paid to learners’ linguistic backgrounds, individual differences, learning experiences, and contextual and cultural norms as effective factors in identity construction. Furthermore, little is discussed of teachers’ roles in students’ identity development, for instance, how learners’ identities can be constructed, developed or reconstructed by teachers in teacher-student reciprocal relationships; what the roles of EFL teachers in this process are; and what effective measures and methods EFL teachers may adopt in order to help their students achieve the expected goal of developing learner identities that consequently foster their linguistic proficiency. At times, as a reader of this book, I wished to read a bit more about the socio-cultural and socio-psychological aspects of identity development, peer influence or the effects of learning environments, and multilevel societal learning perspectives of learners’ autonomy and identity development. In other words, no specific solutions were provided to the challenges that are currently encountered in ELT practices.

This volume may not fully cover all facets of autonomy, agency, and identity in EFL contexts; nevertheless it offers a wealth of theoretical, pedagogical, and practical insight useful for EFL scholars, teachers, and learners. It delivers interesting discussions and findings that encourage further research in EFL education. It is a valuable reference, especially for scholars who wish to conduct research on EFL pedagogy and identity, identity-behavior relations in EFL teaching and learning, and autonomy in EFL education.