Feeling rules and emotion labor: Tools of English language teacher engagement

Abstract

This article discusses English language teachers’ emotions from a critical perspective, meaning that
emotions are considered sociopolitically rather than psychologically. Feeling rules and emotion labor
are introduced as tools for exploring the relationship between institutional power and emotions. To
illustrate these concepts, I discuss data from interviews with English language teachers at a U.S.
university about noticing and addressing plagiarism in their students’ writing. Findings suggest that
teachers may resist the feeling rules of their institution’s plagiarism policy while experiencing emotion
labor about how to address plagiarism with students, despite the policy’s clarity about sanctions. The
positive implications of this resistance to feeling rules and experience of emotion labor are discussed.
The article ends with recommendations for further research on emotion labor as a tool of teacher
engagement and activism.