Emotional Geographies of an EFL Teacher Agency in Transforming Bangka Manuscripts into Interactive Multimodal Materials for Rural Learners

Hilda Rakerda; Resti  Amalia; Nostalgianti Citra  Prystiananta

doi:10.31539/44bmp239

Authors

Hilda Rakerda Universitas Bangka Belitung
Resti Amalia Universitas Bangka Belitung
Nostalgianti Citra Prystiananta Universitas PGRI Argopuro Jember

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.31539/44bmp239

Abstract

This study investigateed the emotional geographies of an EFL teacher’s agency in developing and teaching BookCreator-based reading materials derived from philological and historical interpretations of Bangka manuscripts. Employing narrative inquiry, the study examined the teacher’s stories, reflections, and classroom experiences through Hargreaves’ dimensions of emotional geography, including moral, sociocultural, professional, physical, and political dimensions. The findings revealed that the teacher’s agency was shaped by emotional ambivalence. Pride in preserving Bangka heritage was accompanied by anxiety about simplifying manuscript knowledge, designing interactive digital materials, and engaging learners with low motivation to study English and limited aspirations for higher education. BookCreator emerged not merely as a technological platform but as a mediating pedagogical space where local history, English literacy, multimodal design, and teacher emotion intersected. This study suggested that culturally sustaining digital EFL pedagogy in peripheral contexts depends not only on technological innovation but also on teachers’ emotional negotiations with curriculum demands, local knowledge, institutional expectations, and student realities, contributing to international debates on teacher agency and equitable digital learning.

Keywords: Digital materials development, Emotional geography, Interactive book, Local culture, Narrative inquiry

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