The proposed presentation is an ongoing narrative research on the experience of first year foreign language teachers in Iceland. The experience of the first year teachers is presented through narratives of five novice teachers (Connelly & Clandinin, 2000; Beattie, 1995). Narratives aim at understanding how people make meaning of their lived experience by presenting it through a story. Stories give access to the cognition of the storyteller (Bruner, 1987; Carter, 1993) and uncover how the novice construes meaning of her lived experience.  Stories are placed in and emerge from the cultural contexts which shape them and can thus provide a holistic picture of the working life of novice teachers. Narratives thus reflect a dynamic interplay between life, experience and story (Clandindin & Connelly, 2000 ).

The literature of beginning teachers in primary schools and some subjects like science  is well known and has shown that the new teachers often experience the first year as difficult and even traumatic (Loughran,  2001; Schalock og Schalock, 2002; Youngs, 2002). Less is known about the first year experience of foreign language teachers. Language teachers are expected to teach students to express themselves in a foreign language which taps directly into the personality as well as cultural identity (Dewaele, 2005). Conducting a lesson mostly in a foreign language as is now expected   may affect the relationship between the teacher and the student. Earlier research has shown that teachers have a need to build a relationship of trust and respect with their students, which they see as the prerequisite for their success as teachers (Ingvarsdóttir, 2004). It is therefore of particular interest to gain a better understanding of how novice foreign language teachers make sense of and adjust to their teaching and educational environment. Many countries have introduced induction programmes and recent literature has been focusing on investigating those programmes which seem to render conflicting results and much depends on how it is organised (Jones, 2009). In Iceland there is no induction year and it is important to understand what kind of support and work environment teachers feel they need to start to grow in their profession in the first year in stead of struggling day by day. The purpose of this research is to gain an insight into how new foreign language teachers in secondary schools in Iceland experience and make meaning of their first year.  The ultimate aim is to develop guidelines for school authorities and head teachers as to what kind of support is needed for first year teachers to take the first steps towards professional development and growth. The main research question is: How does the teacher experience her first year of teaching? The sub-questions were: How did she feel she was prepared for entering the profession? What kind of support did he get? What kind of support would she have liked to receive?  

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