The Introduction describes case method pedagogy from both a historical and theoretical perspective. It provides an author statement, and describes what cases are, what the benefits of the case method are for teachers, and outlines the organization of the casebook.

Teachers’ relationships with their students are the focus of this chapter. These relationships can determine the outcomes of learning, but also affect the professional and emotional lives of teachers. The cases in this chapter examine how teacher-student relationships unfold in diverse multicultural contexts and cover topics such as being a Black teacher in Japan, compromising the privacy of a gay primary school teacher in Canada, and knowing students’ names.

Each case in this chapter examines the experiences of a language learner from a different country, usually from the perspective of their teacher. Learners are the people who teachers interact with the most in their professional lives and are often the cause of dilemmas they encounter. The chapter covers topics such as gender identity in the classroom, teaching dedicated older learners, and teaching a learner with suspected ADHD.

There are multiple dimensions to the work that language teachers and teacher educators do in their institutions, and beyond, besides teaching in classrooms and doing research. They all perform some sort of professional service, be it administrative or committee work or taking on management and leadership roles. Professional service is the focus of this chapter, and cases include meeting with dissatisfied parents, serving on a Department of Education working group, and giving a talk to pre-service teachers.

Effective language teaching and learning means managing instructional activities in the classroom, managing students and any issues they present, and managing one’s own professional conduct and learning. Cases in this chapter examine management issues, from New York City in the USA, to Thailand, to Poland, and include topics such as the field trip (that never happened), planning too much lesson content, and managing a new student in class.

Besides teaching, managing their classrooms, and assessing learners, teachers also take care of their own development, sometimes with the support of their workplace institutions or professional associations. This chapter presents cases that offer opportunities to examine a variety of teacher professional development types including doing a PhD part-time, conducting workshops for teacher colleagues, and going on a short-term study-abroad exchange.

As teachers go about their work of teaching in classrooms, doing research, and performing leadership duties, their psychological and emotional wellbeing is constantly under pressure in the workplace. This final chapter presents cases where wellbeing dilemmas are exposed. It includes a teacher educator who is under pressure from management to retire, a teacher coping with a heavy post-study abroad workload, and a teacher having to deal with students’ complaints.