Informed by Foucault's (1988) notion of ethics and the four axes of ethical self-formation (Clark 2009. 'The Ethico-politics of Teacher Identity'. "Educational Philosophy and Theory" 41 (2): 185-200), this study explores how native-speaking English teachers (NETs) constructed their identities in relation to their lived experiences and practices at a university in mainland China. A multiple case study approach was employed using interviews with focal participants and reflective journals to understand their teaching experiences and practices as well as their meaning-making processes. Findings from the four cases suggest that participants constructed multiple and changing identities composed of various language teaching beliefs and practices. Whilst participants were influenced by dominant discourses which challenged their legitimacy as university teachers, the way individual teachers understood their professional experiences and interpreted the sociocultural constraints also played a critical role. Teacher identity self-practices and technologies of self were found to be important for helping NETs to negotiate favourable identities and liberate themselves from impositions. The article concludes with implications for NETs, host community and policy makers.