This article will examine the dynamic process which occurs for secondary English student teachers whilst working for their Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) at London Metropolitan University and will use extensive data in the form of English student teachers' voices to do this. It will explore the impact of an innovative language teacher education programme, which focuses on developing student teachers' knowledge and understanding of language through a cross-subject dialogue with modern languages. It will show how this contributes to the development of a language teacher identity and the relationship between this and previously held notions of English subject identity. It will suggest that through participation in the language teacher education programme, English student teachers are able to begin the construction of a personal theory as a language teacher in preparation for their roles as early-career English teachers.