While teacher–student relationships are of central importance for students' motivation, they remain under-investigated. Adopting an interdisciplinary approach and focusing on the 'relationality' of teacher–student relationships, this study examines the identity-work that takes place when a teacher makes visible an aspect of identity not normally salient in the classroom. Framing self-disclosure as a relational practice, and drawing on ethnographic data that includes observations of English lessons (N = 258) in Swedish secondary schools, a relational conceptualization of the motivational influences of teacher identity-work is offered. Since language teachers are sensitive to the psychology of learning–teaching processes, relationally-grounded perspectives on motivation can be of particular importance in shaping classroom practices.