Group dynamics in Chinese EFL curriculum development discussions: a longitudinal transpositioning perspective
-
Miaomiao Zuo
Dr Miaomiao Zuo, a lecturer at Huizhou University in Chinese Mainland, holds a PhD degree in Education and Applied Linguistics. Her research interests include classroom discourse and teacher development, English language teaching pedagogy, critical thinking and translation studies.
and
Kevin W. H. Tai
Professor Kevin W. H. Tai is Assistant Professor of Language and Literacy Education and Co-Director of the Centre for Advancement in Inclusive and Special Education at the Faculty of Education, The University of Hong Kong (HKU). In relation to his editorial positions, Kevin Tai is Editor of
The Language Learning Journal (Routledge) andAssociate Editor of the International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism (Routledge). Kevin Tai’s research interests include Conversation Analysis for Second Language Acquisition, translanguaging in education, classroom discourse and qualitative research methods. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA)and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA). He was named among the World’s Top 2 % Most-Cited Scientists in the field of Languages and Linguistics by Stanford University in both 2024 and 2025. His outstanding contribution in research has been further honoured him as the World’s Top 1% Scholar by Clarivate Analytics in 2025 and HKU Scholar in the Top 1%.
Abstract
While group dynamics have been widely studied in student interaction in EFL education, little is known about how it operates among teachers. Likewise, transpositioning, with its “trans-prefix” reconceptualizing positioning as a processual and iterative activity across linguistic, spatial, and relational dimensions, remains underutilized for examining teacher professional interaction. This study therefore investigates how transpositioning shapes group dynamics in teacher collaborative curriculum development. Drawing on a longitudinal dataset of four video-recorded meetings among six EFL teachers at a Chinese university, this study employs Multimodal Conversation Analysis (MCA) within an ethnographically informed approach to trace moment-by-moment interactional practices and their evolution over time. Findings reveal that transpositioning primarily occurs across three interrelated dimensions (i.e., spatial, role and epistemic). These fluid shifts foster distributed leadership, collective sense-making and emotional safety, portraying collaborative curriculum development as a multimodal, relational, and epistemically negotiated practice within real-time discourse. The longitudinal MCA enhances analytic depth by linking micro-interactional shifts to broader developmental trajectories, illustrating how collaborative practices evolve and reconfigure over time. In sum, the study extends transpositioning theory into the context of peer-level professional collaboration across a longer interactional trajectories, evidencing the “trans-prefix” as capturing the dynamic, boundary-transcending nature of interaction beyond traditional positioning theory.
About the authors
Dr Miaomiao Zuo, a lecturer at Huizhou University in Chinese Mainland, holds a PhD degree in Education and Applied Linguistics. Her research interests include classroom discourse and teacher development, English language teaching pedagogy, critical thinking and translation studies.
Professor Kevin W. H. Tai is Assistant Professor of Language and Literacy Education and Co-Director of the Centre for Advancement in Inclusive and Special Education at the Faculty of Education, The University of Hong Kong (HKU). In relation to his editorial positions, Kevin Tai is Editor of The Language Learning Journal (Routledge) and Associate Editor of the International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism (Routledge). Kevin Tai’s research interests include Conversation Analysis for Second Language Acquisition, translanguaging in education, classroom discourse and qualitative research methods. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA)and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA). He was named among the World’s Top 2 % Most-Cited Scientists in the field of Languages and Linguistics by Stanford University in both 2024 and 2025. His outstanding contribution in research has been further honoured him as the World’s Top 1% Scholar by Clarivate Analytics in 2025 and HKU Scholar in the Top 1%.
Acknowledgment
We sincerely thank the participating teachers for their valuable contributions to this study. Thanks must also be given to the anonymous reviewers who took time to give feedback on our work.
-
Informed consent: This study was conducted with the informed consent of all participants, who agreed to the use and publication of their anonymized data and findings.
-
Conflict of interest: No potential conflict was reported by the author.
-
Research funding: No specific funding was received for this study.
Appendix 1: Transcription conventions (modified from Jefferson 2004; Mondada 2018)
| * | Gestures done by TGuest | () | Approximation of what is heard |
| ┴ | Gestures done by TCindy | (()) | Transcriber’s description |
| Δ | Gestures done by TLuz | tr. | The translated text |
| + | Gestures clone by TMia/TYilia | ↑↓ | Rising or falling intonation |
| ¤ | Gestures done by TZoe | # | The position of the figure |
| § | Gestures done by TSue | = | No gap between turns |
References
Alikhani, M. & E. Bagheridoust. 2017. The effect of group dynamics – oriented instruction on developing Iranian EFL learners’ speaking ability and willingness to communicate. English Language Teaching 10(11). 44. https://doi.org/10.5539/elt.v10n11p44.Search in Google Scholar
Alvarado Gutiérrez, M. V., M. A. Neira Adasme & A. Westmacott. 2019. Collaborative reflective practice: Its influence on pre – service EFL teachers’ emerging professional identities. Iranian Journal of Language Teaching Research 7(3). 53–70. https://doi.org/10.30466/ijltr.2019.120736.Search in Google Scholar
Ardi, P., T. L. Widyaningsih & U. Widiati. 2023. Appreciative collaborative reflection to catalyze Indonesian EFL teachers’ identity configuration in a teacher professional education program. Education & Self Development 18(2). 10–26. https://doi.org/10.26907/esd.18.2.02.Search in Google Scholar
Arefian, M. H. 2022. Collaborative action research as a reflective tool for pre-service EFL teachers’ inclusion. Reflective Practice 23(6). 651–662. https://doi.org/10.1080/14623943.2022.2103107.Search in Google Scholar
Ben Maad, M. R. & I. Saadi. 2020. The role of group dynamics in low-achieving EFL students’ speaking development. International Journal of Applied Linguistics 30(2). 264–279. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijal.12279.Search in Google Scholar
Brouwer, C. E. & J. Wagner. 2004. Developmental issues in second language conversation. Journal of Applied Linguistics and Professional Practice. 29–47. https://doi.org/10.1558/japl.v1.i1.29.Search in Google Scholar
Burhan-Horasanlı, E. & D. Ortaçtepe. 2016. Reflective practice-oriented online discussions: A study on EFL teachers’ reflection-on, in and for-action. Teaching and Teacher Education 59. 372–382. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2016.07.002.Search in Google Scholar
Cartwright, D. & A. Zander. 1968. Group dynamics: Research and theory, 3rd edn. Tavistock Publications.Search in Google Scholar
Davies, B. & R. Harré. 1990. Positioning: The discursive production of selves. Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour 20(1). 43–63. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-5914.1990.tb00174.x.Search in Google Scholar
Deppermann, A. & S. Pekarek Doehler. 2021. Longitudinal conversation analysis-introduction to the special issue. Research on Language and Social Interaction 54(2). 127–141. https://doi.org/10.1080/08351813.2021.1899707.Search in Google Scholar
Engeström, Y. 2001. Expansive learning at work: Toward an activity theoretical reconceptualization. Journal of Education and Work 14(1). 133–156. https://doi.org/10.1080/13639080123238.Search in Google Scholar
Fukada, Y., J. Falout, T. Fukuda & T. Murphey. 2019. Motivational group dynamics in SLA: The interpersonal interaction imperative. In The palgrave handbook of motivation for language learning, 307–325. Springer International Publishing.10.1007/978-3-030-28380-3_15Search in Google Scholar
Han, I. 2021. Development of professional identity and related metacognitive thinking procedures of English language teachers through spontaneous collaboration for pedagogical problem-solving. Sage Open 11(2). https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440211009483.Search in Google Scholar
Hawkins, M. R. & N. M. Tiwari. 2024. “Are you poor?”: Relational transpositioning through local and transnational transmodal communications. In S. Dovchin, R. Oliver & W. Li (eds.), Translingual practices playfulness and precariousness, 105–122. Cambridge University Press.10.1017/9781009072779.007Search in Google Scholar
Jefferson, G. 2004. Glossary of transcript symbols with an introduction. In G. H. Lerner (ed.), Conversation analysis: Studies from the first generation, 13–31. John Benjamins.10.1075/pbns.125.02jefSearch in Google Scholar
Li, W. 2024. Transformative pedagogy for inclusion and social justice through translanguaging, co-learning, and transpositioning. Language Teaching 57(2). 203–214. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0261444823000186.Search in Google Scholar
Li, W. & T. K. Lee. 2024. Transpositioning: Translanguaging and the liquidity of identity. Applied Linguistics 45(5). 873–888. https://doi.org/10.1093/APPLIN/AMAD065.Search in Google Scholar
Mondada, L. 2018. Multiple temporalities of language and body in interaction: Challenges for transcribing multimodality. Research on Language and Social Interaction 51(1). 85–106. https://doi.org/10.1080/08351813.2018.1413878.Search in Google Scholar
Okeke, C. C. & G. van der Westhuizen. 2020. Learning from professional conversation: A conversation analysis study. South African Journal of Education 40(1). 1–10. https://doi.org/10.15700/saje.v40n1a1777.Search in Google Scholar
Peräkylä, A. 2021. Emotion as an emergent theme in conversation analysis. In J. S. Robles & A. Weatherall (eds.), How emotions are made in talk, xiii–xviii. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company.10.1075/pbns.321.preSearch in Google Scholar
Pham, H. P. Q. 2017. Group dynamics: Building a sense of belonging in the EFL classroom. English Teaching Forum 55(1). 14–21.Search in Google Scholar
Prior, M. T. 2018. Accomplishing “rapport” in qualitative research interviews: Empathic moments in interaction. Applied Linguistics Review 9(4). 487–511. https://doi.org/10.1515/applirev-2017-0029.Search in Google Scholar
Seedhouse, P. 2005. Conversation analysis as research methodology. In K. Richards & P. Seedhouse (eds.), Applying conversation analysis, 251–266. London: Palgrave MacMillan.10.1057/9780230287853_15Search in Google Scholar
Tai, K. W. H. 2024. Classroom interactional competence in an English medium instruction mathematics classroom: A creation of a technology-mediated translanguaging space. Learning and Instruction 90. 101849. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.LEARNINSTRUC.2023.101849.Search in Google Scholar
Tai, K. W. H. 2025. Transpositioning in English medium instruction classroom discourse: Insights from a translanguaging perspective. Language and Education 39(4). 965–999. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500782.2024.2382748.Search in Google Scholar
Tai, K. W. H. & T. K. Lee. 2024. Mitigating ethnic minority students’ foreign language anxiety through co-learning in Chinese as an additional language classrooms: A transpositioning perspective. System 127. 103496. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.SYSTEM.2024.103496.Search in Google Scholar
Tajfel, H. & J. Turner. 2000. An integrative theory of intergroup conflict. In J. M. Hatch & M. Schultz (eds.), Organizational identity, 56–65. Oxford University PressOxford.10.1093/oso/9780199269464.003.0005Search in Google Scholar
ten Have. 2007. Doing conversation analysis: A practical guide. London: Sage Publications Ltd.10.4135/9781849208895Search in Google Scholar
Thanh Vo, L. & H. T. Mai Nguyen. 2009. Critical friends group for EFL teacher professional development. ELT Journal 64(2). 205–213. https://doi.org/10.1093/elt/ccp025.Search in Google Scholar
Thant Sin, K. K. 2021. Curriculum development as a tool for professional development. GiLE Journal of Skills Development 1(2). 29–43. https://doi.org/10.52398/gjsd.2021.v1.i2.pp29-43.Search in Google Scholar
Waring, H. Z. 2021. Chapter 3.2. Socializing the emotions of joy and surprise in parent-child interaction. In J. S. Robles & A. Weatherall (eds.), How emotions are made in talk, 211–232. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company.10.1075/pbns.321.08warSearch in Google Scholar
Wu, Z., J. Li & L. Cheng. 2022. Understanding EFL teacher engagement in TDTs’ collaborative curriculum design: A Chinese case study from the activity theory perspective. Frontiers in Psychology 13. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.825274.Search in Google Scholar
Xu, H. 2015. The development of teacher autonomy in collaborative lesson preparation: A multiple-case study of EFL teachers in China. System 52. 139–148. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2015.05.007.Search in Google Scholar
Zuo, M. 2025. Navigating for positive group dynamics through emotion regulation: A multimodal conversation analysis on teacher discussions in Chinese EFL curriculum development. The Asia-Pacific Education Researcher 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40299-025-00971-5.Search in Google Scholar
© 2025 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
