Dear Members of the SIG,
Here's a new paper published by Dr. Miaomiao Zuo, a member of the SIG. In this paper, the authors draw on a translanguaging learning experience perspective, addressing this gap by examining how the Transpositioning–Translanguaging–Co-Learning (TTCL)
practices are engaged and how they (de)motivate Japanese L3 learners in a Chinese university.
The present study draws on Tai's (2025) contextual framework, but adapts it by foregrounding how translanguaging learning experiences, specifically TTCL practices, across the micro, meso and macro levels shape learners’ motivation, rather than prioritising
ideal and ought-to selves. By centring cross-level translanguaging experiences, the framework provides a coherent lens for examining how classroom interaction, institutional policies and wider ideological contexts jointly support or constrain motivation.
Findings show that TTCL practices enhance learners’ motivation to participate by creating low-risk motivational microclimates through supportive translanguaging interaction. The motivational impact of transpositioning, however, is highly situational and contingent
on learners’ perceived readiness. Crucially, motivation is interactionally accomplished through conditions that make engagement possible, manageable, and socially supported. More broadly, the study demonstrates that motivation emerges from TTCL-enabled translanguaging
learning experiences situated within a micro-, meso- and macro-level ecology of classroom interaction, institutional arrangements and language policies related to the National College Entrance Examination. TTCL thus operates as a micro-level motivational engine
within a multi-level translanguaging learning ecology, offering both pedagogical and theoretical insights for L3 instruction.
I also attached the paper in this email for your easy access.
Reference:
Zuo, M., X. Zhang, and A. Guo. 2026. “Exploring the Transpositioning-Translanguaging-Co-Learning Approach as a Motivational Driver in Learning Japanese as a Third Language.”
International Journal of Applied Linguistics. Advance online publication.
Best,
Kevin Tai
Professor Kevin W. H. Tai
PhD (UCL), FHEA, FRSA
Assistant Professor of Language and Literacy Education
Co-Director, Centre for Advancement in Inclusive and Special Education
Faculty of Education
The University of Hong Kong
Honorary Research Fellow, UCL Institute of Education, University College London
Editor,
The Language Learning Journal (Routledge)
Associate Editor,
International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism (Routledge)
Executive Guest Editor,
International Journal of Applied Linguistics (Wiley)
The
World's Top 1% Scholar and HKU Scholar in the Top 1%, Clarivate Analytics, 2025
The
World’s Top 2% Most-Cited Scientist (Languages and Linguistics),
Stanford University, 2024 and 2025 (Elsevier)
Email (HKU):
kevi...@hku.hk
Email (UCL):
kevi...@ucl.ac.uk
Telephone: (852) 3917 6107
