Dear Members of the SIG,
I’m pleased to share a recent paper co-authored with Dr. Miaomiao Zuo (PhD, Newcastle University, UK), published in
Applied Linguistics Review (SSCI). The present study adopts a longitudinal transpositioning perspective to observe how L2 English teachers in collaborative curriculum development navigate, negotiate, and shift their positions, roles and relations to
reshape group dynamics across interaction.
This study demonstrates how transpositioning functions as a key interactional process in shaping group dynamics during EFL curriculum development discussions. In particular, the findings here foreground how
spatial, role-based, and epistemic repositioning unfold in moment-to-moment interaction to support evolving collaboration.
Firstly, spatial transpositioning, where shifts in physical arrangement and embodied visibility influence access to turn-taking and authority, reshapes participation structures and group dynamics. Secondly,
role transpositioning, where leadership and facilitation emerge through sequential and multimodal negotiation rather than fixed task assignment, in this study, reveals a dynamic redistribution of authority and responsibility over time. Thirdly,
epistemic transpositioning, where knowledge authority is co-constructed through hedging, alignment, and embodied validation, in this study is characterised not by a linear shift from “not-knowing” to “knowing,” but by participants’ strategic negotiation
of epistemic stances within interaction.
The findings underscore the importance of applying the “trans-” prefix to the concept of ‘positioning’ when analysing the dynamic and multifaceted nature of participants’ shifts across spatial positions, roles, and knowledge alignments. Transpositioning thus
describes an ongoing and cyclical process where communicative actors fluidly shift their identity positions, which is a phenomenon where individuals maintain their stances in constant negotiation and adaptation as they engage in social interactions (Tai and
Lee 2024). In other words, identity and knowledge positions are jointly constructed in relation to the evolving interactional context.
Reference:
Zuo, M. and Tai, K. W. H. (2025). Group Dynamics in Chinese EFL Curriculum Development Discussions: A Longitudinal Transpositioning Perspective.
Applied Linguistics Review, Advance online publication.
https://doi.org/10.1515/applirev-2025-0098
Many thanks again,
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, IOE, UCL’s Faculty of Education and Society, 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
