Language teacher cognition research has been of interest for the last two decades. However, few studies have explored how cognition is constructed in interaction. This presentation provides an in-depth analysis of Chinese EFL teachers cognition-in-interaction about language, explaining how language teacher conceptualise “I say what I mean” in class.
Teacher cognition has become significant in the field of language education, as teachers play an influential role in facilitating learner's language learning. Therefore, understanding "what teachers know, believe and think" is essential to offer insights in developing effective pedagogy and teacher education (Borg, 2003:81). A majority of studies have drawn on Borg's framework to investigate the interwoven relationship between language teachers' cognitive processes and their classroom practices. It has been clearly shown that there are always discrepancies between what teachers believe and how they act in practice (e.g., Öztürk et al., 2017). One possible reason to explain this is attributed to the dynamics of classrooms that involves interaction. Hence, in this talk, we look at two EFL teacher cognition-in-interaction about language by demonstrating how interaction shapes teacher cognition in the EFL classrooms. In total, 760 minutes of classroom interactional data were transcribed subject to data analysis by using conversation analysis principles. This study offers an in-depth understanding of teacher cognition-in-interaction about language. Pedagogical suggestions and considerations are put forward for researchers and EFL teachers in the understanding of teacher cognition-in-interaction about language in a successful language teaching and learning context in China and beyond.
