The Analysing Change in Interculturality Framework (ACIF): a new tool for decolonising teamwork

This paper responds to the imperative to ‘decolonise’ language and intercultural education by proposing new conceptual frameworks for understanding it. We introduce the Analysing Change in Interculturality Framework (ACIF), a tool designed to examine how individuals deal with change within intercultural teams. This study explores the ACIF within the context of Chinese Minzu (‘ethnic’) education, observing how university students manage teamwork dynamics. The framework employs four specific Chinese concepts to analyse: (1) individual change, (2) decision-making performance in a group setting and (3) students’ imaginaries of self and others. Our findings indicate that contextual factors drive personal and interpersonal change, interactional and social factors shape behavioural adaptation in intercultural settings and cognitive factors influence the perception of others. We argue that the ACIF could serve as a valuable educational and analytical tool, enabling students to critically observe and reflect on the processes of interculturality.